Kwara govt decries prevalence of child marriage

•Group registers 6,000 vulnerable, orphan girls in Kwara

The Kwara State government has decried the high rate of early child marriage in the state.

The government said it would make those who push their girl-children into early marriage to face the consequences of their action.

The Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development Hajia Taibat Ahmed said statistics had shown that about six million girls get married at 15, adding that the state added significantly to the number.

Mrs Ahmed spoke yesterday in Ilorin, the state capital, at a workshop on the rights of a girl, organised by Women and Youth Development Initiative (WOYODEV).

The commissioner said the state government would help the girl-child to lead a wholesome life for her to achieve her dreams.

She said: “We will continue to seek partnership and give support to individuals, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and civil society organisations (CSOs) to address issues affecting women and girls and the community with the interest of ending child marriage and other child rights issues.

“Child marriage, which has its root cause in socio-cultural beliefs, ignorance and poverty, has various side effects as it puts our girls at high risk of health complications, including HIV, VVF and maternal mortality. As such, child marriage is a barrier to socio-economic development as it represents a detrimental life-course shift during the crucial period of adolescence.”

The Executive Director of WOYODEV, Mrs Tosin Ajayi said her organisation had registered 6,000 vulnerable girls to early marriage.

She added that other criteria considered in registering the girls include those without parents, those with indigent background, out-of-school girls and those already in early marriage.

According to her, the menace of early girl-child marriage is prevalence in the northern part of the state.

Mrs Ajayi said: “In the developing world, Nigeria inclusive, one in three girls is married before 18 and one in nine before the age of 15. A confluence of social, economic, cultural and political factors perpetuate this harmful practice, which rights in the nexus of all these factors are unequal norms and power relations that devalue and restrict women and girls.

“In Nigeria, the number of girls affected by child marriage is high. This is due largely to the population of our country. According to statistics, Nigeria ranks 14th among the 20 countries with the highest rate of child marriage in the world.”