In many rural communities in Africa, marriage and child bearing are considered the most appropriate roles for young women between the ages of 15 and 24. Studies have revealed a strong connection between early age of marriage and low educational and health status of the individual and family marriage.
In many societies Africa, a women’s position in society is enhanced by her marital status and the number of children she is able to bear. For those whose children are able to survive, this has further implications on education and health status, particularly in the wake of demands to contribute more towards social services.
Studies show that amid economic hardships, families are more likely to marry off their daughters, thereby denying girls the right to choose whom they will spend their lives with and when and how many children they will have. Unicef estimates that 10 million girls worldwide are at risk of child marriage over the next decade because of Covid-19.
Moreover, girls and women are more likely to face sexual and gender-based violence during times of crisis – a trend that has been borne out during the pandemic. According to the African Report on Child Wellbeing, African girls are being robbed of their future and 7% of women in Namibia between the ages of 20 and 24 were married before the age of 18, while 15% of women in this age group gave birth before the age of 18.
According to a national formative study on child marriages in five key regions, namely, the Kavango West, Kunene, Omusati, Ohangwena and Zambezi, the Kunene region has the second highest prevalence of child marriages at 24%. The highest prevalence was found in the Kavango regions with 40% (The Namibian. 29 September 2022)
Thus, in the current economic environment it seems the more children a woman has, the more difficult it is for her to send them to school where uniforms etc are demanded, and the more difficult for her to feed them and to meet the cost of health services.
A typical example is that of mothers with street children. Many of the street youth came from poor resource households, and many of these are large households that are usually unable to provide a decent livelihood for their members. (Mtonga et al 1993).
Additionally, mothers of such children, have either low educational status or no education at all. Thus, such mothers can only pass on to their children, education, skills that are a reflection of their own socio-economic status. Not surprising, therefore, most children are either school dropouts or those who have never been to school. Many have other skills, besides those associated with survival in the streets. Like their parents, many are as good as destitute.
It is unfortunate that in many communities, Africa, soon after reaching puberty, many girls are encouraged by society, including their own parents, to get married. Not only do some parents deliberately withdraw them from school but also through various socio-cultural practices, beliefs, customs and traditional invitation ceremonies, the girls are indoctrinated into responsibilities of womanhood and made to believe that they can shoulder the responsibilities of womanhood. According to the Minister of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare, Doreen Sioka, “Child marriages are classified as violence against children and are associated with GBV related crimes. And these practices further have a negative impact on children’s dignity, psychological and moral integrity and development, participation, health education, economic and social status.” (New Era, 3 October 2022).
Indicators show that more than half of the children in the country are poor, while 43,3% of Namibia›s total population live in poverty. About 20 000 children in Namibia aged 12 to 17 have experienced online sexual exploitation and abuse, 42,3% and 510 Namibian children have been raped in nine months.
Many of these girls are starved of the education that would have empowered them for healthy production and economic independence. Some of these girls who marry early are not only unable to service their pregnancies, but many risk multiple infections including the risk of HIV infection and even death. In most patrilineal societies, parents feel that investments in their daughters’ education is a waste of resources, since the girls as soon as they are married move to their marital homes, and educating these girls may therefore have little immediate benefit to the natal family. Early marriage for the girl child has other detrimental consequences.
These sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) include HIV/ AIDS, and teenage abortions which usually take place under unsanitary environments. These problems are compounded by the fact that most teenagers, particularly in poorer African countries are more likely to be undernourished and anaemic.
Children are the future of society and in that, they are tomorrow’s adults who will then mould their families. It is befitting that we look at the challenges they face, especially when their mental and social development is under attack.
In 2018, Namibia was ranked 7th in Africa for Child Friendliness, an index developed by the United Nations Committee for the rights of the child. This speaks volume of where our country has strived to ensure the wellness of our children. In order to have the means to tackle the problem, there is a need for a holistic review of traditional preconceptions, legislative stances and family operation which is required to remedy and preserve the condition of the girl child. One of the potential platforms is the celebration of African Child Day on the 16th of June yearly and World Children’s Day which should be primarily used as a catalyst to disseminate more information, especially on child marriages and its consequences rather than just celebrating it as a custom or a ritual