Impact of Early Marriage in Development of Nigeria

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

Most people’s life revolve on three major events: birth, marriage, and death. However, only one’marriage’ is a choice. Even in Roman times, the freedom to make that decision was recognized as a legal concept, and it has long been enshrined in international human rights treaties. Despite this, many girls and a lesser number of boys marry without having the opportunity to exercise their freedom to choose. Some people are compelled to marry at a young age. Others are just too young to make an educated choice regarding their marital partner or the consequences of marriage. They may have granted what passes for “permission” in the eyes of custom or law, but assent to their legally binding relationship was given on their behalf by others.

Even though a girl is just 12, it is assumed that once she marries, she has become a woman. Similarly, if a boy is forced to marry, he is now a man and must put aside his childhood possessions. While the average age of marriage is increasing, early marriage — the marriage of minors and adolescents under the age of 18 – is still common. While early marriage can take numerous shapes and have a variety of causes, one problem is critical. Early marriage, whether it occurs to a girl or a boy, is a violation of human rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) of 1948 and many later human rights agreements acknowledge the right to free and informed consent to marriage — consent that cannot be “free and informed” when at least one spouse is immature. Early marriage has substantial physical, intellectual, psychological, and emotional consequences for both girls and boys, cutting off educational opportunities and opportunities for personal growth.

In addition, for girls, it will almost inevitably result in early pregnancy and motherhood, as well as a lifetime of domestic and sexual servitude over which they have little choice (Eboh, 1996).

The 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEFADW), the 1989 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the 1990 African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of Women are among the international human rights charters and conventions that prohibit early marriage before the age of 18. Many teenage girls in undeveloped nations, on the other hand, see marriage as a way to secure their future and protect themselves. Families drive girls into marriage when they are still young in the hopes that marriage will benefit them financially and socially. Early marriage, on the other hand, violates children’s rights, and has far more harmful implications for females than for boys. This jeopardizes their total development, leaving them socially isolated with little or no education, skills, or work options, as well as limited opportunities for self-realization. Married girls are more vulnerable to poverty as a result of these circumstances. Young married females are a distinct category, with significant strain on a variety of fronts. They are expected to perform an excessive number of household duties, which includes new roles and obligations as spouses and mothers. The young bride’s position in the family is usually predicated on her establishing her fertility—often within the first year of her marriage, when she is physically, mentally, and emotionally unprepared. Furthermore, while still children, females are expected to be accountable for the care and wellbeing of future generations. Young women with limited decision-making authority, mobility, and financial resources are more likely to pass on their vulnerability to their children. As a result, early marriage exacerbates the ‘feminization of poverty’ as well as intergenerational poverty (Saxena, Shobha, 1999). Several studies have found significant age disparities between younger married women and their husbands. This age difference plainly establishes an uneven power dynamic between the younger bride and her older and more experienced husband, with the husband having complete control over sexual encounters and decision-making. Younger women are often unable to utilize contraception or plan their kids since they are socially conditioned not to dispute their husbands’ authority. The combination of these characteristics may lead to younger brides being more tolerant of relationship abuse.

While there is considerable consensus that early marriage, pregnancy, and motherhood have negative effects on girls’ general development and schooling, the linkages to poverty and the wide-ranging impacts on families and communities have not been properly investigated. This is due in part to the ‘invisibility’ of younger married females in most cultures, as well as the fact that marriage grants girls and boys adult status (Bruce, 2002).

Despite this, many communities, particularly in Africa and South Asia, continue to believe that females should marry when they reach puberty or shortly thereafter. Their wives are usually a few years older than they are, although they may be twice their age. Parents and family leaders make marriage decisions for their daughters and sons with little consideration for the human consequences. Rather, many see marriage as a method to start a family, an economic arrangement, or a mechanism to keep females safe from unwanted sexual approaches.

Meanwhile, while custom and culture support the idea of early marriage, the Nigerian constitution of 1999 is quiet on the subject, albeit it is indicated by section 29 that the partners to a marriage must be of legal age. ‘Any woman who is married is regarded to be of full age,’ according to Article 29(4)(a). On the other hand, paragraph (4)(a) defined “full age” as being eighteen years or older.

Consequently, notwithstanding that portion of the Nigerian constitution, early marriage remains an issue in the majority of Nigeria, as well as many other African and international countries. Tradition, culture, and religion are used to justify and justify it. That is why certain people, like as Alh. Ahmed Sani Yerima Bakura, the former governor of Zamfara state, and Mmerole Ogha, Mgbeoye’s husband, married 13 and 9-year-old girls, respectively. Young girls in rural locations, impoverished, and underprivileged communities are particularly vulnerable. This condition reflects the intense commitment to tradition as well as the dearth of options that women in rural communities face. Early marriage stretches back to the development of society in Nigeria in general, and among Northerners (Hausas) in particular. It is not unusual for girls under the age of 12 to marry in that region of the nation, and it is well beyond what is expected in other sections of the country. According to the National Baseline Survey of Positive and Harmful Traditional Practices Affecting Women and Girls in Nigeria, the average age of female children at marriage is 16.7 years. The average age in the north-east is 15.2 years, whereas in the north-west it is 14.2 years. This is a measure of how common early marriage is in Nigeria (Shehu, 2002).

 Statement of the Problem

Despite national laws and international agreements prohibiting early marriage, the practice persists in many poor nations, with a particularly high frequency in Sub-Saharan Africa, notably Nigeria. This research will examine that topic by focusing on this African region (Nigeria) and utilizing Izza local government area as a model. According to UNICEF (2001), 40% and 49% of females under the age of 19 are married in Central and West Africa, respectively, compared to 27% in East Africa and 20% in Northern and Southern Africa.

Marriage is seen as a moment of celebration and a turning point in adult life all over the world. Unfortunately, the tradition of early marriage does not provide such a reason to rejoice. The imposition of a marital partner on a kid all too frequently implies that a girl’s or boy’s childhood is shortened and their fundamental rights are jeopardized (UNICEF, 2001 and Lefevre, Quiroga and Murply 2004). Young girls are robbed of their childhood and forced to perform tasks for which they are unprepared psychologically or physically. Many people have no say in when they marry or with whom they marry. Some people are forced to marry, while others are too young to make an educated choice. Premature marriage denies them the chance to grow as individuals, as well as their rights to reproductive health and well-being, education, and civic involvement.

Many interconnected variables, essentially same worldwide with minor changes between countries, interact to put a girl kid at risk of early marriage, according to the literature. Those variables include, among others, the need for economic survival, the protection of young girls, peer and family pressure, the management of female behavior and sexuality, wars and civil conflicts, and the maximizing of fertility in areas with high infant mortality (the working group 2000; UNICEF 2001; Mathur et al. 2003).

Early marriage has a number of negative repercussions for young women as well as the culture in which they inhabit. It is a violation of human rights in general, as well as the rights of girls in particular. Early marriage has substantial physical, intellectual, psychological, and emotional consequences for both girls and boys, cutting off educational and job options as well as opportunities for personal growth. In this study, a greater emphasis is placed on girls because this is an issue that affects them in far greater numbers and with far more serious consequences.

Early marriage has severe effects for females’ children, families, and society as a whole, in addition to having a detrimental influence on the girls themselves. According to UNICEF (2000), it is not just females who pay the price for early marriage, but also society as a whole. The increased consequences that society bears as a result of adolescent pregnancies include population pressure, health-care costs, and missed possibilities for human development. Early marriage also jeopardizes international attempts to alleviate poverty in emerging nations. Bunch (2005) shows how the widespread practice of child marriage makes it more difficult for families in the developing world to escape poverty, undermining critical international efforts to combat poverty, HIV/AIDS, and other development challenges, and rendering billions of dollars in development aid ineffective. Vesico-Virginal Fistulae (VVF), a severe reproductive health concern for women of childbearing age in the poor world, is one of the difficulties of early marriage in Nigeria. One of the most enticing calamities a woman might experience as a result of early pregnancy and childbirth is this. Another issue caused by early marriage is high maternal mortality and morbidity. According to the World Health Organization, the risk of mortality from pregnancy is twice as high for women between the ages of 15 and 19 as for those between the ages of 20 and 24. For girls aged 10 to 14, the maternal mortality rate might be up to five times greater than for women of roughly twenty years of age.

The purpose of this research is to obtain answers to the following questions on the developmental consequences of early marriage in Nigeria.

 Objectives of the Study

This research work is basically focused on developmental implications of early marriage in Nigeria, therefore, at the end; it is expected that we could be able to ascertain or proffer the causes and the developmental implications of early marriage in Nigeria and to proffer lasting solutions to minimize it.

Therefore, the specific objectives of this study are as follows:

1. To identify the reasons behind early marriage perpetuation in Nigeria using Izza local government area local government as a paradigm.

2. To identify how it affect girls’ wellbeing and constitute a violation of their human rights in Izza local government area.

3. To investigate the consequences and developmental implications of early marriage in Izza local government area.

4. To recommend ways of ameliorating the developmental implications of early marriage in Izza local government area.

Research Questions

1. What are the reasons behind early marriage perpetuation in Izza local government area?

2. Does early marriage affect girls’ wellbeing and constitutes a violation on their human rights in Izza local government area?

3. Does early marriage hinders development in Izza local government area.

4. Does early marriage leads to poor development in Izza local government area.

Significance of the Study

The importance of this study cannot be overstated, as it will have a significant influence on existing understanding on the developmental implications of early marriage in Africa, and particularly Nigeria.

As a result, the end result of this project would give a clear picture of people’s perceptions and impressions of early marriage in Nigeria. Ideal administrators and sociologists will find it quite useful.

The findings of this study will assist the government in creating and implementing policies and programs that will reduce the threat of early marriage in the country. Furthermore, the concepts presented in this paper will be extremely useful in formulating and implementing relevant judgments and policies regarding the developmental consequences of early marriage as they affect girls and society as a whole. On the other side, the results and suggestions of this study will go a long way toward restoring the dignity, rights, and values of Nigerian girls, particularly in the Izza local government area local government council.

Last but not least, this invaluable work will be of great significance in the sense that people should understand that early marriage is not a solution to economic survival, protection of young girls, peer group and family pressure, controlling female behavior and sexuality, or socio-cultural and religious values, but it is a violation of a girl’s human rights because it denies her freedom, opportunity for personal development, and other rights. This endeavor would also benefit all Nigerians academically, administratively, and socially.

Scope and Limitations of the Study

The research work is expected to cover developmental implications of early marriage in Izza local government area.

This work covers the period of 1990 till date. It will touch some vital events on early marriage which took place in Nigeria and in Izza local government area in particular within the stated period.

The limitations of this work include the following:

1. Finance/fund: this was the greatest limitation or hindrance the researcher encountered on the course of this work. A lot of fund was needed to carry out this work perfectly, such as transport fare, lobbying for interview, feeding, e.t.c as a student, it becomes very cumbersome.

2. Time: time cannot be over emphasized when talking of limitations of this study because it was one of the major hindrances the researcher faced during this study. Thus, this work is one of the courses/works or activities that needed equal attention of the researcher. Furthermore, the researcher being a regular student, he had the engagements to attend such as reading, going to lectures, going for recreation and so many other assignments that equally claim a substantial part of time available to him. Yet it is not exaggeration to say that not less than 40% of his available time was spent on this invaluable study.

3. Respondents: although the researcher got a good percentage of responses to his interview or questions, it was not easy per say for him to convince then (respondents) that the study is merely on academic exercise due to the high level of illiteracy among the people of the area in the sense that majority of their representatives/functionaries does not know the particular year the council was created talk more of knowing the land mass and the population of the council and such recorded data.

Thus, in spite of the above limitations, the researcher could be able to achieve his objectives by prioritizing this study to other of his activities because of time, using of interpreters on respondents because of high rate of illiteracy and effective and efficient use of the little resources in his possession. Meanwhile data collection went smoothly in spite of the above challenges, presumably because the interviewers were hired/recruited locally and known to the respondents.