Changing dynamics of early marriage in rural areas of northern Nigeria

Abstract

The paper examines the changes that occurred over time between Christians and Muslim in rural settlements. The study collected data from focus group discussions (FGDs) with married literate adolescent girls and unmarried non-literate adolescent girls. Christian and Muslim faith leaders as well as a government official were interviewed. The study revealed the rising rate of early marriage among Christians who were hitherto known to the delayed marriage of girl-child above 18 years. These changes have been attributed to the rising rate of poverty. This is because most of the rural families in the areas surveyed regardless of their faith; are polygamous because of the nature of their occupation--subsistence farming which relied on manual labour from the family. Cultural beliefs are still adhered to in rural settlements, most parents viewed girl-child as a problem which if left unmarried, may bring shame to the family: teenage pregnancy out of wedlock which is regarded as a taboo. The paper concludes that there is a need for the cultural reorientation and awareness on how rural dwellers view girl-child. Also, it is pertinent to introduce poverty reduction projects in rural areas and the establishment of schools closer to the people as well as imparting sex education.

Spatial distribution and factors associated with adolescent pregnancy in Nigeria: a multi-level analysis

“…Another possible reason for this finding could be early marriage (less than 18 years) among adolescents, which reduces their autonomy to negotiate for safer sex, increasing their likelihood of getting pregnant in their adolescence stage [ 30 ]. Maigari [ 31 ] examined the changing rates of early marriages in northern Nigeria and found that these changing dynamics of early marriages were as a result of increased rates of poverty in Nigeria, with over 39% of Nigeria living below the international poverty line of $1.90 per day [ 32 ].…”

“…Another possible reason could be the pressure given to female adolescents to marry early and a subsequent expectation of getting pregnant [ 44 ]. For instance, a qualitative study conducted in northern Nigeria by Maigari [ 31 ] revealed that the parents of teenagers believed that when teenage girls are left unmarried, they may bring shame to the family after getting pregnant out of wedlock which is seen as a taboo; hence they are pushed into marriage early. As a way of addressing the problem of early marriage in Nigeria, the Federal Government in 2003 passed the Child Rights Act that criminalizes marriage below age 18, yet some states are yet to institute the policy as at 2020 [ 45 ].…”

Una revisión de los celos románticos en las personas casadas en términos de educación familiar

“…Society and family are always in good or bad interaction. The place and value of the family in the society is determined by the responsibilities it undertakes and the functions it fulfills (Maigari, 2018;Ergin, 2012).…”