In the mid 1980s, somewhere in the Southern part of Edo state, a particular girl who now resides in the village as a woman and grandmother was highly revered by this writer and others for her brilliancy in academic works. Unfortunately, midway into her secondary education, she was forced into an early marriage by her parents despite the promising future that literarily radiated all over her by virtue of her studious disposition.
As fate would have it, her father who was widely fingered as the brain behind the matchmaking that led to her early marriage ostensibly on the grounds that the suitor was comparatively rich, vehemently rebuffed the counsels and advice that were extended to him by his close friends and relatives.
In as much as I may not in this context lay claim to having the power of retaining a detailed memory of the past or being a perfect raconteur, I can recall that her father made enough enemies from the somewhat destiny-killing marriage arrangement which she was forced into.
Today, the unfortunate incident has become a lesson for others to learn from. It is sad to note that if the girl (who is now a grandmother) was allowed to complete her secondary education and given the opportunity to progress to a tertiary institution, there is no denying the fact that she would have by now been in the same social class with the likes of many female professionals in the noble fields of law, journalism, engineering, medicine and what have you. Her sad story is not an isolated case as many grannies today that were in their teenage or youthful days denied educational opportunities have similar sad stories to tell.
There is no denying the fact that the foregoing view indicates that not only was her fundamental human rights violated, her access to education which would have helped in shaping her life and status to a far better position than she is now was disrupted. Again, her health may have deteriorated at a particular stage in her matrimonial life as a result of early marriage which usually results to undue health challenges.
To further buttress the foregoing view, it is germane to make reference to the speech delivered by the High Commissioner of Canada in Nigeria, Christopher Thornley at the opening ceremony of a photo narrative exhibition titled, “Girls Voices: Speaking out against child marriage”, organized in partnership with “Girls Not Brides”, held in Abuja some few weeks back. In the Speech, he was quoted in the media to have said that “Child marriage is a violation of girls’ rights and it disrupts their access to education, jeopardizes their health and makes them vulnerable to violence. It also keeps girls from reaching their full potential and from fully contributing to the social and economic growth of their families, communities and countries.”
According to media reports, Thornly disclosed at the event that Canada would make a donation of $6.5million to the Girl-Child in Nigeria towards the funding of projects in support of the development of Nigerian girls. Worthy to be recalled in this context is what I experienced at Mushin some 20 years ago or thereabout. Whilst residing at Mushin, Lagos some years ago, I was wont to hear the sound of slaps, blows and even lashes by each passing day landing on the back and face of a supposedly under-aged mother that was no doubt circumstantially forced into early marriage. Her plight was so obvious then that the level of naivety she displayed in matrimony was pitiable.
There is no denying the fact that the recollection of the foregoing true life story that occurred for more than 20 years now may sound like a folk tale to many readers of this piece. However, it is not an exaggeration to say that the marriage was unarguably hellish as the husband was popularly known in the neighborhood to be a drug addict. For the umpteenth time, offensive smelling smoke was noted to have intermittently swirled through his windows to the adjacent compound where I once lived. To cut the story short, the wife, whose dowry he never paid for as it was then bandied about by his neighbors was literarily turned to a punching bag. The marriage, no doubt, was characterized by violence.
The violent practice then became almost a ritual that neighbors became worried whilst those who knew the obviously under-aged married girl’s family members quickly alerted them of the unholy matrimonial development which their daughter was then experiencing.
To me, the marriage was endured but not enjoyed. It was unarguably the type of marriage that would make a girl that is nubile to ironically loathe marriage, sigh and conclude by saying “It is better for me to remain unmarried if this is what marriage is all about.”
The essence of recalling the foregoing stories in this context cannot be farfetched when viewed from the perspective of the fact the government at its tiers, and virtually all the Non Governmental Organizations whose objectives are devoted to the collective cause of discouraging parents from forcing the Girl-Child into early marriage are seemingly not doing enough in that regard. To my view, it appears that all efforts toward the creation of awareness and consciousness, if any, on the evils that are inherent in early marriage have not been revved up to meet societal expectation.
Against the foregoing backdrop, it is little wonder that many Nigerians were not in the least flabbergasted to read in the newspapers that the Emir of Katsina, Alhaji Adulmumin Kabir allegedly abducted and married 14 year old Habiba Isiyaku. Even though the alleged involvement of the emir in the abduction was vehemently denied, it is expedient that Nigerians, particularly parents and custodians of Nigerian traditions and customs should always have it at the back of their minds that section 21 of the Child Rights Act in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria says that the act prohibited the marriage of a minor and any marriage so contracted was null and void. In the same vein, they should not forget that “Section 27 of the Child Rights Act stipulates that “No person shall remove or take a child out of the custody or protection of his father or mother or guardian against the will of the father or mother, or guardian”. Despite the existence of the foregoing extant laws, some Nigerians who I may conveniently call pedophiles in this piece seem not to be tired of dragging their reputations into the quagmire of early marriage. The case of Ese Oruru still rings bell in the public domain even as I write this piece.
There is no blinking the fact that when it comes to the evil of forcing the Girl-Child into early marriage that the misogynists in this part of the world literarily has a valid claim to fame in the hall of shame! Those who are unashamedly responsible for the perpetration of the evils of forcing the Girl-Child into forced marriage in the country today are no doubt those that erroneously think that women are inferior to men. If I may ask those in the Christendom, “Do the scriptures truly say women are inferior to men?” I will emphatically answer the question by saying a capital NO before buttressing the points that served as the basis for the answer.
To buttress my points on the foregoing submission, the book of Genesis chapter 1 verse 27 says men and women are equal before God since they are both made in His image. In the same vein, Christian men and women are equal before God because they are “One in Christ” according to Galatians chapter 3 verse 28.
Against the foregoing backdrop there is no scintilla of justification for anyone to think that the Girl-Child is inferior to the extent that she should be subjected to early marriage, and without her consent.
Without the attempt to sound sanctimonious in this context, it stands to reason that with the somewhat indelible footprints which women like Hillary Clinton, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Senator Oluremi Tinubu are leaving on the sands of global politics that it would not be wrong to conclude this piece by saying that it is utterly foolhardy for anyone to be seeing women as irrelevant factor in the gender equation of humanity.
To me, it is high time parents, neighbors, NGOs and governments begin to sensitize parents and traditionalists of the dangers that are inherent in giving out the Girl-Child for marriage. They should be told that despite the fact that God commanded that what He has joined together that no man should put asunder that God Himself is against the marriage that is set to jeopardize the future of his creation. To conclude this piece, let it be known that Girl-Child’s early marriage is worth putting asunder to.
Isaac Asabor, a Journalist, writes from Lagos.
