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By Akanji Alowolodu, Gombe
An international NGO, Save the Children International (SCI) has made public, reports that revealed Nigeria records one of the highest rate of child marriages globally with 44% of girls married out before their 18th birthday.
The SCI report is coming as the world marks the 2021 International Day of the Girl October 11, every year.
In its Global Girlhood Report 2021, it also revealed that an estimated 44% of girls in Nigeria are married before their 18th birthday, one of the highest rate of child marriage globally.
According to the report which was revealed on the International Day of the Girl, child marriage kills more than 60 girls a day.
It also stated that rates are not likely to decrease as Nigerian girls are living in one of the most difficult times.
It said, the state of Nigerian Girls Report showed that, “as a result of armed conflict, humanitarian crisis, kidnapping, natural disaster, displacement, COVID-19 pandemic and economic recession, the lives of millions of girls are threatened to be pushed into the basket of deprivation, including reduced access to education, nutrition, lack of protection and lack of access to basic social services.
“More than an estimated 22,000 girls a year are dying from pregnancy and childbirth resulting from child marriage”, according to new analysis from Save the Children released on International Day of the Girl.
Inger Ashing, CEO of Save the Children International, said: “Child marriage is one of the worst and deadliest forms of sexual and gender-based violence against girls”.
He also said, “Every year, millions are forced into wedlock with men who are often much older, robbing them of an opportunity to keep learning, be children, and in many cases, to survive”.
“Childbirth is the number one killer of teenaged girls because their young bodies aren’t ready to bear children. The health risks of children having children cannot, and must not, be ignored.
“Governments must prioritise girls and ensure they’re protected from child marriage and premature childbirth-related deaths. This can only happen if girls have a say in the decisions that affect them.” he stressed.
On the challenges faced by the Girl-child in Nigeria, Inger Ashing said, gender inequality continues to fuel child marriage, as revealed in a national report from Save the Children in Nigeria.
“An incisive diagnosis of child, early and forced marriage in Nigeria, according to a survey carried out by the organisation, the belief that children born to young mothers are healthier and smarter is widespread among many communities.
“There’s also a common perception that younger girls “refresh” older men with their ‘younger blood'”, he stated.
