Despite the enactment of a law granting women the right to share in family property, Nigerian women still face barriers to land-sharing

 

Despite the enactment of a law granting women the right to share in family property, Nigerian women still face barriers to land-sharing

If a woman is given property in her father’s house, 'it means she will benefit more than the male'

Written byThe Colonist Report

Posted 16 September 2024 

Rumuwhara community land. Photo provided by The Colonist Report Africa, used with permission.

This story was written by Elfredah Kevin-Alerechi and was originally published by The Colonist Report Africa, with additional reporting by Faith Imbu and Kevin Woke. Ikwere language transcription was done by Kevin Woke. A shortened version is republished on Global Voices as part of a content-sharing agreement.

Women in Nigeria’s Rivers State continue to struggle for land despite the Prohibition of the  Curtailment of  Women’s Right to Share in Family Property Law No. 2 of 2022,  an investigation by The Colonist Report Africa has found.

At the time of the law’s passage, the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) stated that the new law would allow women in Rivers State to fully realise their potential and inherit their entitlements while also paving the way for discrimination to be challenged in court.

The Colonist Report visited three communities in Rivers State to assess whether community leaders were adhering to the law. However, we found that some leaders have yet to comply. 

All of the communities we visited were agrarian, with most women relying on farmland to plant crops and support their families by selling produce in markets.  

We discovered that, despite being denied farmland, some women had acquired land for farming or building a house by purchasing it from teenagers who had been allocated land but lacked the resources to develop it.

Furthermore, we found that women are hesitant to share their land-related issues for fear of reprisals from in-laws or community leaders.

Existing traditions that suppress women

In Ogoni custom, every female firstborn is traditionally not allowed to marry but is permitted to have children while living in her parents’ house. These children automatically belong to the woman's family, not their biological father — a tradition known as Sirah Syndrome.

Susan Serekara-Nwikhana, whose mother, Salome Nwiduumteh Nwinee, was affected by Sirah Syndrome at the age of 15, explains:

“In the end, all of these children belong to her extended family rather than the man or men who impregnated her.”

According to  Serekara-Nwikhana, despite her mother being pretty and attracting many suitors, she was not allowed to get married.

“Even though the tradition has deprived the girls of marrying, land is not shared with these women, which they depend on to cater for their immediate family. When family lands are not allocated to them, the women and their children suffer a lot. They have no choice but to buy land for farming,” she said.

Rumuwhara community

Justine Ngozi Orowhu , a farmer in the Rumuwhara community in Obia-Akpor, told us that she inherited 14 plots of land from her father, which she used for farming. However, after he died, community leaders seized the land and sold it to local men because she had no male siblings.

Orowhu had to resort to petty trading to make ends meet. But she later stopped trading after her husband fell ill. In 2014, she sued the community leaders for taking her land, but according to her, justice was never served. She now farms on government land, aware that she will have to leave whenever the government reclaims it.

Her hope lies in a law signed by former Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, granting women the right to inherit their father's land. “If I see an advocate to fight for me, I will reopen the case again in court,” she said.

Chris Wopara, the youth secretary in Rumuwhara. Photo provided by The Colonist Report Africa, used with permission.

Chris Wopara, the youth secretary in Rumuwhara, explained that according to community tradition, women cannot inherit land and men must be over 25 and involved in family activities to qualify. “The sharing of the land with the male usually happens after a year of continuous work for the family,” he said. 

“The government doesn’t have the right to force us to give land to our daughters because the daughters will eventually get married,” said another elder, Fineface Wopara.

He added, “If a woman is given property in her father’s house, “it means she will benefit more than the male. The properties of her husband belong to her.”

Omuanwa community

Omuanwa community women. Photo provided by The Colonist Report Africa, used with permission.

In the Omuanwa community, every male child, even a one-year-old, is allocated a plot of land during the annual land distribution. However, women are not given land for building; instead, land can be leased to farmers, which they would have to vacate after harvesting.

We interviewed six women and two male elders at the same time to gain a better understanding of the situation and whether the community had started allocating lands to women since the 2022 law was passed.

According to the women interviewed, in 2023, lands were shared among men, including kids in the Omuanwa community, but no woman, whether, “single, widow, or married, was allocated a land,” said Florence Ejinya, a farmer struggling without access to land. “In the Omuneji community, there is no more land for the women to farm,” she said.

Omuanwa community women. Photo provided by The Colonist Report Africa, used with permission.

When asked if there had been any protests against this discrimination, the women said they had never demonstrated. Elder Gibson Ajoku explained that the practice of not allocating land to women has persisted since his grandfathers’ time and “cannot be changed.” He added that women are expected to rely on their husbands’ land shares. When asked about the new law granting women inheritance rights, he said he was unaware.

Another community member, ThankGod Ejiowhor, acknowledged the existence of the state law but confirmed that women are still prohibited from inheriting or being allocated land, as well as from partaking in bride price distributions.

Rumukurushi community

Unlike Omuanwa, the Rumukurushi community in Obio Akpor Local Government Area, Rivers State, is located in the state's urban metropolis. The Oil Mill market, a major hub, draws people from within and outside the state to trade a wide range of goods. However, women continue to struggle for land, with urbanization worsening the issue.

Blessing Amam recalled that the last land distribution in 2021 excluded women entirely.

Amam said: “As a woman, if you don’t have a male child, no property will be given to you unless you have a good brother-in-law who will give you some portion of his land for you to farm on.”

Government and rights groups’ intervention

Roseline Uranta, Rivers State Commissioner for Women’s Affairs, clarified that the denial of land to women is a cultural tradition, not due to government policies or laws, which do not prohibit women from owning land.

In an interview with us, Uranta urged women who are denied their property to report the issue to the Women’s Affairs Ministry. She noted that some women do come forward, and investigations are conducted to resolve these cases. “If the situation is 

'Monsoon brides': Extreme weather fuels Pakistan child marriages

Dadu (Pakistan) (AFP) – As monsoon rains were about to break over Pakistan, 14-year-old Shamila and her 13-year-old sister Amina were married off in exchange for money, a decision their parents made to help the family survive the threat of floods.


Issued on: 16/08/2024 -

Shamila (L) was married off in exchange for money, one of a growing number of underage marriages taking place in Pakistan's flood-stricken areas 

© Asif HASSAN / AFP


"I was happy to hear I was getting married... I thought my life would become easier," Shamila told AFP after her wedding to a man twice her age in hope of a more prosperous life.

"But I have nothing more. And with the rain, I fear I will have even less, if that is possible."

Pakistan's high rate of marriages for underage girls had been inching lower in recent years, but after unprecedented floods in 2022, rights workers warn such weddings are now on the rise due to climate-driven economic insecurity.

The summer monsoon between July and September is vital for the livelihoods of millions of farmers and food security, but scientists say climate change is making them heavier and longer, raising the risk of landslides, floods and long-term crop damage.

Many villages in the agricultural belt of Sindh have not recovered from the 2022 floods, which plunged a third of the country underwater, displaced millions and ruined harvests.

"This has led to a new trend of 'monsoon brides'," said Mashooque Birhmani, the founder of the NGO Sujag Sansar, which works with religious scholars to combat child marriage.

Monsoon floods in Pakistan's Sindh province have devastated the agricultural economy and left families struggling to survive © Asif HASSAN / AFP

"Families will find any means of survival. The first and most obvious way is to give their daughters away in marriage in exchange for money."

Birhmani said since the 2022 floods, child marriage has spiked in villages in Dadu district, one of the worst-hit areas that for months resembled a lake.

In Khan Mohammad Mallah village, where Shamila and Amina were married in a joint ceremony in June, 45 underage girls have become wives since the last monsoon -- 15 of them in May and June this year.

"Before the 2022 rains, there was no such need to get girls married so young in our area," said village elder Mai Hajani, 65.

"They would work on the land, make rope for wooden beds, the men would be busy with fishing and agriculture. There was always work to be done".

Parents told AFP that they hurried the marriage of their daughters to save them from poverty, usually in exchange for money.

Shamila's mother-in-law, Bibi Sachal, said they gave 200,000 Pakistan Rupees ($720) to the young bride's parents –- a major sum in a region where most families survive on around one dollar a day.

'I thought I would get lipstick'

Najma Ali, married at just 14, told AFP she had envisioned a better life, only to find herself living at home with her husband and baby © Asif HASSAN / AFP

Najma Ali was initially swept up in the excitement of becoming a wife when she married at 14 in 2022 and began living with her in-laws, as is tradition in Pakistan.

"My husband gave my parents 250,000 rupees for our wedding. But it was on loan (from a third party) that he has no way of paying back now," she said.

"I thought I would get lipstick, makeup, clothes and crockery," she told AFP, cradling her six-month-old baby.

"Now I am back home with a husband and a baby because we have nothing to eat."

Their village, which lies on the banks of a canal in the Main Nara Valley, is barren and there are no fish left in the polluted water -- its stench overwhelms the area.

"We had lush rice fields where girls used to work," said Hakim Zaadi, 58, the village matron and Najma's mother.

"They would grow many vegetables, which are all dead now because the water in the ground is poisonous. This has happened especially after 2022," she added.

"The girls were not a burden on us before then. At the age girls used to get married, they now have five children, and they come back to live with their parents because their husbands are jobless."

'I want to study'

Young Pakistani girls create artwork at the offices of Sujag Sansar, an NGO working to combat child marriages 

© Asif HASSAN / AFP

Child marriages are common in parts of Pakistan, which has the sixth-highest number of girls married before the age of 18 in the world, according to government data published in December.

The legal age for marriage varies from 16 to 18 in different regions, but the law is rarely enforced.

UNICEF has reported "significant strides" in reducing child marriage, but evidence shows that extreme weather events put girls at risk.

"We would expect to see an 18 percent increase in the prevalence of child marriage, equivalent to erasing five years of progress," it said in a report after the 2022 floods.

Dildar Ali Sheikh, 31, had planned to marry off his eldest daughter Mehtab while living in an aid camp after being displaced by the floods.

"When I was there, I thought to myself 'we should get our daughter married so at least she can eat and have basic facilities'," the daily wage labourer told AFP.

Mehtab was just 10 years old.

Village matron Hakim Zaadi (C), mother of a so-called monsoon bride, distributes flatbread to children outside her hut

 © Asif HASSAN / AFP

"The night I decided to get her married, I couldn't sleep," said her mother, Sumbal Ali Sheikh, who was 18 when she married.

An intervention from the NGO Sujag Sansar led to the wedding being postponed, and Mehtab was enrolled in a sewing workshop, allowing her to earn a small income while continuing her education.

But when the monsoon rains fall, she is overcome by dread that her promised wedding will also arrive.

"I have told my father I want to study," she said. "I see married girls around me who have very challenging lives and I don't want this for myself."

© 2024 AFP

 

Chamber pots, shared toilets and DIY plumbing: China's toilet revolution exposes social inequalities

by Deljana Iossifova and Qi Liu, The Conversation

Credit: Deljana Iossifova

Urbanization in China tends to be depicted in terms of towering skyscrapers and multilane highways—the city reaching upwards and outwards. Not much thought is given to the vast, but less eye-catching, urban infrastructure that shapes and is shaped by the everyday lives of its citizens—such as toilets and sewers.

Until as late as the 2010s, chamber pots were still a common feature of urban life in China. Families shared wooden matong buckets or enamel tanyu, and emptied them at communal disposal sites. The waste thus collected was transported to suburban and rural areas for agricultural use.

In 2015, President Xi Jinping launched the nationwide toilet revolution. By 2020, city councils had added 68,000 more public toilets; by the end of 2022, 73% of rural residents reportedly had access to flush toilets.

But, as research has long shown, urban development and access to the modern sanitation it brings is unequal. When a poorer neighborhood is slated for redevelopment, indoor plumbing is often not considered a priority.

Residents in older, poorer urban areas continue to rely on chamber pots and neighborhood waste collection services. And not all newer areas are connected to the municipal sewage network either; some depend on septic tanks that have to be frequently emptied.

Attitudes, too, are shifting slowly. In newer and older neighborhoods alike, local residents often attribute poor sanitary conditions in public spaces to migrant populations. This leads to discrimination and sometimes even intimidation.

Our recent study looks at how sanitation in the east coast city of Shanghai is shaped by socioeconomic inequality. We have found that it isn't just about cleanliness—sanitation is also about power, culture and social norms.

Everyday sanitation practices

Between 2019 and 2022, our research team visited six diverse neighborhoods in the heart of Shanghai, conducting interviews with 54 residents of different genders, ages and places of origin. We wanted to understand how cultural and social norms are embedded within people's daily hygiene practices, and to what extent existing sanitation infrastructure meets their needs. We also wanted to see what inequalities both this infrastructure and people's routines create and recreate.

We found that sanitation practices are not just about biological rhythms, but the rhythms of everyday life. Residents who do not have flush toilets at home have to schedule visits to public bathrooms in between shopping, going for walks and exercise.

In other older neighborhoods, instead of public bathrooms, multiple households in a building or on the same lane might share a toilet. Residents have to plan their visits to avoid busy times, before and after work.

In some older neighborhoods and those slated for redevelopment, people continue to use chamber pots. They empty them at collection stations twice a day, in the morning before heading to work and in the evening before going to bed.

Rapid urbanization in China has brought unprecedented numbers of migrants into Shanghai and other cities from the countryside. The long-term residents of older neighborhoods we spoke to said repeatedly that these rural-to-urban migrants, who are often overworked and starved for time, do not always follow local customs when disposing of their waste.

Some might, for example, cover their chamber pots with plastic bags and dispose of the contents, bag and all, at the collection stations. This has often led to blockages and overflows, which represent a significant public health hazard. As one resident, migrant worker Lou*, put it: "Urbanites blame migrant workers for making public toilets dirty."

In turn, migrant workers are critical of the people in these older neighborhoods who still use chamber pots. In their home villages and towns, this old-fashioned system—which they consider backwards—has long been replaced by private or shared toilets.

Sanitation infrastructure in Shanghai, 1995–2019

Public or shared toilet blocks sometimes lack the facilities women need, including menstrual waste disposal. When Zhu, a 25-year-old migrant worker, was pregnant, she said she felt helpless because the public bathroom was equipped with urinals only, not toilets with seats. This led her husband to install a private flush toilet inside their rented home.

DIY toilet installation—tolerated by local authorities—is common practice. However, these toilets are often connected directly to storm water sewers, which can lead to unpleasant odors, sewage overflow and, potentially, drinking water contamination.

When connected to septic tanks, there are other challenges. Yu, a 70-year-old local resident, pointed to the economic disincentives at work. Instead of emptying them completely, she said sanitation workers seem to prefer to increase the frequency of their visits. Doing so is more profitable.

The shift to water-based, sewer-networked sanitation and chemical fertilizers in agriculture has decreased the value of human waste. Sanitation professionals are no longer interested in maximizing the amount of waste they collect.

Private flush toilets are typically more common in affluent neighborhoods. This has brought about new social norms and hygiene practices. Men and boys are expected to put the toilet seat down after urination for the convenience of women and girls. Parents use toilet seat covers to prevent the transmission of pathogens through children's direct contact with water or droplets from flushing.

Qiu, a 33-year-old man, said having his first child changed the way he thought about sanitation: "My wife's careful selection of hygiene products for our baby made us more conscious of personal hygiene."

As a result of these changing attitudes, hygiene products—wipes, tissues, seat covers—have become increasingly popular. This has obvious implications for the increased production and disposal of (solid) waste.

Even in neighborhoods where people have access to private toilets, however, chamber pots have not disappeared entirely. Yu told us that her elderly neighbors tend to still keep one by their bedside.

This is not only a matter of convenience but nostalgia and cultural heritage. Traditionally, the humble chamber pot—also known as zisun tong, or offspring pot—is an item of value for Han people, given as a wedding present by the bride's family. In a rapidly changing world, it continues to resonate with meanings beyond personal hygiene.

*All names in this article have been changed to protect the interviewees' anonymity.

Provided by The Conversation 

his article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

A global 'toilet revolution' is underway, but it's polluting water and ignoring the urban poor

Fistula and child marriages: The two epidemics plaguing Pak women in Gilgit-Baltistan

Seema's battle with fistula unveils the tragedy of early marriage, urging society to confront the intertwined dangers of child marriage and women's health crises.

Shereen Karim

Published May 3, 2024

Seema, a resident of Astore District of Gilgit-Baltistan, received the title, ‘Woman of the Year’, not for her achievements, but for a fate imposed upon her at a tender age: child marriage. One can’t help but wonder how entering into a marriage contract at a tender age warrants this title.

Visibly upset, Seema recounted her story, explaining why she received the honour. Married at the tender age of 13 and diagnosed with vaginal fistula when she was 16 years old, Seema’s existence has since become synonymous with agony.

Every villager, out of pity for her deteriorating health, would visit her, oblivious to the struggle she bore in silence. With no funds for treatment, her father-in-law had even asked the doctor to give her poison — a desperate plea for relief.

Before delving further into Seema’s story, it is important to understand what vaginal fistula is.

The condition occurs when an abnormal passage is created between the vagina and neighbouring pelvic organs like the bladder or rectum. This can lead to numerous complications, including urinary and faecal leakage, abnormal vaginal discharge, tissue damage, kidney infections, and various other symptoms. Doctors warn that untreated fistulas can escalate to reproductive system cancers, potentially even leading to death.

Seema described the pain to be so agonising that she wished for a quick death on several occasions. It’s a stark contrast to the dreams that typically fill the heart of a 16-year-old girl — dreams of a future adorned with aspirations and possibilities. However, Seema found herself teetering on the precipice of despair, grappling with the grim reality of her life-long disease.

It only makes sense for her to be called the ‘Woman of the Year,’ doesn’t it? Her journey isn’t merely reflective of the far-reaching consequences of fistula but is also a testament to the devastating consequences of child marriage.

Perils of child marriage

According to a Unicef report an estimated 18 per cent of young girls are wed before reaching adulthood [18 years of age], amounting to almost 19 million child brides in the country. The number of unreported instances is believed to be even higher.

As per the National Commission on the Rights of Child (NCRC), Pakistan has the sixth highest number of women married before the age of 18 in the world.

The adverse impacts of early marriage are manifold, encompassing the deteriorating health of the young bride, high-risk pregnancy, and impediments to both her education and personal growth. Moreover, in developing countries such as Pakistan, the unregulated cycle of childbirth places a heavy financial strain on parents, as they struggle to support multiple children, ultimately perpetuating poverty within these families.

Despite tireless global campaigns and legal enforcement in these countries, the insidious practice of child marriage persists. This prevalence is fuelled by a glaring lack of awareness regarding the severe repercussions of such unions, amplifying the issue.

The plight of girls under 18 is particularly dire, as depicted in Seema’s case. Her story serves as a stark reminder of the health complications faced by these young brides face. From debilitating conditions like fistula to a myriad of other ailments, many women are condemned to a lifetime of anguish. While some manage to recover through treatment, others suffer without ever experiencing improvement in their health.

What medical experts say

Dr Sajjad Ahmed, who offers free treatment to patients at Koohi Goth Hospital in Karachi, said that a significant number of women travel long distances from remote areas to seek treatment at the hospital located in the port city’s Bin Qasim Town. This reality underscores the inadequacy of basic facilities accessible to women in Pakistan.

At the other end of the country, Dr Sher Shah and his dedicated team annually organise medical camps in Gilgit, offering treatment and performing surgeries for fistula patients free of cost. While minor cases receive care at City Hospital Gilgit, those requiring more intensive procedures are referred to Koohi Goth Hospital in Karachi.

Dr Sher Shah mentioned how the hospital serves patients not only from across the country but also extends care to individuals from Afghanistan, Iran, Sharjah, and Yemen. Drawing patients from the farthest corners of Sindh, Punjab, Chitral, and Gilgit-Baltistan, including the remote locales of Skardu, Diamir, and Ghizar, individuals recover under their expertise. The hospital has provided free surgeries to almost 40 patients from Gilgit-Baltistan alone.

Despite the invaluable services rendered, the absence of more specialised hospitals for the condition remains a gap in the country’s healthcare infrastructure, he added.

Dr Nazneen Zamir Farooqi, a gynaecologist at City Hospital Gilgit, gets patients from remote areas of Gilgit-Baltistan, including Diamer, Astor, Skardu, Kharmang, Darel, and Ghizar. In many of these regions, the scarcity of healthcare facilities and the absence of skilled attendants during childbirth worsen the problem.

“The pervasive practice of child marriage significantly contributes to this crisis. When young girls are married off, their bodies are ill-equipped for childbirth — a biological reality — as physical maturity is typically achieved post-puberty,” she explained. Consequently, girls under 18 years face heightened risks of complications, and if they contract fistula, their suffering is only magnified.

The impact on women

Throughout pregnancy and childbirth, the absence of adequate treatment can result in a spectrum of deformities in women’s bodies, often leading to the onset of debilitating diseases. Among these, fistula stands out as one of the most distressing, inflicting not only physical discomfort but also profound psychological and social ramifications.

Girls married off at a young age have underdeveloped bodies and fragile bones. If they undergo childbirth before their bodies have fully matured, they are at risk of developing fistula. Similarly, older women who have borne numerous children may experience weakened muscles, rendering them incapable of delivering the baby during childbirth. In some cases, it may also lead them to develop this condition.

In both scenarios, giving birth to a child becomes an excruciating process for the woman, wherein the pressure exerted by the baby’s head against the muscles between the bladder and the vagina may result in the formation of a fistula. In many cases, the babies are stillborn. Without immediate medical intervention, the affected woman is condemned to endure the pain.

What does the Child Marriage Act say?

The Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929, a federal law in Pakistan in alignment with international conventions on children’s rights, unequivocally condemns a marriage involving a girl under 16 years of age and a boy under 18 years of age as a violation of fundamental rights. Although each province in Pakistan has established its own regulations, in the absence of specific provincial guidelines, national law takes precedence.

Any breach of this law carries severe penalties, including imprisonment for up to six months and fines reaching up to Rs50,000, meant to serve as a deterrent against such grave infringements.

As per the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) conducted in 2016-17, the prevalence of child marriages in Gilgit-Baltistan, especially in areas such as Chilas, Darel, Tangir, and Kharmang, stands alarmingly high, soaring to approximately 26pc. Despite concerted efforts to tackle the issue, including the introduction of legislation in 2015, progress has been hindered by opposition within the legislative assembly, leading to delays in its enactment.

While the Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929 is in place, its enforcement in these regions falls well short of the mark. And without a legal mandate imposing age restrictions, many see no obligation to adhere to the law. Subsequently, the absence of robust legislation and effective enforcement mechanisms perpetuates the cycle of child marriages, leaving the issue entirely unresolved.

It’s time to break the cycle

Child marriage is not merely a tradition; it has a direct bearing on human health and development. While marriage may bring a sense of satisfaction for many, it also entails significant responsibilities, demanding mental, physical, and financial preparedness. Experts argue that minors lack the maturity essential for a thriving marriage, posing potential health risks.

We cannot afford the luxury of complacency while the innocence of our children is sacrificed at the altar of an archaic practice. It falls upon each of us, as guardians of our collective conscience, to demand comprehensive legislation that will dismantle the structures perpetuating child marriages.

For the sake of our daughters and sons, for the preservation of their health, dignity, and dreams, we must act decisively. The time for rhetoric has passed; it is now time for action.

Header image — taken from Reuters

Shereen Karim is a freelance journalist from Gilgit-Baltistan. She has worked with local and international media platforms.

63-year-old priest marries 12-year-old girl in Ghana, sparks outrage

THEY OUTLAW LGBTQ+ PEOPLE

BUT ALLOW CHILD MARRIAGE CHATTEL SLAVERY

ByHT News Desk
Apr 02, 2024 

In response to criticism from external sources, local community leaders have expressed a lack of understanding regarding their customs and traditions.

A 63-year-old priest has sparked outrage in West Africa's Ghana after marrying a 12-year-old girl, selected to be his wife at the age of six. The priest, Nuumo Borketey Laweh Tsuru XXXIII, married the child on Saturday at a customary ceremony in Nungua, Krowor.

A groom puts a ring on his bride's finger.(AP) REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE

Footage of the elaborate event of their marriage, which was shared on social media by the local news channel Ablade, showed dozens of community members gathered to witness the wedding, triggering an outcry from several Ghanaians. At the ceremony, women conversing in the local ‘Ga’ language instructed the girl to dress teasingly for her new husband, Daily Mail said in its report.
Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.


Reacting to the video clip from the marriage ceremony, a Ghanaian wrote on Facebook, “Customary wife??? Child marriage is criminalised in Ghana and no rite that violates a girl's rights to achieve her full potential should be celebrated.” At the same time, a second commented, “'There are so many things wrong with this country, and this is one of them!?? How is a 12-year-old becoming a wife in 2024?! Is this some silly joke?”

In response to criticism from external sources, local community leaders have expressed a lack of understanding regarding their customs and traditions. These customs included advising the young girl to prepare for her future role as a wife by enhancing her ‘sex appeal’ with perfume she had received as a gift.

Leaders of the Nungua indigenous community, of which both the girl and the priest are members, have denounced the public's disapproval of the marriage, asserting that the criticism ‘stems from ignorance.’

Nii Bortey Kofi Frankwa II, a prominent community leader, was quoted by Daily Mail as saying that the girl's marriage to the priest is "entirely based on tradition and custom." He further explained that the girl commenced the required rituals to become the priest's wife at the age of six, but this process did not hinder her education.


The Ghanaian government has not yet issued a response to the contentious marriage. In Ghana, the legal minimum age for marriage is 18. Despite a decreasing trend in child marriages across the country, such marriages persist in certain areas and communities.

Iran hangs 'child bride' for murder of husband: rights groups

Stuart WIilliams
Wed, December 20, 2023 

Rights groups are concerned by surging numbers of executions in Iran 

(Ludovic MARIN)

Iran on Wednesday hanged a woman convicted of murdering her husband, whom she married while still a child, defying an international campaign for clemency, rights groups said.

Samira Sabzian, who had been in prison for the past decade, was executed at dawn in Ghezel Hesar prison in the Tehran satellite city of Karaj, the Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) group said.

Her execution comes as concern grows over the numbers of people this year executed by Iran, where hundreds of people have been hanged mainly on drugs and murder charges, including more than a dozen women.

IHR said Sabzian was a "child bride" who had married her husband at the age of 15 and had been a victim of domestic violence, according to relatives.

The Hengaw rights group also confirmed the execution of the woman, now believed to be in her late 20s or early 30s, saying that she was originally from the city of Khorramabad in the western Lorestan province.

Amnesty International said it was "horrified" by the reports of the "chilling execution", saying the mother of two was "subjected to a forced and early marriage as a child".

The office of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights said it was "alarmed" by the execution, saying Sabzian had been forced to marry her husband while aged 15.

"We again urge Iran to establish a moratorium on all executions with a view to abolishing death penalty," it added.

The execution has so far not been reported by media inside Iran.

- 'Killing machine' -

Sabzian was arrested around a decade ago when she was aged 19 on charges of murdering her husband and then subsequently sentenced to death, IHR said.

She had two children who she had not seen after her arrest until a final meeting in prison earlier this month, IHR said.

"Samira was a victim of years of gender apartheid, child marriage and domestic violence, and today she fell victim to the incompetent and corrupt regime's killing machine," said IHR director Mahmood-Amiry Moghaddam.

Rights groups have raised alarm over a surge in executions in Iran this year, with at least 115 people put to death in November alone according to Amnesty International.

"The international community must urgently call on Iran's authorities to immediately establish an official moratorium on executions," Amnesty said.

The British government had called on Iran to spare Sabzian's life.

"Samira is a victim of child marriage... Iran must cease its appalling treatment of women and girls," junior foreign minister Tariq Ahmad said on X, formerly Twitter, late Tuesday.

According to IHR, 18 women have now been executed in Iran this year, including Samira Sabzian.

Rights groups have repeatedly said Iran's sharia-based murder laws -- based on a principle of "qesas" (retribution in kind) -- fail to take into account potentially mitigating factors such as abuse or domestic violence in such cases.

Iran has executed eight men in cases related to the protests that erupted in September 2022 but rights groups argue that the surge in hangings on all charges is aimed at instilling fear in the wider population.

According to IHR, Iran executed 582 people in 2022 but this year's total is expected to be significantly higher.

sjw/ah/hkb


Iran hangs ‘child bride’ for murdering husband despite international calls for leniency

Bradford Betz
Wed, December 20, 2023 

An undated photo of Samira Sabzian.

An Iranian woman who was forced into marriage as a child and being held in prison for murdering her husband, was executed Wednesday despite calls from human rights groups for leniency.

Samira Sabzian was hanged in Ghezelhesar Prison, according to the Norwegian-based group, Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO).

An Iran flag waves at a park in northwestern Tehran, October 3, 2023.

IHRNGO Director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said Sabzian was a victim of "gender apartheid, child marriage, and domestic violence."

US IMPOSES NEW ROUND OF SANCTIONS ON NETWORK INVOLVED IN IRAN'S DRONE PRODUCTION

"[T]oday she fell victim to the incompetent and corrupt regime’s killing machine. A regime that has sustained itself solely through killing and instilling fear," Amiry-Moghaddam said in a statement. "Ali Khamenei and other leaders of the Islamic Republic must be held accountable for this crime."

Sabzian had been in prison for a decade, having been arrested for the murder of her husband.

IHRNGO said Sabzian was forced into marriage when she was 15 and was a victim of domestic violence. She had two young children – including a newborn baby – at the time of her arrest. Sabzian did not see them for 10 years until they came to say their goodbyes at the prison before her execution.

The office of the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights said it was "alarmed" at the execution.

"We again urge Iran to establish a moratorium on all executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty," the office said.

IHRNGO says Iran is one of the world’s leading executioners of women, with nearly 200 executed since 2010. In well over half of those cases, the women – who have no right to divorce, even in cases of domestic violence and abuse – were convicted of killing their husbands.

 

Stalled progress toward eliminating child marriage in India

Peer-Reviewed Publication

HARVARD T.H. CHAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

Friday, December 15, 6:30 PM ET

Key points:

• Using national data between 1993 and 2021, researchers observed that India’s national prevalence of child marriage—defined by the study as marriage before age 18—declined throughout the study period. 

• The decade between 2006 and 2016 saw the largest magnitude of reduction in child marriage, while the years between 2016 and 2021 saw the smallest. During these latter years, six Indian states/union territories saw increases in the prevalence of girl child marriage and eight saw increases in boy child marriage.

• The study is among the first to examine how the prevalence of child marriage has changed over time at a state/union territory level. 

Boston, MA—Child marriage has declined in India—but across the country, one in five girls and nearly one in six boys are still married as children, and in recent years the practice has become more prevalent in some states/union territories, according to a new study led by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Child marriage is a human rights violation and a recognized form of gender- and sexual-based violence. India’s success in reaching zero child marriage is critical to achieving United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 5.3.

The study will be published on December 15, 2023, in The Lancet Global Health.

“This study is among the first to estimate how rates of girl and boy child marriage have changed over time at a state/union territory level. Boy child marriage in particular is often overlooked; to date, there’s been almost no research estimating its prevalence,” said lead author S. V. Subramanian, professor of population health and geography. “Our findings offer a big step forward in understanding the burden of child marriage in India—one that will be critical to effective policymaking.”

Though India legally defines child marriage as marriage before age 18 for girls and before age 21 for boys, for the purposes of the study the researchers defined it as marriage before age 18 for both sexes. Using data from all five waves of India’s National Family Health Survey, from 1993, 1999, 2006, 2016, and 2021, they estimated the number of men and women ages 20-24 who met that definition across state/union territories. 

The study found that between 1993 and 2021, child marriage declined nationally. The prevalence of girl child marriage decreased from 49% in 1993 to 22% in 2021, while boy child marriage decreased from 7% in 2006 to 2% in 2021. (Using the Indian legal definition of boy child marriage, the prevalence was much higher: 29% in 2006 and 15% in 2022.) However, progress towards stopping the practice of child marriage has stalled in recent years: The largest reductions in child marriage prevalence occurred between 2006 and 2016, with the lowest magnitude of reduction occurring between 2016 and 2021. In fact, during these later years, six states/union territories (including Manipur, Punjab, Tripura, and West Bengal) saw an increase in girl child marriage and eight (including Chhattisgarh, Goa, Manipur, and Punjab) saw an increase in boy child marriage.

By 2021, the researchers counted more than 13.4 million women and more than 1.4 million men ages 20-24 who were married as children. The results showed that one in five girls and nearly one in six boys are still married below India’s legal age of marriage.

“Child marriage is a human rights violation,” said first author Jewel Gausman, research associate in the Department of Global Health and Population. “It is both a cause and a consequence of social and economic vulnerability that leads to a range of poor health outcomes. The state/union territory stagnation in reaching zero child marriage that we observed is a significant concern—and is a call for India to reignite progress.”

Rockli Kim, visiting scientist at the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, was also a co-author.

Funding for the study came from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (INV-002992).

“Prevalence of Girl and Boy Child Marriage: A Repeated Cross-sectional Study Examining the Subnational Variation across States and Union Territories in India, 1993-2021,” Jewel Gausman, Rockli Kim, Akhil Kumar, Shamika Ravi, S.V. Subramanian, The Lancet Global Health, December 15, 2023, doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(23)00470-9

Visit the Harvard Chan School website for the latest news, press releases, and multimedia offerings.

###

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health brings together dedicated experts from many disciplines to educate new generations of global health leaders and produce powerful ideas that improve the lives and health of people everywhere. As a community of leading scientists, educators, and students, we work together to take innovative ideas from the laboratory to people’s lives—not only making scientific breakthroughs, but also working to change individual behaviors, public policies, and health care practices. Each year, more than 400 faculty members at Harvard Chan School teach 1,000-plus full-time students from around the world and train thousands more through online and executive education courses. Founded in 1913 as the Harvard-MIT School of Health Officers, the School is recognized as America’s oldest professional training program in public health.

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JOURNAL

The Lancet Global Health

DOI

10.1016/S2214-109X(23)00470-9 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Prevalence of Girl and Boy Child Marriage: A Repeated Cross-sectional Study Examining the Subnational Variation across States and Union Territories in India, 1993-2021

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

15-Dec-2023

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for CHILD BRIDE 

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for BOY BRIDES 

'I feel trapped': Scores of underage Rohingya girls forced into abusive marriages in Malaysia

Malaysia Rohingya Child Brides
Rohingya child bride, B, age 14, sits on a bed in an apartment in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Oct. 4, 2023. B came to Malaysia in 2023 to marry an older man. Her husband wants her to get pregnant, but she says she doesn't feel ready. "I still feel like a girl." Deteriorating conditions in Myanmar and in neighboring Bangladesh’s refugee camps are driving scores of underage Rohingya girls to Malaysia for arranged marriages with Rohingya men who frequently abuse them, The Associated Press found in interviews with 12 young Rohingya brides who have arrived in Malaysia since 2022. The youngest was 13. (AP Photo/Victoria Milko)

KRISTEN GELINEAU
Updated Wed, December 13, 2023

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — In a bedroom in Malaysia that has become a prison, the 14-year-old girl wipes away tears as she sits cross-legged on the concrete floor. It is here, she says, where her 35-year-old husband rapes her nearly every night.

Last year, the Rohingya girl sacrificed herself to save her family, embarking on a terrifying journey from her homeland of Myanmar to a country she had never seen, to marry a man she had never met.

It wasn’t her choice. But her family, she says, was impoverished, hungry and terrified of Myanmar’s military, which attacked the country’s Rohingya Muslim minority in 2017. In desperation, a neighbor found a man in Malaysia who would pay the 18,000 ringgit ($3,800) fee for the girl’s passage and — after she married him — send money to her family for food.

And so, the teenager — identified along with all the girls in this story by her first initial to protect her from retaliation — hugged her parents goodbye. Then M climbed into a trafficker’s car packed with children.

Deteriorating conditions in Myanmar and in neighboring Bangladesh’s refugee camps are driving scores of underage Rohingya girls to Malaysia for arranged marriages with Rohingya men who frequently abuse them, The Associated Press found in interviews with 12 young Rohingya brides who have arrived in Malaysia since 2022. The youngest was 13.

All the girls interviewed by the AP said their controlling husbands rarely let them outside. Several said they were beaten and raped during the journey to Malaysia, and five said they were abused by their husbands. Half the girls are pregnant or have babies, despite most saying they were not prepared for motherhood.

“This was my only way out,” says 16-year-old F, who in 2017 watched as Myanmar’s soldiers burned her house and killed her aunt. “I wasn’t ready to be married, but I didn’t have a choice.”

These unwanted marriages are the latest atrocity bestowed upon Rohingya girls: from childhoods marred by violence to attacks where security forces systematically raped them to years of hunger in Bangladesh’s squalid refugee camps.

Global apathy toward the Rohingya crisis and strict migration policies have left these girls with almost no options. The military that attacked the Rohingya overthrew Myanmar’s government in 2021, making any return home a life-threatening proposition. Bangladesh has refused to grant citizenship or working rights to the million stateless Rohingya languishing in its camps. And no country is offering large-scale resettlement opportunities.

And so the Rohingya are increasingly fleeing — and those who are fleeing are increasingly female. During the 2015 Andaman Sea boat crisis, in which thousands of Rohingya refugees were stranded at sea, the vast majority of passengers were men. This year, more than 60% of the Rohingya who have survived the Andaman crossing have been women and children, according to the United Nations’ refugee agency.

In Bangladesh, Save the Children says child marriage is one of the agency’s most reported worries among camp residents.

“We are seeing a rise in cases of child trafficking,” says Shaheen Chughtai, Save the Children’s Regional Advocacy and Campaigns Director for Asia. “Girls are more vulnerable to this, and often this is linked to being married off in different territories.”

Accurate statistics on how many Rohingya child brides live in Malaysia don’t exist. But local advocates who work with the girls say they have seen a spike in arrivals over the past two years.

“There are really a lot of Rohingyas coming in to get married,” says Nasha Nik, executive director of the Rohingya Women Development Network, which has worked with hundreds of child brides in recent years.

Malaysia is not a signatory to the United Nations’ refugee convention, so the girls — who enter the country without permission — are less likely to report their assaults to authorities. Doing so could put them at risk of being thrown into one of Malaysia’s detention centers, which have long been plagued by reports of abuse.

Malaysia’s government did not respond to the AP’s requests for comment.

M didn’t even know her future husband’s name when she climbed into the trafficker’s car alongside several other girls headed to Malaysia for marriage.

For a week, they traveled through Myanmar and Thailand. After crossing into Malaysia, they stopped at a house. Four of the trafficker’s friends arrived and each selected a girl.

The man who chose M — who looked to be around 50 — drove her to another house. When they got inside, she says, he raped her.

In the morning, he locked her in the bedroom and left her there all day with no water or food. The next night, he returned and raped her again. She was terrified he would kill her.

M was then handed over to another man who drove her to her fiancé’s apartment.

She didn’t dare tell her fiancé she’d been raped, because then he would reject her.

Her fiancé insisted they get married that day. In agony and bleeding from the rapes, M told her husband she had her period, so he wouldn’t touch her.

A Rohingya women’s advocate, who confirmed M’s account to the AP, heard about the situation and brought M to the hospital for treatment.

When M returned to her husband, she learned he was already married with two children. She had no power to object to the situation, or to the beatings, cruel taunts and rapes she regularly endures. She said nothing about the abuse to her parents, lest her husband stop sending them 300 ringgit ($64) a month.

She sits now in her bedroom, her thin frame cloaked in teddy bear pajamas. Dangling from the ceiling is a rope designed to hold a hammock for any babies her husband forces her to bear.

She once dreamed of going to school and becoming a teacher or a doctor. But she has stopped thinking of her future. For now, she just tries to survive her present.

“I want to go back home, but I can’t,” she says. “I feel trapped.”