Turkana leaders raise alarm over rise in child marriages
Nominated MCA Zainab Lokaale speaks to journalists in Lodwar town. She has attributed increased cases of child marriages to poverty brought about by a prolonged period of drought.
What you need to know:
- Nominated MCA Zainab Lokaale has said the prolonged drought has left most Turkana families poor, rendering underage girls vulnerable to early or forced marriages.
- A Unicef survey reveals that 32 per cent of Turkana women aged between 20 and 49 were married before the age of 18.
Women leaders in Turkana County have raised an alarm over increased cases of child marriages among the pastoralists.
Led by Nominated MCA Zainab Lokaale, the leaders said the prolonged drought has left most families poor, rendering underage girls vulnerable to early or forced marriages to rescue their families from starvation.
Ms Lokaale said bride wealth for girls aged below 18 years, was now a safety net for poor families who don't have any source of livelihood, apart from unreliable relief food supplies.
"It is sad that elders with large numbers of livestock target their poor and illiterate peers whose desperation and vulnerability automatically facilitate marriage of girls as young as 12 years," she said.
She explained that such young girls despite being married off to men old enough to be their grandfathers and have several wives, are mostly widowed after eight years.
Household chores
“Because the old man paid full bride price to her parents, the girl is subjected to sexual harassment from the husband's sons and grandsons as she can't culturally be married to any other man. Her co-wives also exploit her with many household chores, “Ms Lokaale said.
The MCA said girls in child marriages are denied their constitutional right to education, urging law enforcers and local administrators to step up the war on child marriages by ensuring such men are prosecuted.
Forum for African Women Educationalists - Kenya (Fawe-K) Project officer Monicah Mararo, said despite the vice being rampant among pastoral communities, there was no adequate data to inform workable action plan as many cases go unreported.
She said the organization, through a recent case study, found that the culture of beading girls at a tender age fuelled child marriages.
“We established that a man with more than four beaded daughters is considered rich immediately he gets suitors for them just like a case where a beaded 12-year-old girl was married off for 250 goats, 138 cows and 38 camels," she said.
Quality education
Ms Mararo said Fawe-K has formed a working group that comprises women's rights organizations, policymakers and relevant government stakeholders to facilitate safe and quality education for Turkana girls, and tackle child marriages.
Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey by Unicef, reveals that 32 per cent of Turkana women aged between 20 and 49 were married before the age of 18, while 14 per cent of 15-19 year-olds are married. Almost 10 per cent were married before the age of 15.
The same survey reveals that out of every 1,000 women in Turkana, 102 had given birth by the age of 19.
