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Child Marriage in Niger Child marriage is defined as cohabitation between two recognized spouses before the age of 18. 40% of women throughout the world between the ages of 20-24 who married prior to the age of 18 lived in Sub-Saharan Africa. Niger has the highest rates of child marriage in the world, with three quarters of the female population married before the age of 18 and 28% by the age of 15. Adolescent marriage rates are five times higher amongst females than males.

Social and Cultural Aspects

The phenomena are largely found in more rural areas of the region, specifically the southern portions of Niger, while some families in the north "sell" young daughters in order to liberate themselves from a life of poverty. Over 75% of the population in Niger lives on less than $2 per day. In Sub-Saharan Africa, those living in the most poverty-stricken regions, largely those in rural areas with low educational attainment, had the highest rates of child marriage and the least likely to use contraception compared to their urban counterparts. Families from impoverished regions may also engage in child marriage in order to elevate themselves out of a life of poverty in exchange for a considerable dowry. This exchange allows families to have social mobility that otherwise may not be possible Child marriage disproportionately affects women as the median age for female marriage in the region is 15.7 years of age, nine years earlier than the median rate for males (24.6 years). The Civil Code in Niger contributes to this statistic as the legal age to marry in Niger is 15 for women and 18 for men.

Child marriage is most prevalent in the cluster of countries between Mali and Cameroon, including Niger. These neighboring countries are all very similar in religion, culture, the fragility of their ecosystem, and overall insecurity.

Religion

Traditional religions pertaining to the Sub-Saharan African region and Islam contribute to the highest rates of child marriage in the country. Many of these religions include tenets that support child marriage and are used to justify such practices. Those who practiced Islam, traditional religions and no religion had much higher rates of child marriage than those who practiced Christianity. Niger has some of the highest rates of adherents to Islam in the world, with over 90% of the population following the religion.

Level of Education

Educational level also seems to be a main factor as 81% of women between the ages of 20-24 with no educational background are married and 63% of those with only a primary education are married by the time they are 18. Countries that have made education more accessible to young women have much lower rates of child marriage than those who do not. Early child marriage negatively affects school-aged children as the union may deny them a right to an education or a schooling environment. However, only 17% of women with secondary educational level or higher are married by 18. Many women in Niger are expected to be wives and mothers, while men are expected to receive a secondary education, contributing to the high statistics of child marriage in regard to women. Those who live in urban areas are less likely to have married young, while those who live in more urban spaces and are therefore poorer have higher rates of child marriage.

Nigerian Law

In Niger specifically, the legal age to marry is 15 years of age. However, both females and males have no specified limit to marry with parental consent. In many Sub-Saharan African countries, including Niger, customary law takes precedence over formal law, without specifying age. Countries that lack clear laws regarding marriage before the age of 18 have much higher rates of child marriage as well as adolescent childbearing. The country has yet to incorporate any laws that require women to be 18 years old to marry, largely complicated by tradition and customs. Countries that prohibit child marriage have a 40% reduction in the rate of child marriages than countries that do not explicitly outlaw the practice. The Niger Government has formulated a plan in partnership with UNFPA-UNICEF that aims to ensure the retention of girls in school up until the age of 16. There is a platform that also works in collaboration with UNICEF, “Towards the End of Child Marriage in Niger”. The initiative aims to compile information about child marriage and advocate for legislation that discourages such marriages.

International Efforts

There have been international efforts to quell the rates of child marriage throughout the world. Girls Not Brides, an international organization advocating for the end of child marriage throughout the world, defines the practice as a Human Rights Violation. The group works in partnership with other organizations to end the practice of child marriage. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child is a human rights treaty that aims to protect and ensure the political, social, economic, health and cultural, and civil rights of children. Every nation is a signatory of this treaty, excluding the United States. The 1990 African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child also aims to ensure the rights and safety of children in African countries, including child marriage. The UNFPA-UNICEF Global Program to Accelerate Action to End Child Marriage strengthens the rights of adolescent females to avoid young marriage and pregnancy and encourages education. The Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW) and the United Nations have also worked in collaboration to spearhead initiatives in countries such as Niger with high rates of child marriage in order to lower rates through international legislation and conventions on children's rights.

The United Nations has led initiatives such as the Education for All Campaign, Early Childhood Care and Development and Universal education reforms to retain and enroll more girls in schools to reduce dropout rates and increase retention. The United Nations believes that high retention rates of women will reduce high rates of child marriage in countries such as Niger. The Forum for African Women Educationists has supported advocacy efforts on research initiatives regarding female education in Africa.

Countries that include child marriage laws that make exceptions such as for cultural, religious, or parental consent basis have significantly much higher rates of child marriage. Clear and consistent laws that outlaw these exceptions would reduce the high rates of child marriage found in countries such as Niger.

Health Effects

Child marriage has a number of health concerns. This form of union encourages the sexual activity of young girls before some are done developing physically and many have a limited sexual health awareness. Many young women who give birth as adolescents have higher rates of death in the act of childbirth, with maternal mortality at 35% of young people between the ages of 15 and 19. In addition, children born to an adolescent mother have a 1.37 higher risk of dying within the first five years of their life. Overall, women who marry before the age of 18 have considerably higher rates of obstetric fistula, intimate partner violence, unwanted pregnancy, and HIV. Women who have married over the age of 18 are comparatively much closer in age to their spouses than their female counterparts who have married before the age of 18. This dynamic presents one in which many women do not necessarily have control over their reproductive health or general decision-making ability in their marriages.