The backbone of marriage is mutual adult consent and agreement. It is an agreement between two adults on an emotional, physical and mental level. But, it is worrisome to learn that Africa has a high rate of child marriages.
It was terrific reading horrifying comments of Elina V., a 15-year-old girl who was forced to marry a 24-year-old man in Mangochi district of Malawi. How can the girl child grasp the concept of marriage and then apply emotional, physical, and mental awareness to the process? It is a sad reality in Africa that the basic human rights of the girl child are exploited in such a manner.
According to records, 54.0 percent of women in Sub-Saharan Africa have been married as children, with substantial differences between countries ranging from 16.5 percent to 81.7 percent. The prominent countries in child marriage are Niger (81.7%), Chad (77.9%), Guinea (72.8%), Mali (69.0%) and Nigeria (64.0%). These figures are worrisome because a record of 54% in sub-Saharan Africa alone represents half the female population being married off prematurely…..
To read more, check full article on Rational Standard.