It is important we put an end to child marriage
The 25th anniversary of the African Union Charter on the
Rights and Welfare of the Child, which has been dedicated to
ending child marriage on the continent, could not have come
at a more auspicious time in our country. Just last week, the
Office of the Attorney General of Kano State withdrew the
four-count charge of culpable homicide punishable with death
against a child bride named Wasila. She was 14 at the time
she committed the crime for which she was being tried.
The story of Wasila is pathetic. Without any foreknowledge of
her responsibilities as a wife, she was compelled by her father
to marry a 35-year- old married man. The agony she endured
when her husband forcefully had sexual relations with her
compelled her to begin plotting how to stop him from further
hurting her. When the senior wife prepared the meal on her
behalf (as is the practice with a new bride), she allegedly
laced the meal with poison before serving her husband who
ate the food with three friends, all of who later died.
While we commend the Kano authorities for discontinuing the
case, we note with dismay that the state is yet to enact the
Child Rights Law, which would have enabled the trial of
Wasila under more compassionate protections. That fact
notwithstanding, the Children and Young Persons Law, which
covers the arrest, detention and trial of children in conflict
with the law, provides some measure of cover, albeit without
the same clarity in terms of age and penalties for offences
committed.
As the law stands, therefore, a minor could be tried for the
offence of culpable homicide punishable with death. But as a
child below the age of 17, even if the prosecution is able to
prove all the ingredients of the offence, she cannot be
sentenced to death, although she can be detained in lawful
custody 'at the pleasure of the Governor'.
As Nigerians therefore marks the 2015 Day of the African
Child, it is important that we put an end to child marriage.
Still in her formative years, a little girl is relocated upon
marriage to an entirely new environment and, more likely, to a
much older man. With such wide age disparity and possibly
hostile co-wives, compounded with the overwhelming
responsibilities of marriage and motherhood that she is ill-
prepared for, the life of such girl is put in danger. Deprived of
education, skills and the capacity for self-sufficiency, the child
bride suffers physical, mental and emotional trauma.
The child bride is condemned to a life of diminished
opportunities, without the hope of ever acquiring the self-
esteem or confidence to negotiate critical decisions relating to
her own life. These sundry challenges merely serve to
entrench and exacerbate poverty, as the woman is rendered
incapable of rising above her abject circumstances. Indeed,
not being in a position to appreciate the value of education,
the chances of her children improving themselves through
formal structures are even slimmer.
It is noteworthy that after a careful reflection of Wasila's
incident and the prerequisites of liability, the Attorney General
of Kano State acted compassionately and within his powers in
applying that the trial be terminated. The families of the
deceased have since been approached and the matter closed,
accordingly.
There can be no better illustration for the campaign to delay
marriage, at least until the girl is educated, mature and
sufficiently prepared for such an exacting institution, than the
death of four men. Wasila's case only vividly demonstrates
the danger endemic in thrusting a physically and mentally
immature girl into an unbearable situation, thereby compelling
her to devise any means of escape to freedom. We must put
an end to such tragedies.
