BY NELLY OTTO
ONE of the factors that can help fight poverty in Busoga is to encourage and support the girls to study to the highest levels possible as opposed to forcing them into early marriage when they are not yet ready.
Senior Presidential Advisor on Poverty Alleviation in charge of Busoga, Mrs Florence Mutyabule is concerned that in spite of concerted efforts by the various stakeholders, the practice has persisted.
“…some parents or guardians mistakenly think that marrying their daughters at an early age is an escape from poverty towards economic survival where they send a long list of requirements to the suitors…” Mutyabule observed.
According to a 2022 survey, Busoga was found to top the country in teenage pregnancy, something which has since triggered debates from stakeholders on how to reverse the trend.
A 2021 report released by the United Nations Population Fund (UNPF), Kamuli and Mayuge districts with 6,535 and 6,205 respectively, prompting the leadership of Busoga kingdom to devise mitigating strategies.
With such data, Mrs Florence Mutyabule who is a mother and retired head teacher is now urging all stakeholders to tackle all forms of obstacles like violence in and around schools and homes to provide a conducive learning environment.
“…talk to your children, listen to their fears and concerns but also don’t impose your ideas or views on them simply because they are your children, because they too have individual views…”, she counseled.
As an educationist, Mrs Florence Mutyabule points out that the more the girls stay at school, the more they get empowered and be in positions to grow and make informed decisions.
The message comes a few hours ahead of the now very popular Valentine’s Day which most youth in Uganda use to indulge in reckless sexual escapades in the name of celebrating and enjoying love.
This year’s Valentine’s Day coincides with Ash Wednesday 14 February,2024 which kickstarts Lent, a solemn Christian religious observance in the liturgical year commemorating the 40 days that Jesus Christ spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan.
What You Need To Know About Early Marriage.
According to experts, the term “early marriage” is used to refer to both formal marriages and informal unions in which a girl lives with a partner as if married before the age of 18.
Experts also define early marriage, also known as child marriage as any marriage carried out below the age of 18 years, before the girl is physically, physiologically, and psychologically ready to shoulder the responsibilities of marriage and child bearing.
In most cases, child bearing involves either one or both spouses being children and may take place with or without registration, and under civil, religious or customary laws.
It also refers to any marriage of a child younger than 18 years old, in accordance to the UN Article 1 of the Convention of the right of the child, while forced marriage is the marriage conducted without valid consent of one or both parties and is a marriage in which duress whether physical or emotional is a factor.
Data available indicates that 34% of girls in Uganda are married before their 18th birthday and 7% are married before the age of 15 while 6%of boys get married before their 18th birthday.
One of the causes of early marriage is poverty where poor families sell their tender age daughters into marriage to rich old men either to settle debts or to make some money and escape the claws of poverty that has devastated their lives for years.
According to Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), that provide much of the current country-level child marriage data, child marriage is most common in the world’s poorest countries, including Uganda.
The highest rates are in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia as well as parts of Latin America and the Caribbean.
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