Legalities of child marriage in Nigeria: Implications on health and strategies of prevention

Emmanuel A Agege, Ezekiel U Nwose, Stella Odjimogho, E O Igumbor

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Studies have shown that girls with three or fewer years of schooling are five times more likely than girls with eight or more years of schooling to marry before the age of 18years old. There has been global struggle that highlighted the plight of uneducated girls in poor countries as being most vulnerable. The objective of this narrative is to highlight some of the legalities of child or early marriage in Nigeria. Three Case scenarios are presented together with their associated salient impacts that go beside and often worse than sexual health. In this endeavour, the case stories expatiate how cultural differences, religious practices, social orientation and conflicting laws constitute the legalities surrounding child or early marriages. In particular, attempt is made to elucidate the role of peer-pressure and social tension as well as the fact that culture, parents or religions are not only the culprits, but also the girls such as in analogy to teenage pregnancies. Recommendations of strategies for prevention articulated.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1-4
Number of pages4
JournalSexual Health Issues
Volume1
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2017

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Legalities of child marriage in Nigeria: Implications on health and strategies of prevention'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this