FATIMA is a 28-year-old mother of five. Fatima is from Gawube community in FCT. She can neither read nor write. She wishes she could read and write now, especially as she missed that opportunity of acquiring formal education, after she got married at the age of 13. She was in Primary Five when her parents introduced to her suitors. Though she preferred to remain in school to complete her education up to secondary level, she was pressured and forced into marrying, after which she stopped her education.

Ruth is a 15-year-old from Hunkuyi community in Kaduna State. She now lives with the principal of her school, after she ran out of her aunt’s abode. She lost her parents at the age of six and had stayed with her aunt since then. She took her destiny into her own hands and ran away from her aunt’s home when the woman brought a man and insisted she must marry him.

Ruth has found solace in her principal’s home and vowed to complete her education to the tertiary level before she gets married. The tales of her friends who got married at an early age and who have had to drop out of school ring in her head and drives her closer to her dream. She hopes to be a medical doctor and be useful to her community. Ruth is just lucky to have managed to escape when such children-marrying husbands come calling.

In 2010, Nigeria was brought to near ridicule when news filtered in that Senator Ahmed Sani Yerima, 49, allegedly paid $100,000 (N15.5 million at today’s exchange rate of $1-N155) as bride prize and married a 13-year-old teenager in a ceremony in Abuja. Senators called for an investigation after receiving a petition from women groups who claimed the Senator had broken the law. Civil rights organisations and the public shouted themselves hoarse calling attention to how the marriage violated Nigeria’s Child Rights Act of 2003, which forbids marriage with anyone under 18. But two years down the line, the case seems to have died a natural death, while the teenager lives with him, oblivious of the full implication of what she has been dragged into.

Fatima is among six million girls of school age who are reported not to be in school in Nigeria. About 36 million of such girls are not enrolled in school, according to statistics.

The figures are sobering: Nearly half of all girls in developing countries become mothers before they are 18 years old; and 50,000 girls die yearly during childbirth, making it the number one killer of girls between 15-19.

In developing countries, one girl out of seven will marry before they turn 15 and 38 per cent will marry before they are 18.

Pregnancy is the leading cause of death of girls between the ages of 15-19 worldwide; 43 per cent of girls in Nigerian primary and junior secondary school believe that early marriage is one obstacle that could stop them from achieving their desired level of education, while 67 per cent believe that if child marriage is tackled they will achieve their desired level of education.

And taking cognizance of the menace of the girl-child, the Unite Nations (UN) set aside October 11 of every year as the International Day of the Girl-Child. The first outing this year focused on ending child marriage. It provided opportunity for stakeholders in the development world to give further strength to a campaign that they had sustained over the years.

The UN and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) were at the forefront of marking the day. In Nigeria, organisations like the Society for Family Health (SFH), ActionAid Nigeria, Civil Society Action on Education for All (CSACEFA), the FCT Department of Planning and Implementation and others rolled out the drums to mark the day. They used the opportunity to call on all levels of government to ensure the effective implementation of the free and compulsory basic education for all Nigerian children, including girls.

According to ActionAid, “Government and various institutions must create equal opportunities for the girl-child, starting with giving the girl-child opportunity for basic education and affirmative actions in employment, appointments and access to income generating opportunities that will lead to equality.”

The UN called on the Federal and state governments in Nigeria to domesticate the Child Rights Act and join in the protection of the child from early marriages.

Keying into the theme of this year’s celebration, “My Life, My Right, End Child Marriage,” the UN office in Nigeria and other organisations intensified advocacy on the Nigerian government to protect the girl-child from abuse.

On its part, SFH highlighted some of the issues facing the Nigerian girl-child. The organisation is also advocating that women of every age be given the chance to deliver with the help of a skilled birth attendant, especially younger girls and women.

A statement from the UN in Nigeria recalled that 113 countries including Nigeria had established 18 years as the minimum marriage age for girls while 147 countries have established 18 years for boys.

The global body, which observed how preventing child marriage would protect girls’ rights and help reduce their risks of violence, early pregnancy, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, and maternal death and disability, including obstetric fistula, stressed that when girls are able to stay in school and avoid being married early, they can build a foundation for a better life for themselves and their families and participate in the progress of their nations.

“Globally, around one in three young women aged 20-24 years were first married before they reached age 18. One third of them entered into marriage before they turned 15. Child marriage results in early and unwanted pregnancies, posing life-threatening risks for girls. In developing countries, 90 per cent of births to adolescents aged 15-19 are to married girls, and pregnancy-related complications are the leading cause of death for girls in this age group,” the statement stressed.

UN Resident Co-ordinator in Nigeria and UNDP Resident Representative, Daouda Toure, said in Abuja: “The Nigerian Child Rights Act of 2003 prohibits child marriage and even prescribes punishment for child betrothal and marriage,” urging Nigeria to be in the “vanguard of promoting the right of the girl-child.”

In his message, UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon stressed the place of education as a viable tool to the protection of girls. “Education for girls is one of the best strategies for protecting girls against child marriage. When they are able to stay in school and avoid being married early, girls can build a foundation for a better life for themselves and their families...”

Stressing the place of education in the life of the girl-child, the UNICEF in a statement called attention to the urgent need to put girls’ rights at the heart of development.

“UNICEF is laying the groundwork to end child marriage globally. In 2011, 34 country offices reported efforts to address child marriage through social and economic change efforts and legal reform...

“When girls are able to stay in school an attitudinal change can also occur towards their opportunities within the community. The proportion of child-brides has decreased over the last 30 years but child marriage persists at high rates in several regions of the world, particularly in rural areas and among the poorest. Some child-brides are the most marginalized and vulnerable of society…”

UNICEF reeled out chilling statistics to convey its message that child marriage is not good and must be stopped. “Globally, almost 400 million women aged 20-49, or over 40 per cent, were married while they were children.”