http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=56124:-why-child-rights-act-should-be-reviewed-by-adamawa-speaker&catid=1:national&Itemid=559

Why Child Rights Act Should Be Reviewed, By Adamawa Speaker .
Saturday, 30 July 2011 00:00 From Nkechi Onyedika, Yola

SPEAKER of the Adamawa State House of Assembly, Sadiq Ibrahim, has called for a holistic review of the Child’s Rights Act to remove provisions that contravenes some religious principles.

He urged the Federal Government to forward the Act to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and Muslim bodies to enable them scrutinise the Act and address areas of conflict.

The lawmaker spoke when he received the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajia Zainab Maina, who was on advocacy visit to the state. Ibrahim noted that the Child Rights Act, which had gone through second reading at the state’s Assembly suffered a setback during the third reading when members discovered that some of its provisions contradicted Islamic laws.

He cited a section of the Act which stipulates that “it is a criminal offence for any father to give out his daughter for marriage before the age of 18,” adding that the Islamic principle on the matter provides that a women would be eligible for marriage as soon as she attains maturity.

The Speaker contended that issues of maturity are not determined by law but questions of fact that could be established from the physical attributes of a woman.

Ibrahim insisted that for any provision of the ACT that contravenes the principles of Islamic, the controversy would be resolved in favour of Islamic law.”

He said: “A woman may be matured before the age of 18, there is also an issue of choice. A woman may decide to get married before the age of 18; can you prevent her from making a choice of marrying the husband of her wish before she reaches the age of 18? These are fundamental issues we need resolve.

The Assembly has agreed that there are certain misdeeds in the Nigerian society that can be tackled by the Act such as the Almajarai (street kids) syndrome, begging and hawking by children, which are un-Islamic.

“We will not watch our children being destroyed with tribal marks, undergo Cores mutilation; these are unacceptable to our society.   There are so many provisions of the Act which are good for our society but there are also certain grey areas which we do not agree with and need to be reviewed. This is not about religion but about cultural values that we hold with respect. There is need for a holistic review of the Act.”

The Speaker noted that the state Assembly is already working on the domestication of Convention for Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) adding the women deserve to be respected.

Earlier, Maina appealed to the House to put in place appropriate legislations that would guarantee the rights of women and promote the welfare of children.

Musiwa,.:

in canada a woman between the age of 16 to 18 can get married, if the parent signs a document.

Musiwa,.:

in canada a woman between the age of 16 to 18 can get married, if the parent signs a document.

dayokanu:

See this website

A lot of European countries have age of consent below 18 some as low as 15

http://www.avert.org/age-of-consent.htm

Thanks Dayo . .Linked bookmarked

dayokanu:

Italy 14, Spain 13, Vatican 12

jmaine:

Dayo, that your Link dey questionable oo! . . .Nigeria is listed as 13 . . .

jmaine:

Dayo, that your Link dey questionable oo! . . .Nigeria is listed as 13 . . .

Negro_Ntns:

I see! Our acceptance of it is in reference to whether or not Western Nations are okay with the practice.
I'm sure Islam would have been badgered again, as usual, if there was no North American or European legitimacy to reference.

Obiagu1:

Age of consent should be lowered to 13 yrs. The high age of consent in many countries leads to an increase in the number of g.ays and les.bians.

Obiagu1:

I didn't say marriage, I said consent

Kobojunkie:

So are we suggesting that it is OK for 55 year old men to Be Intimate with 13 year olds then (no marriage )??  Is Being Intimate with a 13 year old or younger, really worse than marrying one? 

Obiagu1:

Before you ask that question, you would have painted another picture. At the current age put forth by lawyers, which is on the average 16 yrs, are you saying that it is now good for a 55 yrs old to be intimate with a 16 yrs old?

The obvious answer is no, there are many factors that'll prevent that, parents, siblings, relatives, community, peers, etc.

It's important for kids to start being intimate at an early age if they start feeling the urge, else they will start experimenting with their same sex friends that are readily available.

Kobojunkie:

So, the very fact that, in much of northern Nigeria, children below the age of 16(the so-called age of consent) are still married off by their parents, siblings, relatives, communities, peers, etc. need not be considered because you have somehow convinced yourself that the above response works ?? These children are constantly taken advantage of by the very people who are supposed to protect them and you suggest that continuing to allow them do so is OK.

What I see you telling us is that it is OK for adults, 55 year olds to take advantage of/Be Intimate with 13 year olds because you are HOMOPHOBIC? 

Obiagu1:

We need to make a distinction between marriageable age and age of consent to avoid confusing the two.

Shimao:

Early age of consent,divorced from marriage; idea of no pre-marital sex is officially buried. I guess people are getting rather#honey# these days. Both early debut and early marriage is bad. Women, though achieve puberty earlier than guys, are never emotionally mature to handle intimate issues until early adulthood, say 21 years. And why no discussion about guys?

Kobojunkie:

Notice my comment was NO LONGER on marriage, so feel free to respond appropriately.

Obiagu1:

There's nothing more i should respond to, my first response was adequate.

If, going by your hypothesis between a 55 and a 13 yrs old, then you are indirectly saying you agree with that between a 55 and a 16 yrs old.

Kobojunkie:

So, the very fact that, in much of northern Nigeria, children below the age of 16(the so-called age of consent) are still married off by their parents, siblings, relatives, communities, peers, etc. need not be considered because you have somehow convinced yourself that the above response works[size=13pt] ??[/size] [/b]These children are constantly taken advantage of by the very people who are supposed to protect them and you suggest that continuing to allow them do so is OK.

[b]What I see you telling us is that it is OK for adults, 55 year olds to take advantage of/Be Intimate with 13 year olds because you are HOMOPHOBIC[size=13pt]?[/size] I mean will you be willing to have your sister or daughter sleep with a 55 year old simply because you are afraid that if she does not, she might develop Same-sex tendencies(please do not respond by lying that kids, when allowed to Be Intimate at that age, will never find themselves consenting to intimacy with older adults)[size=13pt]?[/size] 

Kobojunkie:

I don't think you even read a thing of what I posted there . . .