'This marriage is killing me: The Agony of a Young Bride'

This presentation will give a brief background on the practice of child marriage, method and summary of finding in order to analyse the factors leading to the continuation of this practice in Nigeria

While there is widespread agreement that child marriage, early pregnancy and early motherhood harmfully affects general development and education of young girls, the links with cultural and religious value system and the wider consequences on national development have not been adequately explored in Nigeria. This is mostly due to the fact that child marriage is being criticised on the basis of human rights but defended on the basis of cultural and religious values. In most communities in Nigeria, especially northern part of the country, child marriage is not seen as a human right violation. The practice is permitted by culture and religious belief, in a country where customary and religious law supersede the existing constitution of the country. This presentation, based on fieldwork experiences in northern Nigeria will give a brief background on the practice of child marriage, method and summary of finding in order to analyse the factors leading to the continuation of the practice in the region. The focus will be on the experiences of young brides in marriage.