Child marriages are prevalent in rural regions, and amhara, where yinsa is located, has the highest rate in ethiopia. Despite setting a goal of ending child marriage in bangladesh by 2041, sheikh hasina has also proposed legislation that would lower the age of marriage for girls to 16 from the current age of 18. Community engagement to eliminate bride price, bride. Save the childrens child protection strategy 202015 our approach save the childrens approach is based on every child s right to be protected and cared for, ideally by their own family or in a familylike environment. Child marriage and fertility in ethiopia english abstract. Surprising new evidence on child marriage in ethiopia. How does teenage marriage and motherhood affect the lives. Girls most at risk each dot represents a country in every region, the poor are most at risk of child marriage percentage of women aged 20 to 49 years who were married or in union before age 18, by place of residence child marriage is most common in rural areas 100 80. Annabel erulkar, an ethiopia based program director with the international nonprofit population council, attributed the notable drop in child marriages throughout the country largely to these. An informal union is one in which a couple live together for some time, intending to have a lasting relationship, but do. About 40 percent of girls are married by 15 or younger. We are strengthening communitybased and national child protection systems and we are working in partnership with.
The term child marriage is used to refer to both formal marriages and informal unions in which a girl or boy lives with a partner as if married before the age of 18. According to unicef, ethiopia has the 15th highest prevalence rate of child marriage in the world and the fifth highest absolute number of child brides 2,104,000. Ethiopia ethiopias approach to child marriage is closely linked to its work to end fgm and is guided by a national strategy and action plan on harmful traditional practices against women and children, which was launched in 20. Unicef 2018, while the rate of decline in child marriage in ethiopia has been fastest among the african countries included in the global programme, child marriage in the country is relatively high, with 40 per cent of women age 2024 first married or in a union before age. Time constraints and lack of resources have resulted in this report, which, only touches upon the different factors affecting childrens rights in ethiopia. Child marriage briefing ethiopia population council. Neither victimless nor limited in scope, the crime of marriage fraud is anything but a trivial matter.
The countrys national strategy emerged in the context of ethiopia s aim to reach middle income. Early marriage in ethiopia overseas development institute. Unicefs girls empowerment photo project aims to document the hopes, dreams and aspirations of young women. Researched and compiled by the refugee documentation. Yet investments to end the practice remain limited. At its heart, child marriage is rooted in gender inequality and the belief that girls and women are somehow inferior to boys and men. In the amhara region where selenat lives the average age is 14. The countrys national strategy emerged in the context of ethiopias aim to reach middle income. The ethiopian government has also made notable and accelerating progress on a. In contrast, ending the practice of child marriage would have a large positive effect on the. Coverage and effects of child marriage prevention activities. A 20 study pdf published by anastasia gage, supported under the usaidfunded measure evaluation project, sheds new light on how exposure to behavior change communication bcc affects knowledge and attitudes on cm among parents and guardians in amhara region. Ethiopia has one of the most severe crises of child marriage in the world today.
Evidence from ethiopia 2 young lives policy brief 21 july 2014 child marriage is still the norm in ethiopia where the most recent national figures suggest that more than half 58% of. Ending child marriage is now part of the sustainable development goals. The prevalence of child marriage among hindu people, for example, is in part due to the ancient hindu scriptures that sanctioned them. Jan 15, 2007 rural ethiopia ignores law against child brides ethiopia s government is backing a series of new familyplanning policies, including a ban on marrying girls before theyre 18.
Though i was predisposed toward the ethiopia i had studied since the late 1950s, i appreciated that within its. Marriage can lead to unique changes in the life of an adolescent girl and. Djibouti, eritrea, kenya, somalia, south sudan and sudan. Also in 2014, the au appointed a goodwill ambassador for ending child marriage and.
The principal focus of the study was to generate both quantitative and qualitative information on the current practice of early marriage and to critically examine the causes and consequences of the practice in the. Ethiopias geopolitical realities also factor into the perpetuation of child marriage. Child marriage in ethiopia and its associated human uw bothell policy journal, 2012 11 definition of child marriage what exactly is child marriage and why is this localized, traditional practice a global concern. Ending child marriage in a generation ford foundation. Ending child marriage in africa human rights watch. A comprehensive treatment of the legal and policy framework of the rights of the child in ethiopia is lacking, in particular, for educational and advocacy purposes. In the republic of moldova, for example, 15 per cent of women aged 20 to 49 were married before age 18 compared to 2 per cent of men. Ethiopia recently adopted a strategy to end child marriage, and. The practice of child marriage in ethiopia has shown significant decline in recent years. The international community is increasingly aware of the negative impacts of child marriage on a wide range of development outcomes. The interplay between community, household and child level. Usaid promotes dissemination and use of new evidence on effective strategies for child marriage prevention. Child marriage prevalence is the percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years.
In ethiopia, two in every five girls is married before the age of 18 and this practice is prevalent across all the regions. A girl should be married before she attains puberty, and certainly immediately after her first menstruation. There are few empirical or systematic studies documenting the scope and magnitude of. Ethiopia is one of 20 countries which has committed to ending child marriage by the end of 2020 under the ministerial commitment on. The practice of marriage by abduction and child marriages occur daily in various parts of ethiopia. Child marriage and infant mortality evidence from ethiopia. October 2005 and the newly adopted criminal law of ethiopia. Child marriage impedes girls education the education a girl receives is the strongest predictor of the age she will marry, according to icrw analysis in 18 of the 20 countries with the highest prevalence of child marriage. Metcalfe filmed schoolgirl killer in 1999 in ethiopia, but the institution of marriage by abduction thrives with impunity today. Despite challenges, ending early marriage in ethiopia is. Unicefs girls empowerment photo project aims to document the hopes, dreams and aspirations of. Evidence from ethiopia 2 young lives policy brief 21 july 2014 child marriage is still the norm in ethiopia where the most recent national figures suggest that more than half 58% of all women aged between 20 and 49 in 2011 were married by the legal age of 18 csae 2012a. Furthermore, girls are often married to considerably older men.
Child marriage may cost ethiopia billions of dollars, says. Child marriage is still a massive problem in many developing countries. Ethiopia s approach to addressing child marriage is part of a broader initiative that aims to address harmful traditional practices affecting women including child marriage and female genital mutilationcutting fgmc. Ending child marriages new laws bring progress but hurdles. Christian marriages, mainly in tigray and amhara regions, are often arranged by the parents of the bride and groom with a great deal of negotiation. Marriage to an ethiopian citizen and spousal sponsorship to canada under the family sponsorship initiative is a complex process. Poverty, lack of education, cultural practices, and insecurity fuel and sustain the practice. Most african countries with high rates of child marriage have civil laws that prohibit child marriage and set minimum marriage ages. After a lapse of seventeen years, the evidence on the status of women in ethiopia society is horrifying and shocking to the conscience. New yorkaddis ababa, 8 march 2016 a new multicountry initiative to accelerate action to end child marriage will help protect the rights of millions of the worlds most vulnerable girls, unicef and unfpa said on international womens day. Both practices are widespread still, despite international and national efforts to eradicate. Ethiopia administrative region 14 municipality of addis ababa. The relationship between child marriage and fertility can be due in part to the socioeconomic and cultural context in which girls who marry early tend to live.
Ethiopia is the site of some of the most abusive marital practices, such as marriage by abduction and forced unions between cousins abusuma. Research has consistently documented the adverse economic, social, demographic and reproductive health consequences of child marriage for child brides, their families and their communities 1,2,3,4,5,6,7. Sussex child marriage and infant mortality 21062017 1 29. From 2011 to 2016, the prevalence of child marriage declined from 63 to 58. An evaluability assessment is an exercise to determine the overall readiness of the programme to be evaluated in a reliable and credible fashion and check the coherence and logic of the programme. To address this gap, we use largescale populationbased data from evermarried women aged 1845 in niger n 2764 and ethiopia n 4149 to examine the association of child marriage with overall psychological wellbeing and its subdomains. A number of recent reports on child marriage deserve mention, as they offer new data, summarize the range of programs, or frame the issue in new ways. Unfpaunicef global programme to accelerate action to end child marriage.
Child marriage and infant mortality evidence from ethiopia jorge garc a hombrados phd student university of sussex jorge garcia hombrados u. While 18 is set as the legal age of marriage in the revised family code of 2000, special provisions in the criminal code of 2005 article 649 criminalizes child marriage. Community engagement to eliminate bride price, bride abduction and early marriage in ethiopia by kemal jemal tunne, healthy unions project team leader, care field office in borana email. According to tradition and culture the bride must be virgin when the marriage takes place. Economic impacts of child marriage in ethiopia the seep network. I was p reg n a t, hd olk f m yus b housework, deal with inlaws, and work on. Child marriage and psychological wellbeing in niger and. National context with regard to adolescent girls ethiopia has achieved strong economic growth over the past decadeaveraging nearly 11% a year africa economic outlook, 2015, more than twice the regional average world bank, 2015. Child marriage violates girls basic human rights and brings their childhoods to a swift end. A guide for global policy action makes a strong case for international action, and strengthens the advocacy efforts of development practitioners and womens and childrens rights activists to end child marriage.
A national law requires consenting couples to be at least 18 years old to marry. Sexual, physical, psychological and economical violence against women is prevalent in many parts of ethiopia as a result of unequal power relations between men and women. It is both a symptom and a cause of ongoing development challenges, as the practice of child marriage further contributes to. Contested understandings and practices of female child marriage and circumcision in ethiopia 2 summary this paper explores local perspectives on female child marriage and circumcision in ethiopia. Of the 41 countries worldwide with a child marriage prevalence rate of 30 percent or more, 30 are in african union countries. April 2011 ethiopia has one of the highest rates of early marriage in the world, with one in two girls marrying before her 18th birthday and one in five girls marrying before the age of 15. This work is a result of a series of technical consultations on child marriage. Child marriage is a violation of childrens rights, womens rights, and human rights. This page is designed to guide you through your marriage to an ethiopian citizen and the spousal sponsorship process. The real solution to the problem of marriage by abduction and child brides cannot come from government but civil society institutions engaged in community education and action. This study on the causes and consequences of early marriage in the amhara region of ethiopia was conducted in march april 2006. Ethiopia is a landlocked country located in the eastern region of africa, called the horn of africa, bordered by six conflict ridden countries.
Its important to stress that it is virtually impossible to write a child rights analysis on the situation of children in ethiopia without missing important details. The causes, consequences and solutions to forced child. Revised 042014 ethiopia administrative region 14 municipality of addis ababa embassy of the united states of america ss. Child marriage and fertility in ethiopia english the. Child marriage prevention programs while one in three girls in developing country will be married before age 18, most child marriage prevention programs are smallscale and unevaluated. House of representatives human rights commissions human rights commission. Ending child marriage in a generation page 3 these programs have taught us a lot about where we should be focusing our efforts to prevent, delay, and mitigate child marriage. Improving the lives of married adolescent girls in amhara. In south asia, almost half of girls marry before age 18, and one in six before age 15. Child marriage often occurs in the shadows of poverty and gender inequality, impeding efforts to empower girls and boys and achieve longterm, sustainable development. Addis ababa, may 3, 2018 ethiopias economy could potentially lose billions of dollars annually due to child marriage, says a new report by the world bank and the international center for research for women, which was launched today together with the ministry of women and childrens affairs. There is cumulative anecdotal evidence of the occurrence of such practices just in the past few months. Unfpaunicef global programme to accelerate action to end. Howtoendchildmarriageact onst at sfo p v nt onandp ot ct ont ansfo mha mfu cu tu a no mschildmarriageisdeeplyembeddedinculturaltraditionswhichcanbedi culttochange.
Background besides, the presence of national law, the country has to set up its own midterm and long term goals to bring about a significant reduction in child marriages in ethiopia. Child marriage and female genital mutilation cutting dont just cause physical and emotional pain. Pdf child marriage in ethiopia a matter of concern i. Child marriage is a marriage in which either one of the parties, or both, is or was a child under the age of 18 at the time of union. The issue is more concentrated in countries of sub saharan africa and south asia. Zewde fentaw dances during her wedding ceremony in shumshah kebele, lasta woreda unicef ethiopia 2015bindra. Even in countries where child marriage is less common, the same gender differences are found. In amharas quarit district, it is still common for girls as young as five to be married, but these marriages are purely ceremonial and are quickly followed by divorce. For unifpa 2006 early marriage, also known as child marriage, is defined 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 childbearing. The government committed to further action at the girl summit in. Improving the lives of married adolescent girls in amhara, ethiopia a summary of the evidence background today, there are nearly 70 million child brides worldwide, with an estimated 142 million more destined for early marriage over the next decade. Ethiopian marriages christian marriages, muslim marriages.
Before me, of the united states of america at addis ababa, ethiopia. The legal age of marriage is 18 for both males and females,16 but it is widely ignored. According to the most recent demographic and health survey data from 2011, the median age at which ethiopian women marry is 16. Ethiopias approach to addressing child marriage is part of a broader initiative that aims to address harmful traditional practices affecting women including child marriage and female genital mutilationcutting fgmc. Ending child marriage and meeting the needs of married. Early marriage has profound physical, intellectual, psychological and emotional impacts and reduces educational opportunities and the chance for personal growth for both boys and girls. State department human rights country report on ethiopia 2 described the status of women in appallingly disheartening terms. The survey was conducted from july 16 to august 20, 2007.
Child marriage violates girls basic human rights and brings their child hoods to a swift end. Amhara region of ethiopia, 30 percent of girls who were not in school said that the primary reason was marriage. In ethiopia and nepal, the prevalence of child marriage declined substantially 20 per cent. Jun 19, 2015 early marriage and pregnancy are challenges faced by many teenage girls in ethiopia. The impact and cost of child marriage prevention in rural. Researched and compiled by the refugee documentation centre of ireland on 29 august 2011. Karin heissler unicef ethiopia, mini bhaskar unicef ethiopia, majorie kaandorp. New evidence on child marriage prevention in ethiopia usaid. The 2007 emes is the first largescale household survey in ethiopia to provide populationbased estimates on levels of exposure to early marriage prevention messages and their influence on knowledge, attitudes, and skills conducive to delaying marriage. Jessica lea dfid bayush lives about an hours drive from selenats village. If traditional marriages are recognised in ethiopia without the need for a civil ceremony or registration process 3.
Ethiopia s ethnic and religious diversity means child marriage assumes a wide variety of forms. Child marriage is most prevalent in south asia and sub saharan africa and in some parts of latin america, the caribbean and the middle east unicef, 2017. Ending child marriage in africa i faced a lot of problems in marriage. Engaging in this fraud and trading americas security for financial gain is a. In 2004 ethiopia signed, but has not yet ratified, the african charter on human and peoples rights on the rights of women in africa, including article 6 which sets the minimum age for marriage as 18.
Harmful traditional practices and child protection ethiopia. Marrying and sponsoring an ethiopian citizen immigroup we. Early marriage and pregnancy are challenges faced by many teenage girls in ethiopia. Addis ababa, may 3, 2018 ethiopia s economy could potentially lose billions of dollars annually due to child marriage, says a new report by the world bank and the international center for research for women, which was launched today together with the ministry of women and childrens affairs. This paper looks at two factors that may have an impact on the risk of divorce in ethiopia. But when she was 14, her uncle who was raising her, told her she was too old for school. The the causes, consequences and solutions to causes, consequences and solutions tocauses, consequences and solutions to forced forced forced child marriage child marriage child marriage in the developing worldin the developing world testimony submitted to u. Ethiopia as a nation, defining it as an obsolete empirestate, a prison house of peoples. Introduction child marriage refers to any marriage of a child younger than eighteen years old, in accordance to article 1 of the convention of the right of the child. Ethiopia is at one end of the continuum from criminalization to noncriminalization in the legal approach to child marriage in africa. Child marriage norms in contexts of crisis, conflict and migration 9. Ethiopias progress is strong compared to other countries in eastern and southern africa.
Early marriage in south wollo and east gojjam zones of the. Fortyfive per cent of first marriages in ethiopia end in divorce within 30 years, and twothirds of women who divorce do so within the first 5 years of marriage. The unfpaunicef global programme to accelerate action to end child marriage is being supported by canada, the european union, italy, netherlands, and the uk. Pdf the incidence of child marriage is not only in nepal but also in the world. The practice of child marriage in ethiopia has shown significant. This study investigated the prevalence of early marriage in south wollo and east gojjam zones of the amhara region in ethiopia. Whether a talaq pronounced by a wife in an adjoining country. Jul 18, 2018 ethiopia has one of the highest rates of early marriage in subsaharan africa. Ending child marriage united nations population fund. Zewde fentaw dances during her wedding ceremony in shumshah kebele, lasta woreda unicef ethiopia2015bindra.
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