Many parents here justify their decisions to marry off their children at a young age in such a manner. Premarital relationships are taboo in their community and becoming pregnant before marriage brings disgrace on the whole family.
Extreme poverty is another major factor in the prevalence of child marriage in Niger. Half of the country’s population lives on less than two dollars a day. Niger is second from the bottom on the current UN Human Development Index.
There is also a rapidly growing and extremly yound population. Sixty nice percent of Nigeriens are under 24 yeas old. On average, each women bears seven or eight children. [...]
An increasing number of girls are fighting back. The local aid organisation SOS is one of the first places they go to seek help when they flee child marriage. Thriteen-year-old Chafa-Atou arrived here from here village Filingue four days ago. She tells SOS emplpyee Hannatou her story. [...]
Aid organisations are critical of the government for doing too little to protect girls. Niger has no laws determining a minimum age for marriage. The consequence is that it is tradition rather than the law that decides when girls are old enough to marry - this means their fates lie in the hands of fathers, male relatives, village elders and religious leaders.
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