By Adeyemi Adekunle
To tackle the pervasive issue of child marriage, the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) is set to host a groundbreaking Twitter Spaces event. This event, scheduled for tomorrow thursday by 3:00 PM WAT will draw vital lessons from Sierra Leone’s recent legislative strides to curb child marriage, aiming to inspire similar progress in Nigeria.
The event, part of CJID’s Media in Gender Project, promises a rich dialogue featuring experts from various fields who will address the legal, psychological, and advocacy dimensions of child marriage. This initiative comes at a critical time, as child marriage remains a significant gender-based violence issue in Nigeria, with devastating consequences for young girls’ health, education, and social well-being.
Despite existing laws like the Child Rights Act 2003 and the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act (VAPP), child marriage persists at alarming rates in Nigeria. According to Girls Not Brides, 30.3% of Nigerian girls marry before their 18th birthday, and 12.3% marry before age 15. These statistics underscore the urgent need for more effective measures and robust advocacy to combat this harmful practice.
Sierra Leone’s recent enactment of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2024, signed into law by President Julius Maada Bio on July 2, 2024, serves as a beacon of hope. This landmark legislation criminalizes marriage for anyone under 18, imposing strict penalties on offenders, including a minimum jail term of 15 years or a fine of approximately $4,000. This law aims to protect girls from a practice that violates their rights and hinders their development.
CJID’s Twitter Spaces event will delve into how Nigeria can emulate Sierra Leone’s legislative progress to bolster its fight against child marriage. Emmanuella Azu, Programme Manager at the Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC), will discuss the legal aspects of the issue, highlighting key provisions of Sierra Leone’s law and offering recommendations for strengthening Nigeria’s legislative framework.
Kenneth Anetor, Executive Director of A New Thing International Foundation, will address the psychological impacts of child marriage, elaborating on how it affects the mental health and overall development of young girls. He will also discuss community awareness and education’s role in mitigating these impacts, drawing on successful interventions that can be adapted to the Nigerian context.
From the advocacy perspective, Amina Bintu Muhammad, Team Lead at Connect Hands for Family Health and Empowerment Initiative (CHAFHEIN), will share insights into effective advocacy strategies that have been implemented in other countries and can be tailored for Nigeria. She will emphasize the need for stronger enforcement of existing laws and collaborative efforts among communities, NGOs, and government bodies to address child marriage effectively.
This event aims to facilitate a meaningful dialogue among policymakers, activists, community leaders, and the general public. By highlighting the prevalence and impact of child marriage in Nigeria and exploring successful strategies from Sierra Leone, CJID hopes to inspire actionable steps to protect Nigerian girls’ rights and well-being.
Deputy Director of CJID’s Journalism Programme, Busola Ajibola, expressed optimism about the event’s potential impact. “This discussion is crucial for sparking the changes needed to end child marriage in Nigeria. By learning from Sierra Leone’s legislative success, we can develop stronger, more effective strategies to safeguard our girls’ futures,” she stated.
The event is expected to ignite a renewed commitment to ending child marriage in Nigeria, paving the way for a future where every girl can enjoy her rights and achieve her full potential.
