Early marriage increases poverty, study finds [Archives:2007/1113/Local News]
Fatima Al-Ajel
After three years of continuous work distinguished by responsibility and a spirit of teamwork involving 15 government and non-governmental organizations, Sana'a University's Gender Development Research and Study Center reveals a link between early marriage and increasing poverty.
SANA'A, Dec. 17 ) The study highlights the negative effects of early marriage on human development, particularly increasing dire economic conditions and bad health for women.
Tailoring its message for Yemeni society, the study aims to increase support for ceasing early marriage and mobilize the public to raise the marriage age to a minimum of 18.
Hasinah Al-Gader, head of the research center, stated that the study educated approximately 95 percent of religious men and a sampling of parents promoting early marriage, especially in conservative areas, about the importance of delaying marriage, as this is in the best interest of youth and society at large and not against Islamic principles.
On Wednesday, the center celebrated the launch of a book about the study, entitled, “Early Marriage in Yemen,” in cooperation with SHIMA, which is the Yemeni Network to Combat Violence against Women, and Britain's Oxfam organization.
The study done in Hadramout and Hodeidah governorates involved a sampling of areas in Yemen, all representing Yemeni governorates with the same conditions. Sociologist Adel Al-Sharjabi, who headed the research group, explained that only two governorates purposely were chosen.
Hodeidah governorate represents most Yemeni governorates suffering from poverty, whereas Hadramout reflects those governorates favoring early marriage due to their cultural orientations, wherein many citizens believe Islam urges the practice.
Some poor families sell their daughters into marriage as soon as they reach their teens, a fact confirmed by 388 of those surveyed, who pointed out that families often offer their girls for marriage at an early age due to poverty.
Al-Sharjabi noted that poverty is the primary reason for child marriage, while social traditions and values constituted another reason for the phenomenon, as parents prefer their daughters marry to avoid any immoral deviation.
“Another reason for early marriage is the financial situation of families, who consider a source of income and sufficient finances a condition for marrying their daughters, even at an early age,” Al-Sharjabi pointed out.
The study indicated that 1,495 couples revealed that early marriage for women is 52.1 percent, whereas men marrying at an early age comprised only 6.7 percent. Over the past three generations, the marriage age in Yemen has increased from between ages 10 and 24 to between ages 14 and 70, according to geographic district.
For example, in Hodeidah, Hadramout and Sayoun, girls marry at age 8, whereas they marry at age 10 in Mukalla. Moreover, the marriage age varies among urban and rural areas. It was found that the appropriate marriage age is between 15 and 16.
Souha Ba-Sharan, a specialist on the study's campaign and policies, reviewed some of the difficulties the study encountered, such as some respondents opposing delaying early marriage, including some religious men. Ba-Sharan wondered, “Some religious men endorse the argument for early marriage according to the example of the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh), who married Aisha when she was nine years old. When reminded that he also married Khadijah when she was 40 years old, they brushed off the topic.”
Antelak Al-Mutawakel, a researcher involved in the study, explained the poor health conditions wherein young wives face numerous problems if they become pregnant at an early age. She pointed out that most of their first children die or born with problems, whereas the young mothers themselves may die due to bleeding or bearing children at home because of lack of medical centers in their area.
The National Women's Committee and SHIMA recently devised a strategy and an advocacy plan targeting Yemeni Members of Parliament in order to amend Article 15 of the Personal Status Law, which concerns marriage but doesn't define a minimum age for marriage.
The network hopes to pressure Parliament to adopt 18 as the minimum age for marriage – for both males and females – along with implementing a serious monitoring mechanism to ensure compliance with the marital age requirement.
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