Ethiopian girls as young as five married off

“Ethiopian girls as young as five married off”

Murgeta, her husband, and their five year old daughter live in the village of Mosebo in the Amhara region of Ethiopia

Source: Aljazeera

Author: Amy Walters

Date: 26 August 2014

In “Ethiopian girls as young as five married off,” Amy Walters touches on the dangers involved in child marriage and young pregnancies. Childhood marriage is an ongoing issue throughout countries, traditions, and ethnicities. Young wives can be found in every region of the world. In Amhara, Ethiopia, girls, such as Mekdes Murgeta, marry before they are even teenagers. Murgeta married at five years old and believes she is around twenty-eight now. Like many young brides, Murgeta is pregnant and afraid that she will not be about to feed her children adequately. In Ethiopia it is illegal to marry before eighteen; however, that does not stop the marriages from happening. There are many reasons why child marriages still occur. Sometimes a young bride is a debt settlement. Other times young brides are used as sacrifice. Often times, parents are just not able to care for all the children and marry their daughters off to relieve themselves. Some villagers may not even be aware if the laws which prohibit child marriage. Some believe that they have not broken the law once the ceremony has ended. Even if the illegal marriage is discovered, young brides often opt to stay because divorced women in Amhara are often stigmatized.

Girls who bear children before they are eighteen years old are five times more likely to die of pregnancy-related complications than older women. There is usually a rush to consummate a new marriage, to show that the bride is fertile. Mugeta said she was pressured by her parents to have as children as possible. Child brides are usually married to older men. The age difference between a bride and husband can be fifteen or more years. Older men are usually more sexually experienced and less likely to used condoms. Therefore, young brides are fifty percent more likely to contract HIV or other STDs, according to a study by the Population Council. Child brides tend to live in remote poor parts of Ethiopia.

Eleven years ago, Ethiopia instated a health extension worker program aimed at educating women about basic illness prevention methods. Now there are over 38,000 health extension workers in Ethiopia. The government has made maternal health a priority. The regional presidents have to audit the cause of every maternal death in their region. The effects are beneficial but women are still dying extremely young. Mugeta lives five minutes away from her health extension worker. There is help available, however health extension workers are not always convenient. Child brides tend to live in the most remote and poor parts of Ethiopia. The poor roads, limited means of transportation, and scarce funds makes it even more difficult for some young girls to be able to access the workers. It may take hours, sometimes even days, for some brides to be able to reach a health facility.

Child marriage, maternal health, and pregnancy are important topics to discuss. Women need to know how to protect themselves and their children (born and unborn). It is important that if you are bringing a child into the world in the best state possible. The themes in this article is education women, pregnancy, and child brides. This article has a neutral tone. The article brings light to the ongoing issue of child marriages. There is also a sympathetic undertone which is felt towards the young brides. Aljazeera is the source of this article, I do not think the source impacted the diction or tone of the article. I am not in support of child marriage but I am aware of it. I understand that it is a part of many cultures, however, I feel that every girl should be given a choice on if and when she wants to get married.