Consequences of Child Marriage on the Girl-Child’s Right to Health in South Sudan
Posted: 2 January, 2025 Filed under: Akot Makur Chuot, Yeabsira Teferi | Tags: African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Charter), basic human right, Child Act, child marriage, contraceptives, Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), customary courts, gender-based violence, girl-child, girl-child’s right to health, Harmful practices, international human rights law, international instruments, lack of knowledge, legal obligation, Maputo Protocol, Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women’s Rights in Africa, right to health, right to life, sexual and reproductive rights, South Sudan, Transitional Constitution of the Republic of South Sudan 3 Comments
Author: Akot Makur Chuot
Assistant Lecturer, School of Law, University of Juba, South Sudan
Introduction
Being born a girl in South Sudan is akin to being ‘born a problem.’ I derived this phrase from the article by Marry Ellsberg and others titled, ‘ If You Are Born a Girl in This Crisis, You Are Born a Problem….’ This sums up the dire situation a girl-child faces in South Sudan. Among the many egregious human rights violations experienced by the girl-child in South Sudan is child marriage. This practice has shattered the dreams and lives of many young girls. The rate at which child marriage is negatively affecting the health of the girl-child is alarming and calls for swift action from stakeholders. This is a moral and legal obligation.
With this context in mind this article examines the negative consequences of child marriage on the girl-child’s right to health, assesses the steps South Sudan has taken to curb the phenomenon, and explores the loopholes in the laws and policies.
Perpetuating Patriarchy via Polygamy: Gaps in Legal Pluralism, the case of Afar and Somali regions of Ethiopia
Posted: 15 March, 2024 Filed under: Rehim Baharu Elala | Tags: child marriage, Civil Code, Deputy Chief Commissioner for Women and Children Affairs, discrimination against women, Ethiopian Constitution, Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC), family relations, Federal Family Law, fundamental rights, Harmful practices, human rights, human rights violations, polygamy, right to equality, right to health, the right to bodily integrity, traditional practices, women’s marital rights, women’s rights Leave a comment
Author: Rehim Baharu Elala
Human rights attorney and women’s rights advocate
A Somali man should at least have three wives: one to raise the children; a second woman for the housework; and a third one whom he can beat as a warning to the others – An old Somali proverb
The above proverb reflects the societal mindset towards polygamy and the wrong perception towards women’s marital rights. This is besides the cultural and religious influences on women to engage in polygamous marriage both in the Afar and Somali regions. Inequality in the family underlines all other aspects of discrimination against women and is often justified in the name of custom or religion. To eliminate discrimination against women in all matters relating to marriage and family relations, states are expected to take all appropriate measures.[1]
The 1995 Ethiopian Constitution guarantees equal rights for women with men in marital, personal, and family matters under article 34. The frequent mention of equality of men and women in all family relations arises from the need to combat traditional practices based on customary or religious notions that perpetuate discrimination against women.[2]
Towards eradicating female genital mutilation in Nigeria
Posted: 3 September, 2021 Filed under: Dunia Mekonnen Tegegn | Tags: abuse, abuse of women, Africa, child marriage, clitoris, cultural relativism, domestic violence, federal law, female genital mutilation, fgm, FGM/C, fistula, GBV, gender-based violence, Harmful practices, harmful traditional practices, human rights, indigenous areas, international call, maternal mortality, Nigeria, protection, psychological violence, sexual violence, socioeconomic violence, traditional circumcisers, Type II, vagina, violence, women's rights Leave a comment
Author: Dunia Mekonnen Tegegn
Human Rights Lawyer and Gender equality advocate
Nigeria is home to over 180 million people, 49.4% of whom are female. Along with the rest of the population, the Nigerian female population will experience dramatic increases in size by 2050. As far as violence against women is concerned, federal law addresses sexual violence, physical violence, psychological violence, harmful traditional practices, and socio-economic violence. The law also cites spousal battery, forceful ejection from the home, forced financial dependence or economic abuse, harmful widowhood practices, female genital mutilation/cutting (“FGM/C”), other harmful traditional practices, substance attacks (such as acid attacks), political violence, and violence by state actors (especially government security forces) as offenses.
A 2019 survey on domestic violence found that 47% of respondents had suffered from domestic violence or knew someone who had; 82% of respondents indicated that violence against women was prevalent in the country. Police often refused to intervene in domestic disputes or blamed the victim for provoking the abuse. In rural areas, courts, and police were reluctant to intervene to protect women who formally accused their husbands of abuse if the level of alleged abuse did not exceed local customary norms.
Effectiveness of intervention measures to address female genital mutilation in Ethiopia: A discussion
Posted: 14 May, 2019 Filed under: Henok Ashagrey | Tags: bodily harm, Children and Youth’s Affairs, children's rights, Constitution of Ethiopia, Criminal Code of Ethiopia, cultural practice, Ethiopia, female genital mutilation, fgm, harmful customs, Harmful practices, infibulation, Ministry of Women, North Shewa, rights of children, violations, violence against women, women's rights Leave a comment
Author: Henok Ashagrey
Legal Researcher at the Secretariat of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child
Despite certain signs of progress, interventions to address harmful practices in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (Ethiopia) are still ineffective. To be effective, these interventions require more inclusivity, stronger cooperation between levels of government, and a focus on changing societal values.
Harmful practices are a principal factor in the violations of women’s rights in Ethiopia. For example, in the North Shewa rural region in the North of Ethiopia, where I come from, harmful practices against women and girls, particularly female genital mutilation (FGM), are accepted as valid cultural practice. The practitioners of FGM justify their acts on religious and cultural grounds.
AfricLaw 