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.
The Status of Women’s Reproductive Rights in Africa
Posted: 11 March, 2022 Filed under: Satang Nabaneh | Tags: Beijing Declaration, essential services, female genital mutilation, gender-based violence, HIV, human rights instruments, lack of information, Maputo Protocol, maternal mortality, Sexual and reproductive health, sexual and reproductive rights Leave a comment
Author: Satang Nabaneh
Post-doctoral Fellow, Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria
Sexual and reproductive health and rights has been recognized to be embodied in human rights instruments. The achievement of sexual and reproductive health relies on realizing sexual and reproductive rights. This means that States have general obligations to respect, protect and fulfill these rights. Despite these obligations, violations of women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights are evident, including denial of essential services such as obstetric care, lack of high-quality care, access to safe abortion, female genital mutilation (FGM), and early marriage. With regard to HIV infections, the WHO African region remains the most severely affected, with nearly 1 in every 25 adults (3.6%) living with HIV and accounting for more than two-thirds of the people living with HIV worldwide.
Accelerating efforts to combat the rise of sexual and gender-based violence in Kenya
Posted: 17 December, 2020 Filed under: Juliet Nyamao | Tags: #Hear Me Too, #MeToo, #Orange the World, #Times Up, 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, 160 girls project, Beijing Declaration and Plan of Action, gender-based violence, Kenyan Constitution, Kenyan Penal Code, Maputo Protocol, sexual and reproductive rights 2 Comments
Author: Juliet Nyamao
Human Rights Attorney, Kenyan Bar
16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is an international campaign that runs yearly from 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to 10 December, International Human Rights Day. The period is observed in many African countries including Kenya, culminating in a colorful thematic event on the last day of the campaign. During this period, governments may reevaluate their national policies and action plans to completely eradicate practices that discriminately affect women in the community. This campaign provides an opportune moment to create awareness, on a worldwide scale, of the prevalence of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and to galvanise support to curtail its escalation to pandemic proportions.
AfricLaw 