Multi-Country Analysis of Causes and Drivers of Child Marriage in Africa

The research is funded and led by UN Women East and Southern Africa Regional Office. UN Women is the UN Agency dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. As a global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide.  With a vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, UN Women works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security. UN Women also coordinates and promotes the UN system’s work in advancing gender equality, and in all deliberations and agreements linked to the 2030 Agenda. The entity works to position gender equality as fundamental to the Sustainable Development Goals, and a more inclusive world. It supports UN Member States as they set global standards for achieving gender equality and works with governments and civil society to design laws, policies, programmes and services needed to ensure that the standards are effectively implemented and truly benefit women and girls worldwide. It works globally to make the vision of the Sustainable Development Goals a reality for women and girls and stands behind women’s equal participation in all aspects of life. It has invested in its commitment to end all forms of violence including child marriage, Female Genital Mutilation and other harmful practices against women and girls across the globe. UN Women envisions a world where societies are free of gender-based discrimination, where women and men have equal opportunities, where the comprehensive economic and social development of women and girls is ensured so that they can lead the change that they want to see, where gender equality and women’s empowerment are achieved, and where women’s rights are upheld in all efforts to further development, human rights, peace and security.   Abstract This paper is drawn from the findings and recommendations of the UN Women East and Southern Africa led Multi-Country Analytical Study of Legislation, Policies, Interventions and Cultural Practices on Child Marriage in Africa undertaken in 2018. The study focused on Africa as a continent but with a deeper lens on 10 study countries (Niger, Mali, Nigeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, DRC and Morocco) that are among those with the highest prevalence of child marriage on the continent despite their high-level national commitments to end child marriage. This paper focuses on the findings of the study, provides analysis, and draws some conclusions about the underlying causes and drivers of child marriage in Africa and in the study countries in particular. The underlying causes of child marriage are common across Africa, and they are anchored in patriarchal societies adhering to discriminatory gender norms that perpetuate gender inequality. This leads to discrimination against women and girls in all spheres of life, including social, cultural, and economic. It forms part of the structural and systemic determinants of the children’s, girls’ and women’s ecology and how they are treated and valued in the society, both in the public and private sphere. Keywords: Child marriage, UN Women, causes and drivers, women and girls, children, culture, religion, society, families, Africa, Niger, Mali, Nigeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, DRC and Morocco DOI: 10.7176/JCSD/49-06 Publication date:June 30th 201

Multi-Country Analysis of Effects and Consequences of Child Marriage in Africa

This paper is drawn from the findings and recommendations of the UN Women East and Southern Africa led Multi-Country Analytical Study of Legislation, Policies, Interventions and Cultural Practices on Child Marriage in Africa undertaken in 2018. The study focused on Africa as a continent but with a deeper lens on 10 study countries (Niger, Mali, Nigeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, DRC and Morocco) that are among those with the highest prevalence of child marriage on the continent despite their high-level national commitments to end child marriage. This paper focuses on the findings of the study as they relate to the effects and consequences of child marriage in Africa and in the study countries in particular. Child marriage affects the involved children’s (mostly girls) quality of life in diverse, severe and lasting ways. These effects range from biological (health), to social and economic, all of which impact their lives permanently, especially their reproductive health, human rights and life chances as human beings. From a human rights perspective, child marriage is a violation of the rights of an individual, rooted in gender inequality and an impediment to girls’ social and economic development. In the study countries, the societies where this practice is common, exhibited a low value placed on girls and women, thereby perpetuating this as a norm and continually binding them in a vicious cycle affecting both present and subsequent generations. There is a strong correlation between child marriages, unequal opportunities for women, and low social economic development in those countries with countries that have a high prevalence of the practice. It follows therefore that developing countries have the highest levels of child marriages and that child marriages are most common among the proportion of the population living below the poverty line. The study noted that besides the inherent health risks associated with the practice, child marriages also put the girls at risks of maternal mortality, infection with venereal diseases and HIV as well as affecting their education and wellbeing. Child marriages also subject girls to rape throughout their marriage and increase other forms of gender-based violence such as domestic violence, child labour, loss of freedom isolation for the victims, school drop-out and illiteracy. Keywords: Child marriage, Child bride, prevalence, survivors, hotspots, UN Women, effects and consequences, women and girls, children, culture, religion, society, families, Africa, Niger, Mali, Nigeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, DRC and Morocco DOI: 10.7176/JCSD/50-05 Publication date:July 31st 201

The Melting Pot: Trends About Youth Leadership and Political Participation in Africa

This paper is an effort to highlight trends in Africa that are focusing on including youth in leadership and political participation. It banks on the premise that Africa has had its share of good leaders. In fact, leaders in the corporate and non-governmental sectors in Africa have been recognized across the region for exemplary performance and sound governance. Some numerous women and men continue to exercise outstanding leadership in various fields from board chairpersons to community-mobilizers, these Kenyans show and cherish shared values, a common vision, and principles for their country. The departure manifests when it comes to elected leaders and by extension some appointed and nominated leaders. This has further been displayed in the level at which the young leaders are engaged in influencing decisions in their countries. Over the decades Africa has maintained a leadership system that continues to strangle the very energy, initiative, and creativity among young people in the public sector. Accordingly, many young people have been locked on the grounds of their insufficient political networks, inexperience despite their massive skills and acquired knowledge. Regrettably, looking youthful has further been confused with being youth by age especially in the public sector with those between 35 and 45 years old still being considered youth. Whereas at the regional level young people have been offered platforms to influence certain policies and directions such as Agenda 2063 and Sustainable Development Goals including some countries having made some notable feat in youth inclusion, much is yet to be done in securing meaningful engagements in political, social, cultural and economic spheres of life. The paper discusses the good, the bad and sometimes ugly trends about youth inclusion in leadership and their political participation. This is discussed in the context of young women political participation, youth affirmative action normative frameworks and constitutional provisions protecting youth participation in Africa, youth representation in public offices and clarion calls from the youth regionally. The paper then proposes key recommendations by youth, governments and other stakeholders on critical actions that must be taken while appreciating the existence of other recommendations made by other contributors. The author argues that no level of youth development or engagement is effective without African commitment to investing in its youth and that generating disaggregated data necessary to inform decisions moving forward. It concludes that the eventual change expected in Africa by harnessing the potential of youth is, without doubt, the spark needed to brighten the prospects of Africa towards achieving her vision Agenda 2063 and the global Sustainable Development Goals. Keywords: Youth, Gender, Women, Empowerment, Sustainable Development Goals, Africa, UN Women, Policy. DOI: 10.7176/JCSD/57-04 Publication date:March 31st 202