Yemen: the campaign against early marriage

OXFAM Links – November 2005

Yemen: the campaign against early marriage

According to recent research conducted by Oxfam-supported
partners in Yemen, more than 50 per cent of girls are married before the age of
18. Many have been forced to give their ‘consent’ and are often made to marry
men much older than themselves. In response to the research findings, Oxfam’s
partners and allies are planning to launch a campaign to raise awareness of the
negative development consequences of early marriage.

Despite having rights under Islamic law, including the rights to
child custody, inheritance, and divorce, women in Yemen face discrimination
throughout their lives. Traditional practices such as early marriage often have
negative development consequences for women, and these are sometimes difficult
to challenge.

There are numerous reasons why girls in Yemen are married off
early: traditional customs and religious practices; the perception that girls
are an economic burden; a concern that a girl may not get married at all if her
marriage is delayed; and women’s lack of control over their own bodies. The
impact of early marriage upon the girls is negative, but the same is true if
young boys are involved: they suffer too, from the economic burden imposed on
them. On average, however, husbands are seven to ten years older than their
wives. Many girls are forced out of school to marry much older men. Young women
have to bear the health risks that result from early sexual relations,
pregnancies, and childbirth. Many face domestic violence. Deprived of an
education and burdened with several children early on, many women, if divorced
by their husbands, have no choice but second marriages to older men, or
dependence on their families.

The campaign against early marriage is the initiative of Oxfam
partners: national and local organisations which are engaged in the process of
building alliances with others to design and implement campaign strategies. They
have chosen to take a developmental approach to the issue of early marriage, and
its negative consequences for young girls (and boys).

The campaign will work at both the national and local levels to
promote understanding of the harm done by early marriage: as a barrier to girls’
education; as a factor that contributes to higher maternal and infant mortality
rates; as a cause of reproductive-health complications for women; and as a
practice that perpetuates the cycle of poverty. The main aim of the campaign
will be public education, along with advocacy aimed at introducing legislation
to set 18 years as the minimum legal age for marriage.

The campaign will attempt to instil in parents a sense of concern
about their daughters. It will focus on development concerns that need to be
better understood by Yemeni people at large, so they can contribute effectively
to ending the practice of early marriage – whether as policy makers, as
development and health practitioners, as advocates of women’s and children’s
rights, or as citizens.

The campaign planning process has taken two years. So far the
response has been favourable, but it will take many years to bring about a
substantial change in the practice of early marriage. Oxfam is committed to
supporting the campaign for the next four years by providing partners with
technical support to develop and manage it.

Nisha, Campaign Adviser,
Yemen