PROJECT
Nigeria: Addressing Child Marriage
in Northern Nigeria

In northern Nigeria, 45 percent of girls are married by age 15, and 73 percent are married by age 18. To understand more about child marriage in this region and learn about the experience from girls themselves, Council researchers performed secondary data analysis of a nationally representative survey (the Demographic and Health Survey) and conducted in-depth interviews with girls and young women in the region.

This research revealed that the vast majority of child marriages were arranged by families. The spouses of these child brides were considerably older—husbands were an average of 12 years older than their wives; this age difference increased to 18 years for those in polygynous marriages.

Men made the vast majority of decisions in the household, regarding not only major life issues such as large purchases, but also more mundane matters such as daily purchases and meals. Sexual debut was often unwanted and traumatic for these young brides. One girl recalled:

The first time I had sex with my husband, I felt serious pains and was bleeding. I had to tell my auntie and she gave me some medicine. Then I told her that I will never allow him to do that to me again. My auntie told me that if I stop after the first time, the wound will never heal. At that time my husband was a stubborn man and anytime he came to have sex with me, I just started crying. He would tell me that Allah is blessing and rewarding me so I should not be crying. (14-year-old girl, married at age 13)

The findings from this study have been used to develop an intervention to delay marriage and support girls who are already married. Through collaboration with religious leaders, women’s leaders, and community leaders, the intervention's goals are to raise awareness and promote discussion of child marriage through existing community forums and radio spots. Premarital HIV voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) for couples will be promoted through community-level advocates, and couples contemplating marriage will be referred to existing VCT sites.

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Population Council researcher

Andrew Karlyn

Non-Council collaborators

Adolescent Health and Information Projects

Federation of Muslim Women's Associations of Nigeria

Donor

US Agency for International Development

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