The Sierra Leone
government and its local and international partners
have called
for an end to child marriage as the country marks the
first
International Day of the Girl Child today with the theme, “Child
Marriage”, according to a press release from the UN children's
agency, UNICEF.
UNICEF says “child
marriage is a major impediment to girls’
education and prevents
girls from realizing their potential.” It cites the Multiple
Indicator Cluster Survey 2010, which states
that around a quarter
of girls between 15 and 19 years are
currently in a marital union
with 16 per cent of these having been married off before they reached
15. It adds that 50 half of women between 20 and 49 years married
before
they actually turned 18 years.
Minister of
Education, Science and Technology, Dr. Minkailu Bah
said “these
figures are a shocking reminder that we need to do more to
change
social customs and ensure all girls go to school, complete
their
education and get a chance to realize their potential in
society”,
adding that when girls were adequately educated and
not drifted
into child marriage, they substantially strengthened the
development
of a country and contributed to positive nation building.
UNICEF
Representative in Sierra Leone, Roeland Monasch said “to let
boys
and girls complete their education must be the priority of
every
parent, care giver, community and even government”. He
added that a
good education was vital especially for the girls
since they
contributed in two ways to society – both through
their direct
input and in most cases they served also as the
future caregivers. He said figures showed that a better education
helped a mother to take
care of her children properly.
UNICEF
says that between 2004 and 2009 it provided support through the
Ministry of Education, Science and Technology to girls who excelled
in
the National Primary School Examinations by providing awards in
the
form of school materials for their secondary education. The
agency says that in 2010, a tracer study was conducted to find out
the educational
achievements of those girls who had initially
benefited from these
awards. It said the report of the study
showed that more than 80 per
cent of the girls were still in
school and performing very well.
UNICEF said in 2010, it also
facilitated the making of petitions by
girls to the Parliamentary
Oversight Committee on Education and the
Speaker of Parliament to
take more action for the education of the
girls and to speedily
enact the Sexual Offences Act ratified in August.
On 19 December,
2011, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a
resolution to
declare 11 October as the International Day of the Girl
Child in
recognition of girls’ rights and the unique challenges they
face
around the world.
© Politico
11 October 2012
