“Children are our future and if we hope for a brighter tomorrow, we must strive to keep them safe.” – H.E. Mrs Widad Babiker, First Lady of the Republic of Sudan
To invigorate national consciousness and action towards ending child marriage, the Government of the Republic of Sudan has now launched the AU Campaign to End Child Marriage in Africa. The Government also launched a National Strategy on ending child marriage which focuses on tackling the harmful practice and taking the fight to the communities where child marriage persists.
The First lady of the Republic of Sudan, in her keynote address highlighted that Sudan has a high prevalence of child marriage and other harmful traditional practices like Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM). According to the National Council for Child Welfare, the prevalence of FGM is 65.4% and that of child marriage is 38% with high prevalence in conflict zone like Darfur where the prevalence of child marriage is around 57.4%. H.E. Mrs. Widad Babiker called on all Sudanese Ministries and local community to intensify their efforts to stand by the national campaign to end child marriage and facilitate a national dialogue between religious leaders, civil society organizations, local community’s leaders and lawyers to discuss the current laws and legislation regarding children rights and how they can be strengthened to enhance the empowerment of women and girls.
The Republic of Sudan is the 10th African Nation to launch the AU Campaign to End Child Marriage in Africa. The Sudanese launch of the Campaign took place in Khartoum and was also attended by the AU Commissioner for Social Affairs, Cabinet Ministers, the UNICEF Sudan Country Representative, the Executive Secretary of the Organization of African First Ladies against HIV/AIDS, UK AID and Sudanese CSOs interested in women and children’s rights.
The Role of Religious and Traditional Practices in Child Marriage; Findings of a New Study by the AU Campaign
Traditional and religious leaders in Africa can be a “determining factor” in the growing movement to end child marriage with the right interventions and approaches according to a new report of existing research on the subject. The study by the AU Campaign to End Child Marriage in Africa shows that most research over the past ten years identifies religion and cultural tradition as having a role in not just the persistence but also the elimination of child marriage on the continent. No single religion alone is associated with the practice, the study affirms.
The 87-page report, entitled The Effects of Traditional and Religious Practices of Child Marriage on Africa’s Socio-Economic Development describes several programs that offer “great hope for the future.” These include the Faith Effect program in Ethiopia and Nigeria and a recent campaign in Zambia spearheaded by the Ministry of Chiefs and Traditional Affairs.
In addition to providing a detailed history of research from 2006-2015, toolkits and reports from African NGOs and UN agencies, the study ends with several important conclusions. The Study can be downloaded on the AU WEBSITE.