Adolescent girls participation towards ending child marriage

Around the world, girls and women are forced to live with the consequences of female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriage. Although Kenya has made strides in outlawing FGM, child marriage and protecting child rights,... [ view full abstract ]

Around the world, girls and women are forced to live with the consequences of female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriage. Although Kenya has made strides in outlawing FGM, child marriage and protecting child rights, the practice is still rampant. Often motivated by cultural beliefs, FGM leads to child marriage and health complications as it is forced upon girls aged 7 to 18. The study sought to establish attitudes of adolescent girls towards child marriage and to establish how adolescent girls can participate in ending child marriage. The participates were 65 adolescent girls from Kenya Masaai community.This was a qualitative research designed in a form of a survey which aimed at gathering knowledge and information on child marriage among adolescent girls. According to the research findings, 61.5% of the girls were not in favour of child marriage while 48.5% were silent on whether the practice was favourable or not. Furthermore, 80% of the girls reported that they would be pleased if child marriage was not being practiced while 20% were unsure if the practice was to be continued or not due to their traditional beliefs. In addition, 71.9% of the girls indicated that they can participate in actions aimed at ending child while 1.5% of the girls were silent on their participation towards ending child marriage. On the same note, 26.6% were hesitant on whether that they can participate to end child marriage or not. The researcher concluded that, adolescent girls know and view child marriage as an act that needs to end. The girls urged that the practice of child marriage should be demolished and their community should pursue alternative rites of passage within one generation. Nevertheless, Voicing out their concerns, self-advocacy and seeking help from child protection partners was an important aspect of the girls avoiding child marriage.