Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Juba (Agenzia Fides) - The practice of early marriages is tragically widespread in South Sudan. A recent study published by the organization Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA) reports that more than 10 girls are forced into marriage every week in the world's youngest nation, which gained independence from Sudan in 2011 and that more than 50% of all girls in the country are married before the age of 18. The alarm was given by members of the local Catholic Church, who complain that this practice destroys the dreams of higher education of young girls and therefore denies them any prospect for the future. "As church leaders, we deplore the behavior of parents who force their daughters to drop out of school to get married or because they become pregnant", said the Bishop of the diocese of Wau, Mathew Remijio Adam. "For a better and egalitarian society, it is necessary to promote the education of its children, boys and girls, because marrying them at an early age or before they have completed their studies destroys their future", Bishop Adam pointed out, who urged fathers to be inspired by the efforts of many mothers who work in the fields, build a house and support their daughters in their studies.
The SIHA report also reveals that 8% of child brides in South Sudan become pregnant before reaching adulthood and that the refusal to marry is often the cause of abuse, exclusion from society and even of imprisonment. The younger a bride is, the more she is paid by her family. Echoing the Bishop of Wau, Emmanuel Barnadino Lowi Napeta, bishop of the diocese of Torit, has leveled accusations against parents who prioritize material dowries granted in exchange for their daughters, such as cattle and other gifts, to the detriment of education and the well-being of their daughters. "During my recent pastoral visit to the parish of Our Lady of Fatima - said Napeta - I heard that some elders force their daughters to marry when they are still young in order to obtain cows in exchange. The Prelate hopes that the elderly will speak out against this problem, "this old mentality must be challenged to allow girls to obtain a quality education that will ensure them a decent future. Education makes the impossible possible". The United Nations Humanitarian Response Plan for South Sudan says 4 million girls were victims of early or forced marriage in 2022, up from 2.7 million in 2021. (AP) (Agenzia Fides, 21/6/2023)
