Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Juba (Fides News Agency) - Enough with forced marriages for women and girls. This is what Riek Biem, governor of Unity State in South Sudan, has established. "I am the governor of this State and I declare today: let us send our boys and girls to school to reap the benefits of education. This is the only way we will be able to promote gender equality in our state, ”Biem said. “I have informed the communities in all seven counties to report any cases of child or forced marriage to state headquarters, so that investigations may be initiated within 24 hours,” he added.
This decision by Unity State's governor was taken in the aftermath of the brutal murder of a 20-year-old girl, beaten to death by her father for refusing to comply with the forced marriage arranged by her family.
The forced marriage of women and girls, even very young ones, is a plight in South Sudan. The latest available data for 2010 shows that 52% of girls in South Sudan get married before their 18th birthday, and 9% before their 15th birthday.
Many families force their daughters to marry for a dowry, even though they are under 18. Food insecurity affecting the country has exacerbated this problem. Some households are forced to sell their daughters in order to feed family members. Only 6 percent of girls complete primary school, while 1 in 5 drop out of secondary school due to pregnancies.
Compounding the condition of women is the fact that sexual violence is used against women and girls as a tactic of war. Sexual assault related to civil conflict is underestimated because of stigma, fear of retaliation and the lack of an adequate justice system.
In 2015, South Sudan acceded to the Convention on the Rights of the Child which sets the minimum age for marriage at 18. They are also a signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which obliges States to ensure free and full consent to marriage. (L.M.) (Fides News Agency 19/8/2024)
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