Families Marry Off Daughters to Ease Financial Problems from Pandemic
2020-12-28
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1The man first saw Marie Kamara as she ran with her friends past his house in a small village in Sierra Leone.
2Soon after, he asked the fifth-grade girl to marry him.
3No, she told him, adding "I'm going to school now."
4But the financial pressures caused by the coronavirus crisis were greater than her wishes.
5Marie's family needed money.
6The man had a job and money.
7He paid Marie's family 500,000 leones (about $50) to marry Marie.
8"The day they paid for me was on a Friday, and then I went to his house to stay," Marie said.
9She added that at least now she gets to eat something two times a day.
10In recent years, many countries had made progress against marriages of underage girls.
11But COVID-19 has made much of that progress disappear.
12The United Nations estimates that economic problems resulting from COVID-19 will drive 13 million more girls to marry before the age of 18.
13India's government put in place a nationwide lockdown in late March to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
14The restrictions caused millions of poor migrants to lose their jobs in cities.
15Many returned to the villages they had left in search of work.
16With schools closed and financial pressures rising, marrying off young girls became a way for families to reduce costs.
17The organization ChildLine India recorded 5,214 early marriages in just four months of lockdown between March and June of this year.
18The actual number is likely much higher, the organization notes.
19In Bangladesh, child protection officials said they received a phone call back in June warning that a child marriage was to take place within the hour.
20After arriving to stop the marriage, officials got the girl's family to agree to cancel the ceremony.
21The officials left, and the family held the wedding anyway.
22In Sierra Leone, the rate of marriage under 18 had dropped from 56 percent in 2006 to 39 percent in 2017.
23Then COVID-19 hit. Schools closed in March.
24After that, child marriages rose as village girls going to school in nearby towns returned home to their parents.
25Isata Dumbaya directs reproductive and maternal health for Partners in Health Sierra Leone.
26"When you marry, your father is no longer responsible for feeding you, for paying your fees or doing anything else for you," she said.
27"And if you come from a house with a lot of other children, indeed, this is one less person (to feed)," she added.
28Many of the girls' mothers got married as young girls too, said Dumbaya
29. So the mothers see early marriage as normal.
30"They do not see it as harming their children," Dumbaya said.
31Sierra Leone's first lady, Fatima Maada Bio, understands the problem well.
32Bio escaped to Britain as a teenager after learning her father was planning to force her to marry.
33She has been working to end child marriage with her "Hands Off Our Girls" campaign since her husband took office in 2018.
34"Early marriage in all forms is legalized rape," she recently told The Associated Press.
35Because of COVID-19 restrictions, the campaign has had to reduce many of its outreach efforts.
36This means fewer face-to-face meetings with Sierra Leone's traditional leaders, some of whom govern areas of the country so distant they lack an FM radio signal.
37Many rural areas in Sierra Leone do not have secondary schools.
38So, teenage girls often move to distant towns to continue their education.
39They usually live with a relative.
40Teenager Mariama Conteh left her village this year to live with an aunt and attend school.
41Soon after, a 28-year-old man said he wanted to marry her.
42It took a month for Mariama to agree.
43Her aunt had threatened her, saying if she refused the man, she would have to go home.
44There, her father was struggling to feed two wives and 10 other children.
45She cries when she thinks of the education she lost.
46"It is what it is," said Mariama, who is now seven months pregnant. "It has happened."
47I'm Ashley Thompson.
1The man first saw Marie Kamara as she ran with her friends past his house in a small village in Sierra Leone. Soon after, he asked the fifth-grade girl to marry him. No, she told him, adding "I'm going to school now." 2But the financial pressures caused by the coronavirus crisis were greater than her wishes. Marie's family needed money. 3The man had a job and money. He paid Marie's family 500,000 leones (about $50) to marry Marie. 4"The day they paid for me was on a Friday, and then I went to his house to stay," Marie said. She added that at least now she gets to eat something two times a day. 5In recent years, many countries had made progress against marriages of underage girls. But COVID-19 has made much of that progress disappear. The United Nations estimates that economic problems resulting from COVID-19 will drive 13 million more girls to marry before the age of 18. 6South Asia 7India's government put in place a nationwide lockdown in late March to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The restrictions caused millions of poor migrants to lose their jobs in cities. Many returned to the villages they had left in search of work. With schools closed and financial pressures rising, marrying off young girls became a way for families to reduce costs. 8The organization ChildLine India recorded 5,214 early marriages in just four months of lockdown between March and June of this year. The actual number is likely much higher, the organization notes. 9In Bangladesh, child protection officials said they received a phone call back in June warning that a child marriage was to take place within the hour. After arriving to stop the marriage, officials got the girl's family to agree to cancel the ceremony. 10The officials left, and the family held the wedding anyway. 11'One less person to feed' 12In Sierra Leone, the rate of marriage under 18 had dropped from 56 percent in 2006 to 39 percent in 2017. Then COVID-19 hit. Schools closed in March. After that, child marriages rose as village girls going to school in nearby towns returned home to their parents. 13Isata Dumbaya directs reproductive and maternal health for Partners in Health Sierra Leone. 14"When you marry, your father is no longer responsible for feeding you, for paying your fees or doing anything else for you," she said. "And if you come from a house with a lot of other children, indeed, this is one less person (to feed)," she added. 15Many of the girls' mothers got married as young girls too, said Dumbaya. So the mothers see early marriage as normal. "They do not see it as harming their children," Dumbaya said. 16Sierra Leone's first lady, Fatima Maada Bio, understands the problem well. Bio escaped to Britain as a teenager after learning her father was planning to force her to marry. 17She has been working to end child marriage with her "Hands Off Our Girls" campaign since her husband took office in 2018. 18"Early marriage in all forms is legalized rape," she recently told The Associated Press. 19Because of COVID-19 restrictions, the campaign has had to reduce many of its outreach efforts. This means fewer face-to-face meetings with Sierra Leone's traditional leaders, some of whom govern areas of the country so distant they lack an FM radio signal. 20Many rural areas in Sierra Leone do not have secondary schools. So, teenage girls often move to distant towns to continue their education. They usually live with a relative. 21Teenager Mariama Conteh left her village this year to live with an aunt and attend school. Soon after, a 28-year-old man said he wanted to marry her. 22It took a month for Mariama to agree. Her aunt had threatened her, saying if she refused the man, she would have to go home. There, her father was struggling to feed two wives and 10 other children. 23She cries when she thinks of the education she lost. 24"It is what it is," said Mariama, who is now seven months pregnant. "It has happened." 25I'm Ashley Thompson. 26The Associated Press reported this story. Ashley Thompson adapted it for VOA Learning English. Susan Shand was the editor. 27_____________________________________________________ 28Words in This Story 29maternal - adj. of or relating to a woman who is having a baby 30lockdown - n. a requirement for people to stay where they are (i.e. at home) because of risks to the greater population 31secondary - adj. of or relating to education of students who have completed primary school