TOPIC-PSYCHOSOCIAL CHALLENGES FACED BY GIRLS INVOLVED IN CHILD

MARRIAGES. A CASE STUDY OF EPWORTH COMMUNITY

CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 Introduction

In this chapter, different sources and previous studies were reviewed from an international,
global and local perspective. The literature review was guided by the research questions, what
are the major causes of marriages, what are the psychosocial effects of child marriages and
lastly, the strategies that can be put in place to reduce child marriages. The sources for the
literature review mostly included the internet, journals and also social textbooks.

2.1 Theoretical Framework

2.1.1 Erick Erickson’s Psychosocial theory

Historical Background

This study was guided by Erick Erickson’s Psychosocial theory. The theory was an expansion of
Sigmund Freud’s original stages of development and Erickson, a 20 th century psychologist
formulated the eight stage life cycle theory in 1959 (Online MSW Program, 2023).. Among these
eight stages of development, this study mainly focused on the fifth stage of the theory which is
the identity versus identity confusion. Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development is the
first, and arguably most influential, lifespan theory of development. According to Mclean and
Syde (2015), Erikson’s writings are extensive and complicated, covering quite a bit of
conceptual ground. He mixed detailed treatments with vague proclamations, and returned to the
same themes repeatedly throughout his career. These qualities of his work have led some to refer
to his work as having “Rorschach‐like” qualities, where different readers glean and interpret his
words based on their own interests and views. Erikson developed a lifespan theory; that is, he
theorized about the nature of personality development as it unfolds from birth through old age.

Major characteristics of Erickson’s theory

Erikson’s theory is considered psychosocial, emphasizing the importance of social and cultural
factors across the lifespan. According to McLeod (2023), Erickson maintained that personality
develops in a predetermined order of eight stages from infancy to childhood. Erikson's
psychosocial theory basically asserts that people experience eight 'psychosocial crisis stages'
which significantly affect each person's development and personality. McLean and Syde (2015)
are of the view that Erikson's 'psychosocial' term is derived from the two source words - namely
psychological (or the root, 'psycho' relating to the mind, brain, personality, etc) and social
(external relationships and environment), both at the heart of Erikson's theory. each stage
involves a crisis of two opposing emotional forces. A helpful term used by Erikson for these
opposing forces is 'contrary dispositions'. Each crisis stage relates to a corresponding life stage
and its inherent challenges. Erikson used the words 'syntonic' for the first-listed 'positive'
disposition in each crisis (e.g., Trust) and 'dystonic' for the second-listed 'negative' disposition
(e.g., Mistrust). To signify the opposing or conflicting relationship between each pair of forces or
dispositions Erikson connected them with the word 'versus', which he abbreviated to 'v'
(Freidman, 2010).

The trust vs mistrust stage is characterized by how the infant will develop a healthy balance
between trust and mistrust if fed and cared for and not over-indulged or over-protected. Abuse or
neglect or cruelty will destroy trust and foster mistrust. Mistrust increases a person's resistance to
risk-exposure and exploration. The next stage is the autonomy vs shame and doubt stage,
autonomy means self-reliance. This is independence of thought, and a basic confidence to think
and act for oneself. Shame and Doubt mean what they say, and obviously inhibit self-expression
and developing one's own ideas, opinions and sense of self. The third stage is initiative vs guilt,
initiative is the capability to devise actions or projects, and a confidence and belief that it is okay
to do so, even with a risk of failure or making mistakes. According to Freidman (2010) guilt
means what it says, and in this context is the feeling that it is wrong or inappropriate to instigate
something of one's own design. Guilt results from being admonished or believing that something
is wrong or likely to attract disapproval. Initiative flourishes when adventure and game-playing
is encouraged, irrespective of how daft and silly it seems to the grown-up in charge. McLean and
Syde (2015) explain that the fourth stage looks at industry vs inferiority whereby Industry here
refers to purposeful or meaningful activity. It's the development of competence and skills, and a
confidence to use a 'method', and is a crucial aspect of school years’ experience. Erikson
described this stage as a sort of 'entrance to life'.
 Then comes the fifth stage which is identity vs role confusion. Focusing on the fifth stage,
Erickson believes that this is when the adolescent has the freedom to explore different roles and
are likely to emerge from this stage with a strong sense of self and a feeling of independence and
control. The identity vs. role confusion, provides a clear example of this continuity. Erikson
suggested that the period of adolescence and young adulthood was the primary developmental
period to resolve the identity tension. However, if adolescents are restricted and not given the
space to explore or find the process too overwhelming or distressing, they may experience role
confusion.

Evaluation of the theory

The strengths of Erickson’s theory are that it provides a broad framework from which to view
development throughout the entire lifespan. In addition to this, it allows us to emphasize the
social nature of human beings and important influence that social relationships have on
development. However, the disadvantages of this theory according to Evans (2023) are that it
generalizes that everyone should pass through these eight stages in a sequence of which this is
not true. People are unique and they develop differently. Therefore, to generalize these stages
takes away the uniqueness of human beings. For example, in the case of child marriages, it can
be said that some might experience the psychosocial problems and yet some do not. Moreover, it
can also be said that the theory cannot be generalized to all cultures because some cultures vary
in their training and even in marriages.

Linkages of theory to current study

Linking to the topic of this study, the theory was chosen because, it explains how environmental
conditions can interfere with growth stages like adolescents and in turn result in role confusion
of the individual. In this case, it can be said that marriages and especially on the girl child is a
step that has too many challenges that can interfere with the adolescent stage where the
individual is still trying to locate their own role in life. Therefore, the psychosocial problems
caused by child-marriages among the girl child impede on their growth and development. They
are deprived of exploring who they are as individuals, they fail to establish a sense of self and
that experiment on different roles, activities and behaviors because they will be tied up in
marriage which has its own demands.

2.2 Child marriages contextualized

2.2.1 Definitions of child marriages

As assessed by Dixon-Mueller (2018) on the basis of various physiological and social criteria1
and data from a large number of Demographic and Health Surveys, boys and girls aged 14 and
younger are too young for sexual, marital, and reproductive transitions, while 15–17-year-olds
may or may not be too young, depending on circumstances. This suggests that the traditional cut-
off point of 18 years of age can be seen as appropriate for defining child marriage.

2.2.2 Laws and Acts against child marriages

This part of laws has been included in this study because of the lack in effectiveness of
functioning civil registration system (which provides proof of age for children), weak legislative
frameworks that include provisions allowing underage marriage with parental consent or court
approval, customary or religious laws that condone child marriage and the lack of accompanying
enforcement mechanisms hinder the prevention of child marriage and erode the effectiveness of
official legislative intentions. Laws against child marriages have always been standing, however,
the lack of impact of legislation is related in part to cultural and religious traditions. Shobha
(2019) explains that in many countries, early marriage falls into what amounts to a sanctions
limbo. It may be prohibited in the existing civil or common law, but be widely condoned by
customary and religious laws and practice. This is common where marriages typically take place
according to customary rites and remain unregistered in India for example, marriage before the
age of 18 has been illegal for about three decades, but about half of all girls still marry before 18
because of different cultural reason.

According to UNICEF (2020), globally, the Universal Declaration on Human Rights states in
Article 16 that men and women of full age have the right to marry and found a family, and are
entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution. Furthermore, it says
that marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of intending parties. The
UN General Assembly resolution on child, early and forced marriage adopted on 21 November
2014 reaffirms earlier resolutions on the issue. It recognizes that child, early and forced marriage
is a practice that severely impairs girls and women’s human rights, is a threat to their health,
education and economic and social status and is inherently linked to deeply rooted gender
inequalities, norms and stereotypes. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women states, in Article 16(1), that men and women have equal rights to
enter into a marriage, that they have the same right to freely choose a spouse, and to enter into
marriage only with their free and full consent (John, 2020). More importantly, Article 16(2)
states that the betrothal and marriage of a child shall have no legal effect, and that all necessary
action, including legislation, shall be taken to specify a minimum age for marriage (John, 2020).

Then regionally, the African Women’s Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’
Rights calls on State Parties to ensure that women and men enjoy equal rights and are regarded
as equal partners in marriage. Janaki (2019) states that Article 6 specifically provides that
appropriate national legislative measures should be taken to guarantee that the minimum age of
marriage for women shall be 18 years, no marriage shall take place without the free and full
consent of both parties, monogamy is encouraged as the preferred form of marriage and that the
rights of women in marriage and family, including in polygamous marital relationships, are
promoted and protected and that every marriage shall be recorded in writing and registered in
accordance with national laws, in order to be legally recognized. The African Charter on the
Rights and Welfare of the Child provides for the protection of children against harmful social
and cultural practices in Article 21. Article 21(2) states that child marriage and the betrothal of
girls and boys should be prohibited and that effective action, including legislation, should be
taken to specify the minimum age of marriage to be 18 years and make registration of all
marriages in an official registry compulsory. In 2016, the Southern African Development
Community (SADC) Parliamentary Forum adopted the Southern African Development
Community Model Law on Eradicating Child Marriage and Protection of Children Already in
Marriage. The Model Law is based on evidence and child protection principles. It provides
guidance for Member States to harmonize their national laws to prevent child marriage by
ensuring that policies and legal frameworks are revised and inconsistencies, contradictions and
gaps, such as existing provisions for parental or judicial consent, and conflicts between
customary and statuary law, are removed. REPSSI (2022) also gives some different declarations
and laws that govern child marriages. These include Article 21 of the African Charter on the
Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC) which states that Governments should do what they
can to stop harmful social and cultural practices affecting the welfare and dignity of children,
such as child marriage. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is not specific on the
issue of child marriage but this is very much linked to the right to protection from all forms of
abuse and harmful traditional practices. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
(CEDAW) are other instruments that prohibit child marriage. The Southern African
Development Community (SADC) Model Law on Eradicating Child Marriage and Protection of
Children Already in Marriage provides best practice guidelines which can be adopted or adapted
by Member States in their laws dealing with ending child marriage.

In Nigeria legal limitations on the age of marriage have not fundamentally altered the practice
(Toyo 2016). However, despite these set laws in different parts of the world, child marriages are
still growing. In Suriname, the legal minimum age of marriage is 15 according to the Civil Code;
but under the Asian Marriage Act, which codifies practice for a particular group, the minimum
age for girls is 13. Afghanistan, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Mozambique,
Niger – the only reason that the average age is not lower than the legal age is because the latter is
not set or is set very low. In DRC, for example, the average age at marriage is 16.6 and the legal
minimum age is 15.

According to Zimbabwe Women Law Association- ZWALA (2023) in Zimbabwe, child

marriages are marriages that involve persons below the age of 18. The constitution provides for
marriages and it states that the state should make sure that no marriage is entered into without the
free and full consent of the intended spouse and children are not pledges in marriages. Plan
International (2022) states that Zimbabwe has adopted a progressive Constitution which
enshrines gender equality and which provides for justiciable rights. An elaborate array of
children’s rights enjoy constitutional protection. Section 78 of the Constitution (Marriage Rights)
sets a minimum age for marriage at 18, and prohibits forced marriage. It states: “no person shall
be compelled to marry against their will”. Section 26(1) of the Constitution requires the State to
take appropriate measures to ensure that no marriage is entered into without the free and full
consent of the intended spouses. In addition to this, section 26(2) of the Constitution requires the
State to take measures to ensure that children are not pledged in marriage. Section 56 governs
gender equality and non discrimination, including that all persons are equal before the law and
have the right to equal protection and benefit of the law, and that women and men have the right
to equal treatment. Hence, all in all, Child marriage is thus constitutionally not permissible, as
recently found by the Constitutional Court of Zimbabwe. Samkange (2022) states that while the
constitution of Zimbabwe provides for the protection of children, the Marriage Act, Section 22
states that girls can marry at the age of 16 and boys at the age of 18. The Act in a way exposes
children to forced marriages and therefore denying them opportunities in education. In the same
vein, customary marriage is recognized in Zimbabwe. Customary practices do not stipulate the
age at which to marry. As the term implies, customary marriage is guided by the practices of the
community and in the context of Zimbabwe, it involves the payment of roora (bride price). The
use of the custom has seen children being used to pay for ngozi reparations. This is a way of
appeasing spirits by forcing a girl to marry into the deceased’s family. On 24 May 2022, the
Constitutional Court of Zimbabwe declared some sections of the Marriage Act which allowed
girls to marry at the age of 16 as unconstitutional (Zimbabwe Legal Information Institute, 2022).
This can be acknowledged as a milestone in the fight against child marriages, though in practice
more needs to be done in terms of coming up with Acts that are aligned to the constitution,
which also operationalize the judgment of the Constitutional Court of Zimbabwe. Apart from
laws that have been enacted to protect children in Zimbabwe, it can be noted that different
organizations continue to advocate for the recognition of children’s rights. These organizations
include Girl Child Network, Child Line, and Justice for Children Trust and the African Charter
on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. ZIMSTAT and ICF International (2012) estimated that
31% of girls in Zimbabwe married before they reached the age of 18 years and about 15% of
these married before they turned 15 years.

2.2.3 Prevalence and trends of child marriages

In a study by UNICEF (2019) it was revealed that in all other regions of the world, current rates
of progress mean that the number of child brides is declining each year. This is not the case in
Africa. In fact, even doubling the rate of reduction in child marriage would not be enough to
reduce the number of child brides. A growing population combined with a slow decline in the
practice of child marriage in Africa will put millions more girls at risk. If current trends continue,
almost half of the world’s child brides in 2050 will be African (Change Newsletter, 2020).

Gavin (2017) explains that in Asia, marriage patterns are much more diverse. The extreme cases
are Afghanistan and Bangladesh, where 54 per cent and 51 per cent of girls respectively are
married by age 18. In Nepal, where the average age at first marriage is 19 years,28 7 per cent of
girls are married before they are 10 years old and 40 per cent by the time they are 15. In China,
the proportion of early marriages fell by 35 per cent in the 2000s, but rose from 13 percent. In
many Asian countries, such as Vietnam and Indonesia, there are vast differences among regions,
states or islands; some in line with ethnographic patterns. Meanwhile some countries have
managed to raise the age of marriage significantly. In Sri Lanka, for example, the average age at
first marriage is 25, compared to 19 in neighboring India. Scholars like Sundar Rao (2021) point
to the fact that the trends of child marriages are different especially in industrialized countries. A
few women marry before age 18; only 4 per cent do so in the USA and 1 per cent in Germany,
for example. But in some parts of Central and Eastern Europe, early marriage survives; notably
among the Roma people and in Macedonia where 27 per cent of the women who married in 2014
were aged between 15 and 19. In most of Eastern Europe and the CIS,38 average age at marriage
is in the low to mid-20s, implying some proportion in the teens.

According to UNFPA (2020) in Cameroon, DHS data from 2011 indicate that 13.4% of women
aged 20 to 24 reported being married by the age of 15 and 38.4% by the age of 18. Child
marriage is prevalent in the north, in the east, in the northwest and in the southwest. In the
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), MICS data from 2010 suggest that 39% of women aged
20 to 24 were married before 18, and 9% were married before the age of 15. There has been an
increase in the prevalence of child marriage since 2007 and projections suggest that this trend
will continue in the coming years. Prevalence is highest in the Katanga (50%) and Orientale
(50%) regions. In Kenya the prevalence rate for women aged 20 to 24 who were married before
the age of 15 is 6% and the prevalence of women aged 20 to 24 who were married before the age
of 18 is 26%. These statistics are taken from a DHS survey conducted in Kenya in 2008/2009,
which also indicates that there has been a shift in early entry into marriages over time, with the
proportion of women marrying by age 15 having declined over the past 20 to 30 years. Statistics
on the median age at first marriage in Kenya indicate clearly that urban women tend to marry
almost three years later than their rural counterparts. Differences in child marriage prevalence
rates by province of residence are pronounced: the Kilifi region recorded the highest prevalence
of child marriage at 48% with Homa Bay recording 39%, Kwale 38%, Bondo 30% and Tharaka
at 25%.

According to UNICEF (2020) Sub-Saharan Africa is now home to the highest prevalence of
child marriage, and over the past decade has seen only modest declines. In addition to the slow
progress, the sharply increasing population means that with each passing year the number of
child brides could grow. Sundar Rao (2021) Sub-Saharan Africa Trends have been exhaustively
examined courtesy of World Fertility Survey and DHS data (2019) analysts have detected two
groups of countries those where marriage age is rising, such as Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe and
Senegal, and those where there is little change, including Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Lesotho,
Liberia and Mali. In several countries, over 40 per cent of young women have entered marriage
or a quasi-married union by the time they reach the age of 18. By contrast, in only two countries
are more than 10 per cent of boys under 19 married. Early marriage is generally more prevalent
in Central and West Africa – affecting 40 per cent and 49 per cent respectively of girls under 19
– compared to 27 per cent in East Africa and 20 per cent in North and Southern Africa. Many of
these young brides are second or third wives in polygamous households. In some African
countries, notably Botswana and Namibia, few girls marry in their teens. However, cohabitation
is relatively common. While the trend towards later marriage is clear for the continent as a
whole, there are some countries, such as Lesotho and Mozambique, where the trend has been in
the other direction. There are also cases where the stress of conflict or HIV/AIDS seems to be
contributing to early marriage. UNICEF (2020) sates that in Zimbabwe, 34 per cent of women
are married by age 18, and 4 per cent are married by age 15.150 Child marriage predominantly
affects girls in the poorest wealth quintiles in rural areas. Prevalence is highest in Mashonaland
Central (50 per cent), followed by Mashonaland West (42 per cent), Masvingo (39 per cent) and
Mashonaland East (36 per cent)

2.3 Major causes of child marriages

A number of factors contribute to the perpetuation of child marriage in the region. Religion,
social norms and economic factors interacting with gender inequality are usually cited as
catalysts of child marriage. These factors vary across and even within countries. Child marriage
is deeply rooted in a number of religions and sects. Gender discrimination also fosters child
marriage in some patriarchal communities where legal protection against early marriage is
sometimes difficult to enforce as such issues are presided over by conservative male traditional
leaders. In some communities, child marriage is viewed as a strategy for economic survival as
families marry off their daughters to reduce their economic burden and to receive money or gifts
as a bride price. There are instances when marriages are arranged between families to access
economic resources or opportunities from the older husband on a longer-term arrangement rather
than just a once-off payment of a bride price. These will be discussed in the headings below.

2.3.1 Child marriages as a strategy for economic survival to counter

poverty

Poverty is one of the major factors underpinning early marriage. Where poverty is acute, a young
girl may be regarded as an economic burden and her marriage to a much older sometimes even
elderly man, a practice common in some Middle Eastern and South Asian societies, is a family
survival strategy, and may even be seen as in her interests (Gage, 2019). In traditional societies
in Sub-Saharan Africa, the bride’s family may receive cattle from the groom, or the groom’s
family, as the brideprice (roora or lobola) for their daughter. A recent study that was carried out
by Silverman (2018) of five very poor villages in Egypt found young girls being married off too
much older men from oil-rich Middle Eastern countries via brokers. Allan (2020) cites that in
Bangladesh, poverty-stricken parents are persuaded to part with daughters through promises of
marriage, or by false marriages, which are used to lure the girls into prostitution abroad. In West
Africa as a whole, a recent UNICEF study shows that economic hardship is encouraging a rise in
early marriage, even among some population groups that do not normally practice it. Men are
postponing marriage because of lack of resources, and parents have become anxious about the
danger of their daughters becoming pregnant outside marriage. Thus any early opportunity for
marriage may be seized upon. There are also reports from HIV/AIDS researchers in Eastern
Africa that marriage is seen as one option for orphaned girls by caregivers who find it hard to
provide for them (Maggie, 2021). Some countries in the grip of on-going civil conflict show
acute symptoms of child-related social stress: increasing child slavery and trafficking, rising
numbers of children on the streets, very young prostitutes and laborers, and high levels of child
neglect and abandonment. Evidence suggests that in such situations, early marriage is on the rise.
Families in refugee camps in Burundi, for example, protect their honor by marrying their
daughters off as early as possible.

hen families are very poor a young girl is considered to be an economic burden to the family;
therefore, if she gets married that is one mouth less to feed. There is a case of a 10-year-old
Zimbabwean girl who was married off in 2010 to a 40 year old man in order to obtain food. She
was allegedly sold for 2000 Zimbabwe dollars which was equivalent to 7US$. According to the
Zimbabwe Herald, girls aged between 10 and 15 have been forced into marriages by their parents
owing to poverty at Somerby settlement near Snake Park in Harare. Although child marriage is
seen as a way to escape the cycle of poverty, child marriage in fact worsens the cycle of
intergenerational poverty. It’s also important to highlight the core relation between the economic
recession and the size of the apostolic sect. Some of these practices are carried out for financial
gain by the parents of the children. Child marriage not only perpetuate an inter-generational
cycle of poverty and lack of opportunity, but also reinforces the subordinated nature of
communities that traditionally serve the powerful classes by giving a girl child in marriage to an
older male.

2.3.2 Community expectations

ICF International (2019) states that community expectations are widespread that girls should be
married as they reach puberty, which is connected to the belief that childbearing should start
early to maximize the number of children a woman will have over her lifetime. This is
accompanied by sentiments like ”when are you getting married?” that are directed to the girl
child when they get to puberty. With limited secondary education options, parents may see
marriage as the only option for girls. Silverman (2019) states that only 6.2 per cent of girls
complete primary school and, of these, 20.4 per cent of females drop out of secondary school due
to marriage, pregnancy or lack of food and insecurity. The concept of girls as ‘investments’
typically means that girls are consigned to marriage at an age when the family believes they will
fetch the highest bride price, which often coincides with menarche. A girl who refuses marriage
may face severe sanctions, including beating, ostracization and imprisonment. Child marriage is
also often perceived as the safest option, since the risk of pregnancy outside of marriage is
considered more harmful.

2.3.3 Traditional and Cultural Norms

Child marriage in Uganda for example, is driven by a complex set of factors that includes
traditional cultural norms and societal expectations of and by the girl child, exacerbated by
gender discrimination, low education levels, poverty and lack of capacity to enforce government
policies and national laws (Gomze, 2019). There is an expectation of bride price, and in the
eastern part of Uganda this is often paid in the form of cows. Family destitution may increase the
pressure on girls to get married since parents often assume that marriage will benefit them both
financially and socially, while also relieving financial burdens on the family. The marriage or
betrothal of children in some parts of Uganda is valued as a means of consolidating powerful
relations among families, for sealing deals over land or other property, or even for settling
disputes. The higher incidence of early marriage and teenage pregnancy in eastern and northern
regions is linked to low levels of secondary school retention for girls, limited access and
utilization of family planning methods, and cultural practices

To support this point as well, Maggie (2021) states that child marriage is affected by a complex
interaction between socio-cultural and religious factors, in addition to poverty. In some areas,
teenage pregnancies are a risk factor for marriage; however, in other districts this is not
necessarily the case. The Zimbabwe National Family Planning Strategy (2016- 2020) and Family
Planning programme stipulate that health workers can distribute contraception to children
starting at age 16. In some circumstances, providers can supply contraceptives to even younger
persons without parental knowledge or agreement if it seen as necessary for preventing a
pregnancy. Despite this progressive policy, access to contraception is undermined by reluctance
among providers and lack of youth-friendly services. The probability of young women marrying
is lower when a girl has at least a secondary education: According to a 2019 household survey by
The Zimbabwe National Family planning strategy, the average age at marriage is 17.2 years for
girls with no education and 23.6 for girls with more than a secondary education. Forty-four per
cent of women aged 15 to 19 with a primary education had begun childbearing compared to 19
per cent of girls who had a secondary education, hence this is why the lack of education is also
assessed as a cause below.
Masuku (2022) comes with a different dimension in explaining culture as a cause for child
marriages and especially in Zimbabwe. Culture is one of the obstacles to the enjoyment of
children’s rights in Africa as communities where children live do not always observe the relevant
human rights instruments that protect children from harmful cultural practices or are not aware of
them (Masuku, 2022). This problem is further compounded by the fact the family is the
custodian of culture and some cultural practices such as the payment of lobola often expose the
girl child to other harmful cultural practices such as child marriage. Culture continues to be the
most dominant force. Culture evolves and is dynamic, but certain aspects of culture have largely
failed to die away. In Zimbabwe, for example, the cultural practice of paying lobola is still going
strong despite outcries that the practice treats women as commodities in the market place. The
consequences of this practice include that women’s labor is transferred to that of her husband’s
family. The man gets exclusive sexual rights and can expect children to be born to perpetuate the
family line. In some societies, the number of cattle paid should correspond with the number of
children that the woman is expected to have. The practice of paying lobola is seen as positive in
African culture. However, it is deeply embedded on the patriarchal system that feminist
commentators argue oppresses women. It is also viewed to be one of the causes for child
marriages. Why then, despite the negatives mentioned, is it still being practiced? Lobola is
considered as a means of establishing relationships between the groups of people and once
established it creates a network of rights and obligations ()Jenson, 2023 . The woman on whose
behalf lobola is paid is bound to stay in the relationship because any decision of hers to move
from such a relationship disturbs a whole network of obligations and duties (Masuku, 2022). The
consequences of lobola are far more serious in relation to child marriages where a child may be
threatened from leaving an abusive husband because he paid lobola. The perceived financial
gains to be reaped from payment of lobola also encourage parents to marry off their children at
an early age. It can therefore be said that customs and practices that result in the sexual abuse
and exploitation of the girl child conflicting with other rights of the child must not be condoned.
There is a need for the state to closely monitor activities of the family to ensure that sexual abuse
and exploitation of the child is minimized.

2.3.4 Lack of education

Education empowers girls to be economically and socially independent and therefore reduces
their vulnerability to child marriage. This explains why rates of child marriage are highest in
countries with lower education and why there is a consistent correlation between lack of access
to education and child marriage within countries. It also explains why educating adolescent girls
has been an important factor in the increases in the age of marriage observed across the region
thus far. The practice of child marriage is more common in children from poor families and
among those living in rural areas, not attending school and who get pregnant along the way.
Although levels of education are low for boys and girls in many countries across the region,
socio-cultural factors hinder access to education for girls in particular. This is an area where
several risk factors come together. If education is costly, either directly or because it prevents a
child from contributing to the household economy, a family in poverty may decide to educate
only some of its children. In this case, a cultural understanding that boys represent the family line
means that they will be favored for educational opportunities over girls. For example, although
Mozambique has a relatively low overall literacy rate, at 56.1%, there is also considerable gender
disparity, with only 42.8% of women who are literate, compared with 70.8% of men (UNICEF,
2013). In Kenya, Mali and Mauritania levels of education are still very low, especially among
girls. Several factors have been identified as barriers to girls’ access to education. According to
UNICEF (2013) In Uganda, low educational attainment is sometimes quite explicitly linked to
child marriage, setting precedents that repeat over generations. For instance, in the Sabiny region
of Uganda, girls who consistently perform poorly at school are given away in marriage.
Educational attainment for women is also strongly correlated with household income, with
women living in richer households being more than two times more likely to be literate (65.8%)
as compared with those from poorer households (26.9%).

Gage (2019) states that it is also more common among orphans and stepchildren, among those
considered ‘difficult’ or ‘hard to manage’, and who are without adequate supervision or support.
Girls’ lack of access to education contributes to the likelihood of child marriage because they
end up having nothing to occupy them. Statistics by Gage (2019) show that 65 per cent of
women aged 20 to 24 with no education were married or in union by the age of 18, compared to
17 per cent of women with a secondary or higher education. Zambia has a complex situation
with different types of child marriages. The majority of child-to-child marriages are not ‘forced’,
and peer marriages are common in some areas. The majority of these marriages do not adhere to
traditional processes and the bride price is tokenistic, made as an ‘IOU’ (a signed document
acknowledging a debt), or not paid at all. These marriages may not last and divorce is common.
The decision to marry is often pragmatic. In situations where there are limited life choices,
marriage offers the possibility of having a recognized, respected role in society. Additionally, it
situates teenage pregnancy within a formalized relationship – making it more acceptable.
Another perceived benefit is the reduction in the number of dependents in a household. Families
see an additional source of labour as another potential benefit. Peer pressure is yet another
possible factor in adolescents’ desire to get married. They attach great significance to
friendships, social approval and acceptance among peers and the community at large.
Adolescents are also highly influenced by the actions and behaviours of their peers, which
include child marriage. Poverty is another factor driving child marriage in the context of the
reported commercialization of sex, where girls exchange sex for small gifts and may end up
pregnant and forced to marry.

2.3.5 Religion

Religion is another major cause of child marriages especially in Zimbabwe. Child Marriages are
prevalent among the Johanne Marange Apostolic sect. This is a church commonly known as
‘vapostori’ that is believed to constitute approximately 1.2 million members in the country.
Hastings (2020) states that Johanne Marange, the church founder, passed away in 1963, leaving
13 widows who were taken over by his son Abel. The African Apostolic Church has gone a long
way in addressing Christianity in an African perspective, and, as an African initiated church, it
has a leadership of Africans. Masuku (2022) is of the view that as a Zionist type of church, it put
strong emphasis on the work of the Holy Spirit. They are distinct in their compulsory shaving of
hair by both sexes. Although they strongly believe in polygamy, this practice is eroding the
church membership due to AIDS pandemic. Child Marriages are prevalent among the Johanne
Marange Apostolic sect. This is a church commonly known as ‘vapostori’ that is believed to
constitute approximately 1.2 million members in the country. Hastings10 states that Johanne
Marange, the church founder, passed away in 1963, leaving 13 widows who were taken over by
his son Abel. The African Apostolic Church has gone a long way in addressing Christianity in an
African perspective11, and, as an African initiated church, it has a leadership of Africans. Its
songs are expressed in dialect (vernacular) language and are claimed to be inspired by the Holy
Spirit. As a Zionist type of church, it put strong emphasis on the work of the Holy Spirit. They
are distinct in their compulsory shaving of hair by both sexes. Although they strongly believe in
polygamy, this practice is eroding the church membership due to AIDS pandemic. The vapostori
have of late attracted the attention of prominent politicians but they have not taken the
opportunity to discourage child marriage. Masuku (2022) goes on to state that Regardless of the
large following of this church, it carries astonishing weaknesses which are not of concern to its
adherents due to their lack of education. To start with, the Holy Spirit is used as an intimidating
tool, instilling fear in members not to do certain acts as they are threatened with curses. The
same Holy Spirit is used to validate child marriages as the prophets would have been ‘directed’
by the Holy Spirit to marry young girls. They also believe that girls should only have minimum
schooling, and, therefore, as soon as a girl reaches puberty they are married off. The lack of
education often disempowers the girls. They do not question certain harmful practices in the
church such as the practice of not taking children to health institutions. The cross-generational
nature of marriages in the church is also problematic because young girls cannot stand up for
themselves in the marriage to demand sex safe or take part in decisions that affect their health
such as child spacing. Additionally, the general belief of this church is that whatever leader is in
power has been ordained by God, and therefore they may be subject to political manipulation
where they have de facto protection. In some of the apostolic sects, a traditional sitting
arrangement adhered to during worship, insists that teenage girls sit directly opposite to elderly
men who have the privilege to marry as many wives as they want in the church regardless of
their age. This is acknowledged by TALI (2020) as a vice that was exposing girls and young
women, making them prone to abuse by their male counterparts both young and old. Because it
is an accepted practice in the sects, girls often have no-one to protect them since their parents
support these practices and doctrines. Going against such doctrines for a family may also mean
the family can be an outcast to the sect.

2.3.6 Gender inequality

Child marriage is overwhelmingly a phenomenon of younger girls being married to older men.
As such, none of the other social, cultural and economic factors of child marriage can be
understood without reference to the inferior status accorded to girls and women in all the
societies under consideration. Gender inequality is a cause, a result and an exacerbating factor of
child marriage (Gasa, 2013). Africa is an enormously diverse continent, with substantial
variation in the cultural beliefs and practices often apparent even in very small areas. It is
therefore a grave fallacy to speak of any single ‘African’ culture. Nevertheless, many groups
believe in strongly differentiated gender roles and family relations between men and women that
tend to disadvantage women. These beliefs may have origins in traditional practices, in colonial-
era laws and customs, and in the two most widespread religions in the region, Islam and
Christianity. Gasa (2013) raises that discriminatory formal and informal laws, social norms and
cultural and religious practices directly and indirectly influence women’s social and economic
roles, making girls more vulnerable to child marriage than boys. In many societies, women are
excluded from decisions about themselves, their families and the community. Control of land
and property, together with formal family headship, typically pass through the male line.
Accordingly, greater social value is generally ascribed to boys, resulting in the underinvestment
of girls’ health, education and development. These social inequalities systematically render girls
subservient and vulnerable and put them at risk of child marriage and other social harms.

2.4 Psycho-social effects faced by girls in child marriages

2.3.7 Loss of a developmental stage

As linked to the theoretical framework that was used in this study, it can be said that the loss of
adolescence, the forced sexual relations, and the denial of freedom and personal development
attendant on early marriage have profound psychosocial and emotional consequences.
Considering that, with early child marriages, the child is at their peak of development where they
are already in a crisis, marriage robes them away of their freedom and happiness. According to
Gomez (2019) the impact can be subtle and insidious and the damage hard to assess because it
includes such intangible factors as the effect of a girl’s loss of mobility and her confinement to
the home and to household roles. Obviously there is a marked lack of data in these areas, and
social researchers have failed to examine the psychosocial impacts of early marriage in this
context.

Most girls who are unhappy in an imposed marriage are very isolated. They have nobody to talk
to as they are surrounded by people who endorse their situation. For example, as stated in the
previous paragraph of the causes of child marriages, it is clear that, those around the child are the
ones that are mostly likely to benefit from the act. Leaving the key person responsible alone. In
Ethiopia, Inter-African Committee researchers were struck by the lack of interest from elders in
the traumas suffered by young girls as a result of early marriages, premature sex and
childbearing. These traumas were regarded as an “unavoidable part of life”. Girls who run home
to their parents may be beaten and sent back to their husbands.

Distress is generally endured in silence. Indian researchers on child marriage in Rajasthan and
Madhya Pradesh state that girl spouses suffer more than boys: “Inadequate socialization,
discontinuation of education, great physiological and emotional damage due to repeated
pregnancies devastates these girls.” (Pravesh and Akail, 2021). If the husband dies, even before
consummation, the girl is treated as a widow and given in nata to a widower in the family.
Officially she is then his wife, but in fact under the practice of nata she becomes the common
property of all the men in the family. The child bride who is widowed very young can suffer
additional discrimination. Widows suffer loss of status and they, along with their children, are
often denied property rights, and a range of other human rights. In parts of Africa, a widow is
remarried to a brother-in-law, a custom known as levirate, originally intended, in part, to provide
economic and social support. If the widow resists, she may be cast out by the family. Child
widows with little education and no means of earning are especially powerless.

2.3.8 Violence and Abuse in child marriages

In many cases, the girl child in child marriages has no voice. Hence, even if they are violated or
abused, they never have anyone to tell. Many cases of self-harm and suicide among British
women of South Asian origin were thought to be linked to forced child marriage. If a woman did
feel able to challenge the situation, it often took her years to do so. If this is happening in a
society where forced marriage is not the norm, it is safe to assume that such a challenge is far
less likely from a girl in an environment where early and forced marriages are commonplace.
Most available information on violent abuse is anecdotal, consisting of interviews with girls who
have suffered trauma as a result of their marriages. Data from Egypt has found that 29 per cent of
married adolescents have been beaten by their husband (or husband and others), and of these 41
per cent have been beaten during pregnancy. A study in Jordan, published in 2020 by Walkins
found that 26 per cent of reported cases of domestic violence were committed against wives
under 18. Some girls in brutal marriages become desperate enough to run away. Those who do
so, and those who choose a marriage partner against the wishes of their parents, may be
punished, or even killed by their family. These girls run the risk of the so-called ‘honour killings’
that occur in Bangladesh, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Turkey and elsewhere.

According to World Vision International (2020) early marriage is often linked to wife
abandonment, as shown by its association with divorce and separation. Violent behaviour
towards a wife, including coercive sex, plays a major role in marital breakdown. In South Africa,
it has been found that girls who marry early are three times more likely to be divorced than those
married later. A study in Zambia found that sexual violence in marriage is associated with a
greater likelihood of separation than physical violence alone. Divorce or abandonment often
plunges a woman into poverty, as she usually assumes sole responsibility for dependent children.
If she married young, is under-educated and has few income-generating skills, her poverty may
be acute. Studies of young mothers in Latin America and the Caribbean found that they are more
likely to be disadvantaged later in life; in Mexico they are six times more likely to be living in
poverty than those who postponed childbearing. Thus early marriage contributes to the
‘feminization of poverty’ and its resulting impact on children.

2.4 Strategies to reduce child marriages

2.4.1 Education for empowerment and intellectual development among the
girl child

The key to girls’ progress is education and learning because without knowledge, people perish.
Persuading parents to keep their daughters in school and ensuring that they receive a basic
education, as is their right, is important for a number of personal and family, as well as wider
social and economic, reasons including postponement of marriage. According to UNICEF (2020)
both Sri Lanka and the state of Kerala in neighbouring India have relatively high age of first
marriage. They also have something else in common that has contributed to this phenomenon:
both have given high priority to education for women as well as men. Therefore, if concerns for
the education and empowerment of the girl child are high, this also results in decreased child
marriages. In turn, this will change the way men and women perceive their roles and potential,
and has led to greater support for the rights of women than is found in many other parts of this
region. Where girls have lost out on formal education, non-formal programmes can help them
catch up on the intellectual and personal growth offered by schooling. Such programmes can
have a direct impact on early marriage: a programme from 2010 among the people of the
Samburu district in Kenya led to a fall in early marriage and helped women assert themselves.

UNICEF (2020) suggests that in schools and in non-formal education programmes there is a
growing emphasis on ‘life skills’ to equip girls and boys to negotiate personal relationships. Life
skills curricula aim to equip young people with the skills they need to cope in a world with new
risks and temptations – alcohol, drugs, freer sexual codes – and much greater political and
economic instability than in the past. Empowering young people to run their own lives is at the
heart of the life skills approach. In Bangladesh, NGOs working with both school-going and out-
of-school youth include adolescent rights in their course content, as well as reproductive health,
early marriage, dowry, marriage registration and divorce processes.

The Role of Education in Ending Child Marriages It is important to note that education is a
fundamental right. In the same vein, a girl has every right to quality education. One of the
indicators of quality education is when education meets the demands and expectations of the
intended beneficiaries. Quality education has to equip the learners with skills which will enable
them to survive and positively contribute to the good of society. The emphasis is not just on
education, but quality education. The Royal Commonwealth Society and Plan International UK
(2016) observed that the benefits of quality education include its role in informing learners on
their rights, global citizenship and sex education, promoting gender equality and developing
learner’s capabilities and providing for civic education and the development of critical thinking
and analytical skills. The points raised above make it necessary to examine the type of education
the school curriculum is providing. It is also important to note the role of culture in shaping our
behaviors and practices. There are two issues that emerge from the observation of the points
raised above about the role of education in ending child marriages globally. This demands that
we question the type of curriculum that different countries are providing. To what extent does the
school curriculum produce an independent thinker who is well equipped with critical thinking
and analytical skills? On the other hand, the provision of sex education may be lacking due to
religious and cultural beliefs that make it taboo to talk about sex issues. We also have to deal
with perceptions that any subject which is not examined at the end of the span is considered less
important. Similarly, Walker (2012) argues that ending child marriage needs to be an educational
goal and further identifies four approaches to ending child marriages through education. These
are the social benefits and development approach, the economic benefits approach, education as
empowerment approach and the legal approach. The legal approach has seen the emergence of
laws and policies that make education free and compulsory. Empowerment education approach
resonates well with the argument on quality education which states that one of the indicators of
quality education is its ability to have an empowering effect on the learners. One of the factors
that contribute to child marriages is lack of skills. Education enables learners to acquire and
develop skills that they will use in life and make them employable and self-reliant. Through the
social benefits and development approach, the girl child stays in school much longer which
contributes to delays in marriage. It may be necessary to add the fifth dimension to the
approaches. This can be referred to as education as enlightment approach. When we talk about
enlightment, we are looking at how education develops new perceptions on how to view things
and the wider world. Such enlightment enables individuals to see things differently and thus
contributing to a new value system. In the same vein, the education as enlightment approach
develops children to appreciate the need for deferred gratification.

2.4.2 Support for psychological well-being and emergency assistance

Very often, the only option for girls and women in situations of extreme marital stress is to run
away. In countries such as Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India and Kenya, many runaways end up in
poor urban communities, including brothel communities. Some local NGOs working in this field
have begun to assist such girls and women, but their efforts are generally confined to towns and
cities. Girls who run away from unhappy marriages need emergency support, as do those running
away from parents forcing them into an unwanted marriage, or punishing them for entering a
partnership without their permission. In Kenya, for example, an enterprising Maasai woman
helps such girls find refuge in the boarding school she has created in the town of Kajiado. Their
rescue is often organized with the help of mothers who are willing to brave the stigma of
supporting them.

There can also be a need for community-based and women’s groups provide the best services,
but they often lack support from traditional institutions, are poorly funded, and may have to
operate in secrecy – attacked for undermining cultural values. Gomez (2020) states that while
women and girls facing violence and abuse in industrialized countries may have access to
refuges, counselling and other kinds of support, these services are rare in countries such as
Ethiopia, Bangladesh or Pakistan. However, some organizations do exist in the developing world
to offer shelter and counselling to women who have run away from violent marriages. In
Zimbabwe, for example, the NGO Musasa provides counselling, temporary refuge, employment
support and helps women establish their own independence. Many girls, of course, do not run
away. But those girls and young women who remain in their marriages can benefit from the
support of others through peer counselling, local women’s groups and so on.

2.4.3 Advocacy

Marriage is regarded as a private, even sensitive subject. In many societies in Asia and in Africa,
it has traditionally been unthinkable to discuss sexual relations even between husband and wife.
However, changing lifestyles and the HIV epidemic have begun to erode these taboos.
Adolescents are demanding the right to know about, and talk about, intimate matters. Creating
the circumstances in which such subjects can be addressed, especially in traditional rural
societies and ethnic groups where early marriage is common, is a vital pre-condition for
hastening its end. Maggie (2021) is of the view that advocacy is needed at all levels of society,
but particularly at household and community level, to influence attitudes. The benefits of
postponing marriage for wives, husbands, families and communities need to be shared with
religious and community leaders, while those who exert role model influence, as well as
government personnel, need to be engaged. A survey conducted by the UK working group on
forced marriage, for example, found that one of the main motivations of parents who force their
daughters into marriage was the desire to strengthen families and protect their cultures. In fact,
the evidence indicates that the opposite often occurs, with families breaking apart and children
turning against their cultural background. Public education campaigns must reinforce activity in
schools and health facilities. Emphasis should be on the need to protect and support the
adolescent period, especially by keeping girls in school. Governments should be encouraged to
create a policy climate that supports later marriage, through scholarship provision, legal reform,
and affirmative policies and programmes on behalf of women. Efforts to improve participation of
women and girls in civic and public life and to give them equal access to training and
employment opportunities, can enhance their status and thereby decrease the likelihood of early
marriage. The UN Special Session on women (2018) suggests that national advocacy campaigns
can take various forms like cmpaigning to raise the legal age of marriage; or – more importantly
– ensuring implementation of the legal age of marriage, promoting an effective system of
registration of births, marriages and deaths; setting up small-scale studies into the implications of
early marriage and publication of the findings of such studies; lastly, using national and
international Women’s Days to raise awareness; via social mobilization involving women’s
networks, opinion leaders at the national level, politicians and community leaders.

2.4.4 Policy issues

Girls not brides (2017) states that in order to eradicate and control child marriages, there is need
for government policies. Governments should focus on strengthening child protection system at
national, community and family levels. This will include having policies, legislation and
regulation that promote the eradication of child marriage; a system in which all actors have the
required skills to deal with issues surrounding child marriage; having structures that are family-
and community focused. Girls not brides (2017) should also engage into effective promotion,
prevention and response actions, for boys and girls of all ages, delivered through sustainable
community-based mechanisms and government services; and sufficient resource allocation and
efficient fiscal management. Given the multifaceted and inter-related factors that facilitate child
marriage, it is important for Governments and other stakeholders to support and resource
programmes that focus on the empowerment of girls and boys. These programmes interventions
could include psychosocial support, social protection, child protection, economic strengthening,
health and education. Moreover, national education policies should create opportunities for
primary and secondary education and informal education for both girls and boys. Education
plays a significant role in delaying the age of marriage. Global evidence by United Nations
Population Fund (2012) shows that completing secondary school is the best way to prevent child
marriage and teen pregnancies. Both formal and informal education can help girls and boys
develop cognitive and social skills, establish social networks, make informed decisions, and
increase the opportunity of earning and income. Stakeholders should consider offering education
scholarships and support programmes that offer life skills training. In addition to this, national
education policies should provide for ‘second chance’ education through both formal and
informal systems. Girls not brides (2017) suggests that psychosocial support programmes should
be offered to girls who return to school after giving birth and in addition to this, governments
should formulate media strategies and support technologies that can reach all communities.
Media can be used as a platform to share information on the negative impact of child marriage
and provide alternative options for girls and boys. Media offers a useful vehicle to address
harmful traditional practices.

2.5 Chapter Summary

This chapter focused on different literature that was reviewed on the topic of psychosocial effects
of child marriages on the girl child. The chapter began by looking at the theoretical framework
which guided the study and this was the psychosocial theory by Erickson, then focused on an
overview of child marriages- its definition, laws that govern child marriages, and it prevalence.
The chapter also looked at the psychosocial effects of child marriages, and the strategies that can
be put in place to advocate and fight against child marriages.
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