Breaking Vows: Early and Forced Marriage and Girls’ Education 2011
Case Study: Sudan Young people in Sudan’s White Nile area, where early marriage is a common practice and girls and boys are regularly married before the age of 15, have been working with Plan to promote girls’ education and end harmful traditional practices. In such a poor area, customary payment of bride-price in the form of money and gold to the bride’s family, combined with the belief that marrying girls at a younger age will ease the financial burden on their family, acts as a powerful financial incentive for early marriage. It is also felt that early marriage often leads to more children and larger families and that younger wives are more obedient. Families take pride in marrying their daughters at very young ages. Plan has encouraged young people to involve community and religious leaders, teachers, parents, children and government officials in workshops, debates, discussions, and open days in order to emphasise the importance of education for girls and the duty of families and communities to protect children from early and forced marriage. The young people used songs, plays, posters and films to deliver their messages. Youth group members report that they are now able to discuss early marriage openly in their homes, schools and communities, which would not have been possible before, and that they have witnessed a change in the attitudes of their parents and elders.
Photo: Adam Hinton
Ahmed,16, told Plan: “We are so happy and proud to play a role in this initiative. I am glad to say that many families are convinced to stop this practice. They now allow their girls to continue their schooling.”67
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