By Hasbin Shaw in Freetown, Sierra Leone
“According to our tradition, a girl should get married when she reaches puberty,” said Zainab Binta Jalloh, a 23-year-old from Sierra Leone’s Koinadugu District. She was married when she was 15 years old 45-year old man.
Two years early, when she was only 13, a 45 year-old man approached her parent with a marriage proposal.
“He was rich, and he was using his wealth to influence my parent. My parent was pressuring me about him every day,” Zainab said.
But she was opposed to marrying so young. “I always resisted them,” she recalled.
Zainab said she is aware that child marriage is a human rights violation, one that threatens girl’s lives and health. She told our Correspondent that she also knows that child brides may become pregnant before their bodies are ready and they are highly vulnerable to abuse.
Statistics in Sierra Leone have shown that child brides are often forced to drop out of school, something that limits their future prospect. Ms. Jalloh knew she needed help to avoid child marriage.
“I explained my situation to a friend, and she advised me to join the children’s Forum Network,” Zainab noted, “through the network I was fortunate to be part of the National Girls’ camp.”
The week-long girls’ empowerment camp, organized by the office of the first lady and UNFPA, teaches girls about their health and human rights. It also teaches them financial literacy, computer skills, comprehensive sexuality education, and about advocacy activism.
The girls, selected from a wide range of backgrounds, also received support from a mentor. “I learned from women who would become my role models through their inspirational stories,” Ms. Zainab Binta Jalloh said.
Still, when she returned home, her parents could not be persuaded that she would have more potential if she avoided child marriage. They demanded that she marry the man they had chosen. “This time, my parent told me they will disown me if I continued to decline the marriage. I was left with no choice,” she said. “I married him.
A nightmare unfolds
“The marriage was a nightmare,” Ms. Binta Jalloh said. Her 45-year old husband was already married. “Can you imagine he had another wife, who is older than my mother? This had been unknown to my parents and me,” she added. “The older wife ensured I was isolated and assigns me the entire task in the home. I had no friends and I could not interact with the neighbors.”
In the evenings, she faces sexual violence from her husband. “When he returns home at night, he would force himself on me,” she recounted.
Although her husband had promised to send her to school, he changed his tune after the wedding. “You are here to pay for all the money your parents took from me so don’t even think you are going back to school or to your parents. You are here to satisfy all my needs,” she remembers him telling her.
Months later, she had another opportunity to attend the annual National Girls Camp. This time, lessons about human rights and girls empowerment encouraged her to make a bold move.
“I decided I had to run away. I went to my elder brother [who lived] in another town and who was unaware of my marriage.”
Her brother took her in. “I explained to him my situation. He decided to send me back to school.”
Empowering girls
UNFPA is working with the Government and other partners to end child marriage and promote girls welfare in Sierra Leone.
For instance, through the UNFPA-UNICEF Global program to Accelerate Action to End Child Marriage, girls’ clubs are being established throughout the country. At this clubs, girls learn their rights and health including the health risks of early pregnancy and their right to live free of abuse and child marriage. They also received support and guidance from trusted role models.
Today, Ms Binta Jalloh is a role model as well. She is outspoken about her experience, sharing her story with girls, activities and others to help spark change. She is also in university, and she has big dreams. “I am currently enjoying life as a student, she told UNFPA. Someday I hope to save enough money to study to be a medical doctor.”
