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MOZAMBIQUE/MARRIAGEBack
[Published: Monday February 01 2016]

Mozambique ranks 10th in global child marriage, UNICEF

MAPUTO, 1 Feb - (ANA) - According to the United Nation's Children Education Fund  (UNICEF), nearly one in two women aged between 20 and 24 were married or in a union before they were 18 years old. The country has the tenth highest rate of child marriage in the world. In Mozambique, the legal age of marriage is 18, but where parents or guardians have given consent, the age is 16. At the town's primary school teachers have become accustomed to seeing their most promising female pupils drop out each term due to early unplanned pregnancies or because they get married. "Every term, at least five students drop out because of this. The girls are getting married or falling pregnant because they are trying to escape from difficult conditions at home. When they have no food or clothes to wear it is easy for men to tell them lies and abuse them," Ranita David Murasse, the director of EPCDE primary school SAID. The school has 253 pupils and less than half are female. In the lower grades, there are more girls than boys; from sixth grade, there are more boys than girls. "We have fewer girls than boys because of pregnancies and marriage. Parents can't afford to buy their children books or sandals, and men take advantage of this sad economic situation. [For] almost all the girls who get pregnant, the men [who impregnate them] are older," Murasse added. Teachers at the local school feel they are fighting a losing battle. "We live in a border town where men with money pass through. They offer our girls who come from poor families gifts and money. These men carry diseases and health problems. Our situation is critical," Cristina Sevene, a teacher at the primary school, said, her voice filled with anger. Low levels of education and a lack of reproductive health information leaves the young girls at an increased risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases. The young girls and the poverty-stricken families are at the mercy of men with cash. Mozambique, with one of the fastest-growing economies on the continent, has realised the scale of the problem and is pushing to reverse the trend. Educating the masses about the benefits of keeping girls in school and not marrying them off is the solution, says the government. "We are reviewing our laws and are also creating girls clubs where they can get help confidentially," Jorge Ferrao, the education minister, told Al Jazeera. "When a student gets pregnant, she is forced to abandon school. To reduce the phenomenon, we must seek practical ways to reduce it. With a more literate society, we will reduce the phenomenon," Ferrao said. (ANA)
FA/ANA/1 February 2016-----------
 

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