culled picThe Nigerian senate recently passed a bill in favor of underage marriage for the girl child and to recognize such as an adult when married. This is morally, psychologically and socially wrong and robs the girl child of her childhood as well as her basic fundamental human rights. I would focus more on the medical implications of underage marriage.
The body of a child is not fully equipped to handle the stress of pregnancy and childbirth. Vesicovaginal fistula(VVF) is a common complication of early childbirth and rape. VVF is an abnormal fistulous tract extending between the bladder and the vagina that allows the continuous involuntary discharge of urine into the vaginal vault. An obstetric fistula is caused by child birth due to prolonged labor that presses the unborn child tightly against the pelvis. This cuts off blood flow to the vesico vaginal wall. Tissue necrosis (cell death) occurs leaving holes through which urine can pass uncontrollably.
According to Nigeria's minister of women affairs and social developement, Hajiya Zainab Maina, Nigeria has the highest incidences of vesico vaginal fistula in the world with an estimated 400,000 to 800,000 cases with 20,000 cases each year. These women are usually treated as outcasts, banished from their communities and frequently told they are being punished for their sins. They suffer from emotional trauma and are even rejected by own their families.
Let us all join hands to educate the girl child. Knowledge is power. If you educate a boy, you educate an individual, if you educate a girl, you educate a nation.
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