Girl child education; Answer to the vicious cycle of teenage pregnancies and child marriages in Uganda

By Sam Agona

My elder brother Dr. Patrick Pithua and I had never been so close until recently when started skyping  each other and talking for lots of hours. Among the things we agreed on is that agriculture can take our family forward. Against that backdrop, we agreed to invest in land resources such as tree planting and agro-forestry. On that note, my younger brother Akaa Tutu  and I would run the projects up in Lira district about 400kms from Kampala to the north of Uganda.

Having already known a lot about the child marriage vice from a few meetings I have had at United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA Uganda) and also by experience from my other assignments in rural parts of Uganda such as Kasese, Bundibugyo, this project allowed me reach areas in the north and experience the effect of child marriages on a someone I personally knew.

Akoli grew up in Alito village in Erute north, about 3 kms from where I lived only punctuated by a 10 minutes boat ride on river Okole to reach her parent’s home. Due to various commitments, I had not been to the village of Alito since 2002.

This time, I had gone to look for manpower, a group of men appeared to make some cash for their alcohol parties, but guess who appeared with them? Akoli, holding her hoe and a young girl (who turned out to be her daughter) ready to dig under the scorching sun, Akoli is about 24 years old but looks way much older than her age. However, the most interesting part is that she is happy and talks with a smile in her state. 

Akoli went to a primary school I visited several times 16 years ago (1997), and the memories of village children (just like I was) walking bare foot to primary school is still fresh on my mind but was pulled out of school 8 years ago by her parents when she was 16 and got married to an equally young village boyfriend who does nothing for a living but just because the family needed bride wealth that the boy’s family was willing to offer. Along the way, Akoli gave birth to a baby girl called Dinah whom I was lucky to meet as she came along with her mother.

This time, I had gone to look for manpower, a group of men appeared to make some cash for their alcohol parties, but guess who appeared with them? Akoli, holding her hoe and a young girl (who turned out to be her daughter) ready to dig under the scorching sun, Akoli is about 24 years old but looks way much older than her age. However, the most interesting part is that she is happy and talks with a smile in her state. 

Akoli went to a primary school I visited several times 16 years ago (1997), and the memories of village children (just like I was) walking bare foot to primary school is still fresh on my mind but was pulled out of school 8 years ago by her parents when she was 16 and got married to an equally young village boyfriend who does nothing for a living but just because the family needed bride wealth that the boy’s family was willing to offer. Along the way, Akoli gave birth to a baby girl called Dinah whom I was lucky to meet as she came along with her mother.

Dinah is now of school going age (about 5 years), but on a Wednesday when all her peers were at school, she was with her mother in the garden to make quick cash to run the family. I asked Akoli as to why Dinah was not being given the chance to study, she responded saying Dinah has no school uniform. Dinah’s uniform cost about Ugx. 7,000 ($2.7) which is less than $4.1, Akoli got paid for the garden work she had done that afternoon. I however still offered to buy for Dinah a uniform by giving Ugx. 7,000. I promised to go back in a few months to check on how Dinah will be fairing in school.

                                        

UNFPA Uganda and other local agencies like EASSI, Amani Initiative Against Teenage Pregnancy & Early Marriage and mainly women organisations are working tirelessly to fight child marriages in Uganda. This vice needs all levels of involvement right from the leaders, educators and households so as to keep children in school. Individuals with capacity should also take it upon themselves to play both advisory and active roles to rural people who may not value girl-child empowerment.

Complemented by how Dinah’s parents view life, it will not be strange if Dinah got married off at 15, just 10 years from her current age. Appropriate action has to be taken to avoid this, government ministries responsible for child security should respond, you should take upon this, I have already taken it up. This is the biggest cause of rural poverty. Young parents allow their young children to get married off, thus a vicious cycle of uncouth happening without any regulation.

Conclusively, Akoli’s story is representative of hundreds of rural children. Having children in school longer keeps them occupied learning, opening up their minds and rendering them ambitious, reducing urge to get married or have children at young age. Through prolonged education, not only population is controlled but also quality population is ensured.