CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

Early marriage also known as child marriage is a marriage carried out by someone below
the age of 18 years, this is because at that age the person is not physically, physiologically
and psychologically ready to shoulder the challenges of marriage and child bearing. This is
mostly practiced in the northern part of the country. Approximately, about 40% of women
20-24 worldwide married before the age of 18, like in sub-saharan Africa, 22% 15 – 19
were married in Egypt, 11% in Tunisia, 44% in Nigeria. In Nigeria, the attention of the
world was drawn when the book Haram sect started kidnapping young girls and forcing
them into marriage. (Medicine, 2013)

Poverty creates situations where people’s basic needs such as food, clothing, and shelter are
not being met (UNICEF, 2007& Nour, N. W. 2009. These basic needs make life
comfortable and enjoyable. The absence of such basic needs can make life unbearable.
Poverty can also be further defined as the deprivation of rights, liberties, and opportunities,
and not merely shortage of income Shobba, A. (2009).

The problem of women and poverty has drawn the attention of many writers and
researchers. Findings from a number of researchers show that the most common factors
associated with women and poverty include: policies from governments, lack of resources
assigned for women, factors of modernization, and harmful traditions and practices such as
early marriages especially in the northern Nigerian Shehu, M. (2010) In this study, I
propose that traditions such as early marriage are major contributing factors to poverty
among women especially in Nigeria. The need for this study is to present the importance of
producing full potential in Nigerian women’s lives for national growth.

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One of the major cause, as well as a consequence, of early marriages, especially in
developing countries is poverty. This type of marriage is commonly practiced in poorer
rural societies. Early marriages among girls have negative impacts on girls’ educational and
economic outcomes, as well as their sexual and emotional development. Marriage is
supposed to be considered as a moment of joy and celebration. However, the harmful
practice of early marriage creates a sad moment for this type of celebration of the union for
most girls Shehu, M. (2010).

Early marriage is marriage below eighteen years, early marriage disregards or restricts the
consent of a child, and girls are most often affected by this type of marriage. Early marriage
can be interchangeably known as forced marriage. It is sometimes called forced marriage
because there is an imposition of a marriage partner upon a child Goldien, L. (2007). The
child does not have the opportunity to exercise her full and free right to choose a life
partner. Moreover, some children are too young to make informed decisions. Goldien also
described early marriage as both formal marriages and informal unions in which a girl lived
with a partner as if married, before the age of 18. The economic options that are essential
for young people to succeed in life such as education are affected (Goldien, 2013).
Although early marriage in some countries affects both sexes, girls are predominantly the
victims. The practices of early marriage inflict negative effects on girls. In addition, the
overall economic status and development of societies and countries are affected (Abu-
Ghaida, D., 2011).

The practice of early marriage is most common in the rural traditional areas of Africa and
Southern Asia. Southern Asia is ranked as the highest in incidence of the aforementioned
harmful practice (UNFPA, 2011). Early marriage is common in rural areas because people
living in rural settlements are highly involved with traditions compared to their counterparts
in urban cities (Abu-Ghaida, D., 2011). Many social customs define females as wives and
mothers, and these gender ideologies often limit girls’ prospects. Gender roles and marriage
systems are enforced in traditions in many countries, and this dictates the early marriage
practice despite national laws forbidding early marriage (ICRW, 2013).

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This study intends to focus on causes and effects of early marriage in FCE Pankshin, and to
also present the health, education, and economic situations of the women from the study
area. The study is very much concerned about the implications of early marriages for
women’s development in the selected study area in particular, and Nigeria in general. In
fact, the practice of early marriage is very common in Northern parts of Nigeria, and this is
a social problem in the country as a whole. In order to assist in the eradication of negative
cultural practices, it has become necessary to study the ongoing contributing factors and
influences that the practices of early marriage have in relations to the cycle of poverty
among women from Nigeria.

Birth, marriage and death are the standard trio of key events in most people live. But out of
these three events; ‘marriage’ is a matter of choice. The right to exercise that choice was
identified as a principle of law starting from the Roman era and has been established in the
international human right instruments. Yet, many girls enter into marriage without any
choice of exercising their right to choose. Most of them are forced into marriage at their
early or tender age. Others are simply too young to make a matured decision about their
marriage partner or about the consequences of marriages itself. They may have given what
passes for ‘counsel’ in the eyes of the law, but in reality, consent to their binding union has
been made by other on their behalf (Bunting, 2012).

The axiom is that once a girl is married she has automatically become a woman regardless
of her age. The right to free and full consent to marriage is recognized in the 1948
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and in other human right instruments
(Shehu, 2010; Bunting, 2012). Early marriage has profound physical, intellectual,
psychological and emotional impacts, which has the capacity to dash away the educational
opportunities and chances for personal growth. It almost leads to pregnancy and
childbearing, and is likely to result into a lifetime domestic and sexual subservience.

All these made the researcher to wonder and ask the following; if the girl child has a right
to her own personal life, what are the major causes of the early marriage of the girl child,
what are the educational effects of the early marriage of the girl child and what could be the

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possible solutions to the menace of early of the girl child? Because of these, the researcher
is left with no choice but the pick ‘the causes and effects of early marriage on the academic
performance of female students in Damaturu’.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Early marriage poses great threat to the academic performance of students coerced into it.
Early marriage is a symbol of poor orientation. Throughout the world, marriage is regarded
as a moment of celebration and milestone in one’s life. Sadly, the practice of early marriage
involves the deprivation of fundamental human rights. Young girls are robbed of their
youthfulness and required to take on roles, they are not emotionally prepared for. Majority
of the young girls have no choice about the timing of marriage or about their partner. Some
are coerced into marriage, while others are too tender to make an informed decision.
Premature marriage deprives them of the opportunity for personal development as well as
their rights to full reproductive health, wellbeing, education and participation in civil life.
There has been consensus in literature that early marriage disrupts, disturbs and distorts the
academic performance of female students, but these does not imply that all students
involved in early marriage perform poorly in education. Poor attendance to class, limited
time to read and study, digressed focus from academics to families’ welfare, withdrawal at
times and poor time management. A very good example we can relate to are the young girls
in the campus especially Social Studies department who are involve in early marriage, we
can see how most of them have been battling with their academics which most of them are
carrying over some courses both in the department and general courses, these are some of
the consequences of the early marriage on the academic performance of the girl child. All
these challenges have been identified in existing literature as a survey on early marriage in
female academic performance. To these effects, the researcher is made to ask the questions,
what are the causes of early marriage among female child, what are the effects of early
marriage to the girl child education and what are the possible solutions to the early
marriage of the girl child?

1.3 Purpose of the Study

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The main objective of the study is to examine the causes and effect of early marriage on the
academic performance of female students in Damaturu, Damaturu Local Government Area
of Yobe State.

The specific objectives of the study include

1. To identify the possible causes of early marriage among female students in Damaturu.
2. To examine the educational effects of early marriage on female student’s academic
performance in Damaturu.
3. To suggest possible solution to the problem of early marriage on female student’s
academic performance.

1.4 Research Questions

In accordance with the research objectives, the questions of interest raised in the study are:

1. What are the possible causes of early marriage among female students in Damaturu?
2. What are the educational effects of early marriage on female student’s academic
performance in Damaturu?
3. How can we proffer possible solution to all problems of early marriage on female
student’s academic performance?

1.5 Research Hypothesis

Hypothesis is the preposition made on the basis of limited information and evidence
which is use to take a valid conclusion and judgment. The hypotheses formulated in the
study are:

1. H01 Early marriage has no significant educational effects on female student’s

academic performance in Damaturu.
2. H02 Early marriage has significant educational effects on female student’s academic
performance in Damaturu.
3.

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1.6 Significance of the Study

Findings and outcome of this study will be of great significance or importance to many
people among who are female students, parents, teachers, government, educators, NGOs
and as a reference material.

Female students will gain from this study by learning that education is the only way to
achieving greater goals in life, and this will help them in correcting the instability that had
existed in girl’s education.

Parents will gain a great ideal in this study by getting to learn that women education is not a
waste, and also if you educate a man, but if you educate a woman you educate a family, a
nation, and this will help change their attitudes and ignorance towards girl’s education.

Government, both the Federal, State and Local levels will gain from this study by realizing
from this study that funds, higher access education, poverty easing programmes should be
made available for education at all levels.

Educators, educational planners, the general public will gain from this study by learning
that girls are in no way inferior to men, they also gain by learning how to educate, guide
and counsel girls in carrier choices of educational courses.

The study should be of great importance to Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in

setting out their goals of combating some menace in the society which early marriage
should be one of their top most priority. So as to give the girl child a hope of better
education in the community.

Lastly, this study will serve as a reference material to future researchers who would like to
carry out a research on a similar or the same topic.

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1.7 Scope of the Study

This study focused on the causes and effects of early marriage on the academic
performance of female students in Damaturu, Damaturu LGA of Yobe State or even
Nigeria of the major issue involved. The study is limited to Damaturu.

Due to the problems of financial and problem of finding record and poor responses
from the students in the College made it difficult for all these problems. Researchers,
further research could be carried out to find out the impact of early marriage on female
student’s academic performance.

The present study is limited in its scope of investigation for three basic reasons. Firstly, it
mainly focuses on the causes and effects of early marriage on the academic performance of
female students in Damaturu, Damaturu LGA of Yobe State or even Nigeria of the major
issue involved. The study is limited to. Secondly, the researcher is engaged in examining
early marriage among the students of Federal Polytechnic Damaturu due to the fact that
early marriage has a strong negative effect on girls’ educational achievement socialization
in the family, school and community levels of investigation. Thirdly, the study focuses on
Federal Polytechnic Damaturu as the selected institution among so many institutions within
Yobe state because the successful incorporation of the anthropological concept of “culture”
into the explanation of early marriage and its effects on girl’s academic performance in
Federal Polytechnic requires a theoretical approach and thorough contextualization through
greater reliance on relatively small social units. Accordingly, most data were collected
through the ethnographic methods over the period of the study by intensive personal and
participant observation, with special attention paid to focus students as the selected
subjects. As a result, the scope of the applicability of the findings have to be valued with
regard to the target groups viewed in the light of the economic, social and cultural
conditions of their local communities.

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1.8 Operational Definition of Terms

1. Effect; Effect is the result or outcome of a cause.

2. Early Marriage: Early marriage or child marriage is defined as the union between
two people in which one or both parties are younger than 18 years of age.
3. Academic Performance: Academic performance is the outcome of education, the
point to which a student, teacher or institution has achieved their educational goals.
Academic performance is commonly measured by examinations or continuous
assessment but there is no general agreement on how it is best tested or which
aspects are more important.
4. Education: Education is defined as the process of easing learning, or the learning of
knowledge, skills, values, beliefs, and habits.

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 CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

3.0 Preamble

This chapter reviewed some of the numerous works done by scholars and researchers which
are directly related to this research work. In doing so, this chapter examined and reviewed
the following areas; concept of early marriage, causes of early marriage, consequences of
early marriage, educational effect on early marriage, non-educational effect on early
marriage, effect of early marriage on the national economy, societal view on early
marriage, empirical review, theoretical approaches and summary of the review.

Right from the beginning of ages, the effect of early marriage on the academic performance
of the girl child has been a topic for debate. In 2004, Children’s national Day, the UNICEF
in collaboration with the Ministry of Education in Nigeria, had a presentation of statistical
result of schooling children to non-schooling children in the contemporary society. the
research presentation shows that over 7.2 million Nigerian children are out of school as
they engaged themselves in hawking, as maid to people or otherwise. Meanwhile, from the
above result, 87% of these children found outside school were girls. In a press briefing
organized by the Chairman of National Orientation Agency, Dr. Chukwuemeka Chukwudi
the major reasons why more girl child are found outside school was because female
children are given out on marriage at an early age range.

It is no longer a matter of argument that females constitute more than fifty percent
(50%) of world’s active population (UNESCO, 2008). Although they make immense
contribution to national development, they still face a number of difficulties that limit their
potentials in promoting personal and collective development. A key area of concern in this
regard is that of their education, which can only at best be described as dwindling as and
less than equal to that of the male. (Obaya, 2003). The marriage institution is very vital in
any society; it’s legitimate in the productive process and ensures the meaningful
preparation of the social norm of society. Yet the timing and the resultant impact of early
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marriage is a source of concern for many who cherish the equitable participation of female
in modern education. When girls are married at age of 10 to 14, their educational careers
are disrupted especially if an avenue for second chance learning is not provided. Once girls
are left behind in this process, they add to the burden of development of the society and
their positive roles and contributions are limited early.

It is impossible to allow girls to marry at the ages of maturity, when they must have had
opportunities for the attainment of basic education. meanwhile, one understands that the
idea of girls being giving out to men for marriage at an early stage of life is not really
because their parents, long for such life, but simply because of the poverty level of families.
The indicator of prevailing poverty among the poor, rural and urban populace that the
world receives from the UNDP annually is a clear evidence of lack of equitable distribution
of wealth in society. As a result, several families live below the poverty line, living on less
than N50 per day. We know for a fact that most of the families in Africa are extended,
especially, with devastating impact of diseases including malnutrition, and HIV/AIDS.
Consequently, families are less able to cater for the educational needs of their wards. When
choices are made on who goes to school, the males are given preferential treatment, thereby
leaving the girl child largely not catered for. This means that poverty’s impact on child
education is felt more by the girl child, as most girls are giving out in marriage on a reason
of getting money from the son in-law to sponsor the male child’s education. The question
is: why must this be the case. Apart from the fact that parents do give this girl child out on
marriage early, thus impeding their chances of education, it is observed likewise that, there
are instances where the females themselves bear n themselves poor self-concepts of being
unable to cope with challenges of modern impressions society placed on them. This then
becomes a very serious impediment to their learning and educational pursuits. There is a
populate belief in society that modern education only emphasizes instrumental goals, that
is, that it is mainly employment oriented. Therefore, when learners complete educational
programmes without commensurate assurance for modern sector jobs, society sees a
mismatch and lack of energy. This discourages participation, given that no serious meaning

10
is ever attached to learning itself. Similarly, schools do not teach skills that may help
learners to become self-reliant and gain self-employment from their formal training.

Moreover, the female child sometimes agrees to their parental ideas as regard getting
married at a very early stage of life, tentatively because of the knowledge they have
acquired that all perspective of education is masculine in nature.

3.1 The Concept of Early Marriage

According to UNICEF (2003-2009). Survey on early marriage is defined as a formal

marriage or informal union entered into by an individual before reaching a certain age,
specified by some global organizations as high as the age of 18. The legally prescribed
marriageable age in some jurisdictions is below 18 years, especially in the case of girls; and
even when the age is set at 18 years, many jurisdictions permit earlier marriage with
parental consent or in special circumstances, such as teenage pregnancy. In certain
countries, even when the legal marriage age is 18, cultural traditions take priority over
legislative law. Child marriage affects both boys and girls, though the overwhelming
majority of those affected are girls, most of whom are in poor socioeconomic situations.
Child marriage is related to child betrothal, and it includes civil cohabitation and court
approved early marriages after teenage pregnancy. In many cases, only one marriage-
partner is a child, usually the female. Causes of child marriages include poverty, bride
price, dowry, cultural traditions, laws that allow child marriages, religious and social
pressures, regional customs, fear of remaining unmarried, illiteracy, and perceived inability
of women to work for money. Child marriages were common throughout history for a
variety of reasons, including poverty, insecurity, as well as for political and financial
reasons. Today, child marriage is still fairly widespread in developing countries, such as
parts of Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, West Asia, Latin America, and Oceania. The
incidence of child marriage has been falling in most parts of the world. The countries with
the highest observed rates of child marriages below the age of 18 are Niger, Chad, Mali,
Bangladesh, Guinea and the Central African Republic, with a rate above 60%. Niger, Chad,

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Bangladesh, Mali and Ethiopia were the countries with child marriage rates greater than
20% below the age of 15, according to UNESCO (2003-2009).

Early pregnancy is one of the most dangerous causes and consequences of child marriage.
Girls married early are more likely to experience violence, abuse and forced sexual
relations. They are more vulnerable to sexually transmitted infections (including HIV).
Going to school gives girls choices and opportunities in life, allowing them to play an
active role in their communities and break the cycle of poverty. Girls who are married are
unlikely to be in school. Education is essential for girls to be able to make informed
decisions about their sexual health and well-being. Sharon K. Houseknecht (2005).

Child marriage is a global issue that affects disproportionately more girls than boys
including Nigeria (UNICEF, 2014). The report also identified that in the year 2011,
globally 720 million girls and 156 million boys under the age of 18 years are estimated to
be married. The practice of child marriage has continued to decline around the world, in
2018, UNICEF estimated that approximately 650 million girls (which includes girls under
age 18 who have already married, and adult women who married in childhood) were child
brides. UNICEF suggests that while the global reduction in child marriage is promising, no
region is on track to meet the SDG target 5.3 of eliminating the practice of child and early
marriage by 2030. During the past decade, the proportion of young women married as
children has decreased by 15 per cent, from 1 in 4 (25%) to approximately 1 in 5 (21%), but
data does not reflect on the trend of child marriage among boys under 18 or 21 years of age.

However, South Asia still remains home to the largest number of child brides, followed by
sub-Saharan Africa (UNICEF, 2018), where every 1 in 2 women are marrying under the
age of 18 (Plan’s Asia Regional Office& ICRW, 2013). Countries with high rates of child
marriage are concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa but due to population size, the largest
absolute numbers of child brides (which UNICEF specifies to be particularly aged under
15) are found in South Asia (Girls not Brides, 2018). The key drivers behind child marriage
in South Asia are still heavily gendered, as around 30% girls are married off by the age of

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18 whereas (as of Plan and ICRW’s 2013 report) the percentage for boys of the same age is
5% (Plan’s Asia Regional Office & ICRW, 2013).

UN databases and reports on child marriage state that half (46%) of child marriages occur
in South Asia (UNICEF and Girls not Brides, 2014). Casualty of child marriage principally
include deeply embedded cultural and religious beliefs, poverty, parents’ desire to secure
economic and social security for their daughters, and the perceived need to protect girls
from harm, including sexual harassment (Girls Not Brides, n.d.). The prevailing regional
statistics and the drivers behind them are further illustrated by Raj, McDougal and Rusch in
2012 through a study conducted across 4 countries (Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Nepal)
in order to understand the prevalence of child marriage from 1991 – 2007 and whether any
reduction had taken place. While the study does not show any specific selection criteria for
the countries taken into account, it intended to illustrate the differences that have occurred
in the regional child marriage trend through the sample of these 4 countries. The study
analyzed all available population-based Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) data from
Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan between 1991 and 2007 to assess whether
prevalence of girl child marriage had changed over the past 17 years in these 4 South Asian
nations. Results indicated that the prevalence of girl child marriage decreased in these 4
countries from 1991–1994 to 2005–2007, but the study does not provide an overall
percentage of reduction. However, it more specifically illustrates, significant reductions
that occurred in marriage of girls prior to age 14 years across all 4 nations, which ranged
from 34.7% to 61.0%. Little or no change over time was seen by this study on marriage of
16- to 17-year-old adolescent girls for any nation except Nigeria, where such marriages
increased by 35.7%. It concluded that improvements in education of girls and increasing
rural to urban migration may have attributed to reductions in child marriage. It further
highlights that trends in delaying marriage have occurred among younger but not among
older adolescent-girl population within this South Asian region (Raj, McDougal, &Rusch,
2012). However, the burden of child marriage remains high for this region due both to the
legacy of how common child marriage was in previous generations and to the region’s large
population (UNICEF, 2018). Moving onto a more country specific lens, the literature body

13
on child marriage in Nigeria (explained in the coming paragraphs) illustrates the
prevalence, changes, trends and determinants.

2.2 Causes of Early Marriage

Religion and Cultural Values
Notion of morality and honor Most early marriages are practiced in rural communities that
share strong traditions and beliefs (Alhassan, 2013 &Bayisenge, 2010). This type of
marriage is highly prevalent in patriarchal societies because the transfer of protection of
girls from their fathers to the hands of their future spouses is required (Adedokun et. al.,
2011). Consequently, early marriage is practiced to maintain the value of virginity of girls
as well. Families often marry off their girls early to avoid societal ridicule, disapproval,
and/or family shame (Adedokun et. al.,
From the above quote, the main reason families give away their daughters in such
marriages is the desire to maintain good social standing. In addition, the loss of virginity in
girls before marriage in many strong traditional communities is the worst shame to families.
Early marriages of girls become a way of protecting girls from illicit sexual activities and
unwanted pregnancies (Alhassan, 2013 &Adedokun et al., 2011). Some parents even
withdraw their girls from school for fear of exposure to sexual activities to ensure that their
virginity is safe. Marriage is often seen as an ultimate protection measure in order to control
girls’ sexuality (Fant, 2008, p. 37; Nour, 2009, &Bayisenge, 2010).
Level and Lack of Education
A report by ICRW (2013) showed that the variations in individual girls’ academic
intelligence and achievement and indirect costs of education also evidently make it harder
and sometimes impossible for poorer families to keep their daughters in school (Alhassan,
2013). When girls struggle with their academics, their families regard the cost of education
as a waste of resources. Girls are then forced to give up their dreams of being educated.
This in return makes them vulnerable to early marriage which families use as a means to
limit household expenses (ICRW, 2013). On the other hand, when girls’ academics were in
good standing but their families lacked the needed financial resources, they were still left
with no choice other than to quit school (ICRW, 2013, P. 17-18). Poverty, in effect, is

14
regarded as a general factor that leads to early school dropouts. The level of girls’ education
as well is a prime factor or cause for early marriage. Mostly, the length of girls’ education
depends on the family’s economic situation, ease of access to school, and inbuilt or self-
aspirations (Fant, 2008; Jain &Kurz, 2007)
Families’ economic instabilities/ life insecurities
In many families of low economic status, girls are regarded as an economic burden
and their marriages are believed to benefit the family financially. When a marriage takes
place, some amount of money is given to the bride’s family, which is referred to as the
bride price or bride wealth. The bride price is given to seal the marriage union. The bride
price retrieved from young girls’ marriages is sometimes used by their families to pay off
debt or support daily expenditures (Selby, 2008; Alhassan, 2013 & WILDAF, 2014).
Parents, especially mothers, encourage and or push their daughters into early marriage in
return for financial satisfaction (UNICEF, 2001). Poor people give away their daughters to
relieve themselves from their economic stress and other household expenses (Adedokun et
al., 2011& Selby, 2008).
Referencing the above statement, the poor economic situation and lack of support for
female education contribute to a father’s decision to withdraw his daughter from school.
The stress in maintaining the home contributes to girls marrying early since that is often the
way out for most financially challenged families (Selby, 2008). Most often, their husbands
could also be equally poor. Widespread child marriage has made it a challenging task to
fight poverty. In addition, the effects of early marriage make it difficult for families to
escape poverty (Alhassan, 2013 & WILDAF, 2014).
In poor communities where early marriage is highly practiced, economic and educational
opportunities available for girls are few and the way for families to protect economic
wellbeing is to marry off their daughters quickly. The deaths of fathers who are often the
breadwinners for families also influence girl-child marriage in many communities
(Somerset, 2000). In addition, the lack of support or no assistance from immediate family
members of deceased fathers contributes to the rise of early marriages among poorer female
headed families. More so, daughters are also used as currency to settle debts of their
families and are therefore treated as commodities (Alhassan, 2013 & Somerset, 2000).
15
Aside from an agreement of debt payment, a potential suitor who expressed interest to
marry a girl may also provide his assistance to the girl’s family through free labor. The
potential suitor may offer help in girls’ family farmland in return for his bride. The future
husband could also bring or supply the girl’s family free farm products from his farm
(Somerset, 2000, p. 12).
However, the prevalence or rise of early marriage is caused not only by the low economic
status of families in some rural societies, but also by greediness of some parents as well.
The payment of bride wealth for young girls provides families with high incentives to give
away their daughters at an early age. The younger the bride, the higher the amount of bride
price attracted and paid for her hand in marriage. Higher education pushes marriage ahead
and the bride price offered for older girls might be lower than that for younger girls whose
virginity is ensured. A bride price is raised when a girl is young based on the higher value
that is placed on her reproductive capacities, virginity, and productive labor (Svanemyr et
al., 2012; Otoo-Oyortey&Pobi, 2003).
The early marriage of young of and adolescent girls persists across countries is caused by
poverty, ignorance, social and cultural norms, societal conflicts and wars. As a result of
poverty and economic need, some families take decision to marry off their daughters either
to lessen their economic burden or as a way to get connected to richer family that may be of
economic benefit to them. In this case most of these young girls are implored, forced or
deceived into marriage. In most communities where families could not afford or continue to
provide for their children welfare consider the next option to give away their young
daughters to another family in form of marriage. The family in-law or husband to the
daughter is well accepted most especially for their wealth and riches as they are expected to
provide for the daughter and the daughter’s family. Ignorance sometimes plays a major role
as one of the causes of child marriage. In this situation, some parents feel that it is better
and safer to give away their young daughter in marriage to avoid the shame of the daughter
getting pregnant out of wedlock. Some societies believe that early marriage will protect
young girls from sexual attacks and violence and see it as a way to protect their daughters
(UNFPA, 2013).

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Social and cultural norms are still one of the major barriers for the persisting early marriage
of adolescent girls. In some case the culture and traditional beliefs demand that a daughter
should be given out for a marriage under certain agreement with another family. Parents
arrange these marriages and young girls have no choice. Also, social pressure within the
community or families prevails and a girl child is married off because other young girls are
getting married and a family will not allow their own child to be left out. Also, some
society give preference to boy’s education and girls are discriminated and given the choice
to marriage.
The incidence of child marriage is not only in Nigeria but also in the world. It is mostly in
South Asia, Africa, and Latin America. High incidence rate of child marriage in Nepal
among South Asian countries is the key alarm in terms of child protection. However, child
marriage occurs in poor, economically deprived and dalit communities of terai. There were
major three forces that drive child marriages i.e. poverty, the need to reinforce social ties
and the belief that it offers protection. It directly affected the girls’ health and education.
Most of the girls’ drop out from school even not completing their primary or basic
education. Worsen health of girls due to maximum workload at home i.e. engaged in
cooking, grass cutting. Girls’ became pregnant early in spite of maturity and led to maternal
and child mortality rate. Girls’ faced domestic violence from mother in law at home. Most
of them suffer from sexually transmitted infection. Therefore, these are the central concern
of this study. Therefore, this research studies the causes and consequences of the early
marriage. Furthermore, this research will bring the possible solution for the reduction or
elimination of child marriage especially in Damaturu Local Government Area.

Many regions are experiencing conflicts and wars, and families are displaced while poverty
increases leading to young daughters either married off at their adolescence or the young
girls have the option to get married. In most conflict regions these young girls are either
forced or abducted by terrorist who marries them. Nigeria for example, over the recent
years of terrorist attack, has witnessed various abduction of girl child who have been
married and held captive by the abductors, and others being sold away for marriage.

17
Child marriage is cause by some institution that infringes upon the rights and freedoms, and
damages the health and autonomy, of young girls. It is should be considered illegal to
marry off a child below the age of 18. If a husband consummates a marriage with a child, it
should be considered rape.
Child brides are neither physically or emotionally ready to get married. Many of these
young girls who have become young mothers experience complications during pregnancy
and childbirth. The most common disorder as a result of pregnancy complications is the
condition known as fistulas, a condition causing continuous leakage of urine from the
bladder into the vagina and urinary incontinence. More so, these young brides have less
access to reproductive education and health services or are denied the use of contraceptive
and therefore could not control childbearing and they are more likely to die in childbirth
than those who married between the ages of 20 – 24 (UNICEF, WHO). According to the
UN, Pregnancy-related deaths are the leading cause of mortality for girls aged 15 to 19
worldwide, accounting for 70,000 deaths each year (UNICEF, State of the World’s
Children, 2009).
Likewise, Infants born to mothers under the age of 18 are 60% more likely to die in their
first year than to mothers over the age of 19. The babies are more vulnerable to
complications associated with premature labour common in teenage pregnancy. If the
babies survive, they are more likely to suffer from low birth weight, malnutrition, and late
physical and cognitive development (UNICEF).7 poisoning as a result of traumatic effect.
The child bride alleged that it was a forced marriage to a man she did not love and didn’t
want to have relationship with (Vanguard Newspaper Nigeria, 2014). Meanwhile the child
bride lack the resources or legal and social support to leave an abusive marriage. Child
early marriage affects the girls’ school enrolment. Many of these young brides could not
continue their education when got married. In some instances, child brides are often pulled
out of school and denied further education and so can lack the skills to help lift their
families out of poverty Moreover, their children are also more likely to be illiterate which
affects the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

18
2.3 Consequences of Early Marriage

Early marriage is one of the most harmful practices as it usually denies girls educational
opportunities, leads to poverty and economic insecurity and has a serious negative impact
on their health and decision-making capacities. It also reinforces other forms of gender-
based violence and problems.”

 Child marriage effectively ends a girl’s childhood, curtails her education, minimizes
her economic opportunities, increases her risk of domestic violence, and puts her at
risk for early, frequent, and very high-risk pregnancies WHO (1989)
 Girls under 15 are five times more likely to die in childbirth than women in their 20s
and face higher risk of pregnancy-related injuries, such as obstetric fistula EWLA
(2002)
 Child brides are often unable to negotiate safer sexual practices and are therefore at a
higher risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. MuluMuleta and
Willams (1999)
 The negative consequences of child marriage reach beyond the girls themselves:
children of child brides are 60 percent more likely to die in the first year of life than
those born to mothers older than 19, and families of child brides are more likely to be
poor and unhealthy. MuluMuleta and Willams (1999)
 Inability to read or write. The majority of the child wives have never gone to
school, of left school before completing a full course of primary education, making
them entirely dependent on their husbands in practical aspects of everyday life.
Hamlin, in Inbaraj (2004a)
 Having many children, early. This exposes the mother and her children to
psychological and other health problems.
 HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases (STD). The over-riding desire to
be a good wife in the eyes of family and husband prevents the child wife from
negotiating for safer sex practices; thus exposing her to risk of acquiring HIV/AIDS
and other sexually transmitted diseases. Heinonen (2002)

19
  Inability to plan or manage families. Because they are also children, young or
immature mothers exercise less influence and control over their children, and have
less ability to make decisions about their nutrition, health care and household
management.
 The next generation of child wives. Children whose mothers were married early tend
to marry early; thus creating generations of child wives. Heinonen (2002)
 Marital instability. Because of the age differences and the attendant poor
communication, many early marriages in early divorce or separation.
 Physical and sexual abuse. Out of fear of her parents and the social stigma as well as
the poverty associated with being single; many child wives are compelled to remain in
a loveless and violent marriage.

Child marriage occurs in every region of the world, and is practiced across cultures,
religions, and ethnicities. The highest rates of child marriage by country are observed in
Sub-Saharan Africa, in countries such as Niger, the Central African Republic, and Chad.
However, the largest number of child brides live in South Asia, where 46 percent of girls
are married before the age of 18. Incidents of child marriage have been shown to increase
as instability increases, making girls living in conflict or crisis settings particularly
vulnerable to the practice.

Ending child marriage is the right thing to do. Girls around the world deserve to live full
childhoods, go to school, be free of the violence and negative health consequences
associated with child marriage, and choose—for themselves and without violence or
coercion—when and whom they marry. Not only does child marriage negatively impact the
lives of girls themselves, it also directly hinders the accomplishment of the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs), which set development priorities for the world. Efforts to end
child marriage and advance the health and rights of girls must be at the center of the global
development agenda in order to end extreme poverty and ensure human rights for all.

Ending child marriage is the smart thing to do. Child marriage perpetuates the cycles of
poverty, poor health, illiteracy, and violence that have negative impacts on overall

20
development, prosperity, and stability. As the U.S. government continues to invest in
development programs around the world, a focus on child marriage could ensure that goals
on issues as diverse as education, health, violence, and economic advancement are met for
both this and future generations of girls, their families, communities, and countries. Q.
Wodon (2015).

2.4 Educational Effect on Early Marriage

Relatively few studies have attempted to carefully measure the impact of child marriage on
education. The main difficulty is that the decision by a girl (or her parents) to marry early is
likely to be itself a function of the girl’s education potential. For example, girls with lower
education prospects because they may be weaker academically face smaller expected losses
in future earnings and thereby have lower incentives to continue to study as compared to
girls who are academically stronger. These girls may be more willing to marry early or their
parents may be more inclined to have them marry early. Similarly, independently of their
academic abilities, girls less interested in pursuing their education may also marry earlier
and might have dropped out of school even in the absence of marriage. Because education
and marriage decisions are jointly made, it is technically difficult (i.e., using proper
statistical or econometric methods) to assess the impact of child marriage on education
attainment.
Two approaches have been used in the literature to try to estimate the impact of child
marriage on education. Table 2 provides a summary of a number of key studies in this area.
The first approach consists in relying on the reasons mentioned by parents in surveys for
why their children have dropped out of school. The share of drop-outs that appear to be due
to child marriage or early pregnancies can then be computed. Using data from the late
1990s for Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, and Togo, Lloyd and Mensch
(2008) find that for girls aged 15 to 24, child marriage and pregnancies directly account for
between 5% and 33% of drop-outs, depending on the country. Using similar data for
Nigeria for 2006, Nguyen and Wodon
The issue of child marriage is getting renewed attention among policy makers. This is in
part because child marriage remains highly prevalent despite efforts by many developing
21
country governments to discourage and even outlaw the practice. It constitutes a violation
of the rights of the girls who are forced to marry early, and it profoundly affects their life
through substantially lower education prospects, health complications (such as vesico-
vaginal fistulae, a higher likelihood of acquiring HIV/AIDS, and higher levels of infant
mortality with early pregnancies), and higher risks of violence in the home as well as social
exclusion.
On the basis of physiological and social criteria and data from Demographic and Health
Surveys, Dixon-Mueller (2008) suggests that boys and girls aged 14 and younger are
almost universally too young for sexual, marital, and reproductive transitions, while 15-17-
year-olds often are too young, depending on circumstances. This suggests that the cut-off
point of 18 years is an appropriate minimum age for marriage, yet legal reforms of the age
of marriage are often unsuccessful in curbing the practice of child marriage. (2012c) find
that child marriage (and to a much lower extent pregnancies) account for 15% to 20% of
drop-outs, which is of the same order of magnitude. In addition, Nguyen and Wodon
(2012c) also show that if child marriage and early pregnancies could be eliminated, this
could potentially reduce the gender gap in education by about half.
The second (and better) approach relies on regression techniques with instrumental
variables to explain the decision to marry, but not education outcomes conditional on the
decision to marry. Field and Ambrus (2009) use variation in the timing of menarche
(puberty) as the instrumental variable for the age at first marriage, given that in many
cultural and religious traditions, including in Bangladesh, girls often are not allowed to
marry before reaching puberty. They find that each additional year of delay in the age of
marriage increases schooling by 0.22 year and the likelihood of literacy of 5.6 percentage
points. Nguyen and Wodon (2012d) use the contemporaneous and past incidence of child
marriage in the area where a girl lives as instruments, and also find that in Africa each year
of early marriage reduces the probability of literacy by 5.6 percentage points, and the
probability of secondary school completion by 6.5 points, with the impact on the
probability of having at least some secondary education being slightly larger. Finally, using
data from India and considering a measure of the fulfillment of the right to education
recently adopted there, with 100 percent meaning that a girl has achieved at least nine years
22
of schooling, Nguyen and Wodon (2012d) find that each year of early marriage reduces the
fulfillment of the right to education measure by about 3.2 percentage points.
It is worth emphasizing that apart from the violation of human rights that child marriage
often entails, and apart from the negative impact of child marriage on health and the risk of
disempowerment for the girls who marry early, the fact that child marriage has a large
impact on education attainment is likely to make programs and policies to reduce child
marriage cost effective for promoting growth and poverty reduction. That is, given that the
returns to secondary schooling tend to be large, the positive economic impact of a reduction
in child marriage on growth and poverty reduction through education attainment is likely to
be large.

Given the importance of child marriage for development policy and especially education,
this note summarizes the results of recent research carried by the Education Department of
the World Bank on child marriage and education. The note has three objectives: (1) to
provide new estimates of the extent of child marriage and whether it is decreasing rapidly
or not over time; (2) to measure the impact of child marriage on drop-outs, literacy, and
education attainment; and (3) to briefly suggest some of the policies that could be adopted
in order to reduce child marriage. How extensive is the practice of child marriage today?
Table 1 from Nguyen and Wodon (2012b) provides data on trends in the incidence of child
marriage for girls (the share of girls marrying before the age of 18), as well as in the child
marriage gap (a measure which also factors in the number of years of early marriage). The
estimates are based on data from 60 Demographic and Health Surveys. The region with the
highest overall incidence of child marriage today, as estimated through the incidence of
child marriage among women born between 1985 and 1989, is South Asia where 45.4
percent of women born between those years were married below the age of 18. Sub-
Saharan Africa is next, with 38.5 percent of women born in those years marrying below the
age of 18. The Middle East and North Africa region comes next, with an incidence of 31.5
percent, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean, East Asia and the Pacific, and
finally Europe and Central Asia with substantially lower incidences.

23
2.5 Non- Educational Effects of Early Marriage

Women’s education plays a vital role in their economic, socio-cultural and political
empowerment. Murphy and Carr (2007) stated that girls’ secondary education is a tool for
poverty alleviation and sustainable development. They added that, early marriage have
negative impact to the whole society like increase in civic and overpopulation, high levels
of sexual harassment, and also increase sexual and labor trafficking of young women.
Taking all these significances of women education into account, world leaders have
decided to narrow the gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by
2005 and to all levels of education no later than 2015 (target 4 in the second goal of
MDGs). Though some promising successes are recorded, the disparities in most nations
especially in secondary and tertiary level are wide (UN, 2014).

Hosts of factors affect the enrollment, retention and achievement of women in the
educational world. An important factor explaining the relatively low access of females to
the educational system is the traditional value system placing greater premium on males
than on females (TGE, 1993). A study by UNESCO (2012) dis-closed that, in Ethiopian
males have more access to education than females and greatest disparity is found in
secondary education and above. The study identified poverty, socio-cultural factors,
gender-based violence, early marriage and teenage pregnancy as major barriers affecting
women’s access to and completion of education. In addition, school related factors like lack
of motivated and gender-sensitive teachers, of girl-friendly school environments, the
absence of targeted interventions to support girls and quality education, as well as long
distances to schools are determinant causes for low enrollment, retention and achievement
of female’s students. Poverty as a factor that excludes girls from education than boys was
also mentioned by Okioga (2013), UN (2014) and Rotich et al. (2014). Rotich et al. (2014)
underlined the impact of poverty as “when resources are scarce and the children to be
supported in schools are many, the parents ignore the girl- child”. A similar study in
Kenya (Achoka et al., 2013) and in Ethiopia (Wakgari and Teklu, 2013) found that
stereotypic gender role dispositions, early marriages and female genital mutilation were
among the traditional and cultural beliefs which made girls to perform dismally in their
24
academic endeavors. Rena (2007) also revealed that female dropouts in developing
countries are more sever. The study added that “girls continue to be discriminated against
by the parents first with respect to enrollment in school and later in providing higher as
well as better education”. Parents’ educational and employment statuses; females’ self-
concept and the differentiating expectation of parents have their own contribution in
students’ academic achievement (USAID, 2005; Memon et al., 2010; Okioga, 2013; Rotich
et al., 2014).

2.6 Effects of Early Marriage on the National Economy

Evidence shows that the consequences of early marriages are significantly harmful. Not
only does it affect the girls personally, physically and psychologically, as well as any
children they might have, but it also has a heavy impact on the economy of the nation. Girls
who are married early are often forced to terminate their education at a very early age.
Parents of the girls from humble backgrounds see their daughters as an economic burden
and marry them off at a very tender age to avoid spending on the girls. These girls almost
never continue their education post marriage, owing to the back-breaking household work,
frequent pregnancies, child rearing and other restrictions. (UNICEF 2014)

Bright girls who have the ability to do well academically and are capable of having a
fruitful career in the future, are forced to drop out. While the girls lose an opportunity to get
a decent job after completing their education, the economy loses out on an educated citizen,
who has the potential to contribute to the country’s economic worth. If the women of the
family are educated, they can contribute towards family income. Since, young brides don’t
get to complete their education, the finances are the responsibility of solely the men of the
family. The nation remains deprived of the financial contributions of the women. This
perpetuates the cycle of poverty and thereby curtails the overall economic growth. In 2008,
the labour participation in India for women was only 33 percent as compared to 81 percent
for men. They say, “educate a woman and you educate a family, educate a family and you
educate a nation.” Not only does it lead to an economic upliftment of the family, but also
promotes good health and an opportunity to rise above abject poverty. Less educated

25
women seldom realise the importance of education and skill development, thereby
continuing the cycle of poverty. Girls who are married off early are not aware of the use of
contraceptives and are not in a position to discuss and plan children with their husbands.
They are more likely to have frequent and unplanned pregnancies in comparison to women
who marry later. This adds to the country’s already high population number. Considering
the basic law of demand and supply, the resources are scarce in comparison to the
exponential rate at which the population of the country is increasing. This burdens the
economy, which is already facing a heavy deficit. (Karam2015)

Child marriage is a widespread violation of human rights. It is an impediment to social and

economic development, and it is rooted in gender inequality. The low value placed on girls
and women perpetuates the act and acceptability of child marriage in societies where the
practice is common. Child marriage is defined as any legal or customary union involving a
boy or girl below the age of 18. This definition draws from various conventions, treaties,
and international agreements, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child,
Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women, Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, and recent resolutions of the UN Human Rights Council.
While boys sometimes marry young, this paper addresses the practice primarily as it affects
girls who make up the large majority of children who are married under 18. If current
trends continue, more than 140 million girls will marry early in the next decade or nearly
40,000 per day (UNICEF 2014a UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund). 2014a. Ending
Child Marriage: Progress and Prospects.New York: UNICEF. [Google Scholar]).

Financial transactions around marriage contribute to the practice. In contexts where bride
wealth or bride price is practiced (i.e. a groom or groom's family provides assets to the
bride's family in exchange for marriage), families may reap immediate economic benefits
from marrying their daughters. In such cases, families may obtain a greater financial
amount the younger the bride is. In circumstances where dowry is practiced (the bride's
family provides assets to the groom's family), a younger and less educated bride may
require a lower dowry, which would incentivize parents to marry daughters at a younger
age. When parents marry off their daughter, there are often economic and social reasons for
26
them to make that choice. However, the short-term economic reasons that influence
parental choice do not serve the long-term interests of girls.

What can be done to eliminate child marriage? A systematic review of child marriage
interventions indicates that reform of the legal and policy framework is a necessary but
insufficient part of the answer (Malhotra et al. 2011Malhotra, A., A. Warner,
A.McGonagle, and S. Lee-Rife. 2011. Solutions to End Child Marriage What the Evidence
Shows. Washington, DC: International Center for Research on Women. [Google Scholar]).
Interventions are most powerful when they: empower girls with information, skills, and
support networks; enhance the accessibility and quality of formal schooling for girls; and
offer economic support and incentives for girls and their families to keep girls in school or
marry later. Importantly, educating and mobilizing parents and community members in
opposition to the practice is also a key intervention with proven success. Indeed, reframing
the idea of girls' transition to adulthood without marriage requires a dialogue with religious
and community leaders who have a great deal of influence on those issues.

Child marriage is rooted in socio-cultural practices and religious beliefs in many

communities, but beyond stylized facts, the relationships between faith and child marriage
are complex and change depending on the community (Gemignani and
Wodon2015Gemignani, R. and Q. Wodon 2015. “Child Marriage and Faith Affiliation in
Sub-Saharan Africa: Stylized Facts and Heterogeneity.” The Review of Faith &
International Affairs, 13 (3): 14–47. [Google Scholar]). Engaging with faith and
community leaders as well as faith-based organizations to critically examine the causes and
consequences of early marriage can help in building support for policies towards the
elimination of the practice (Karam2015Karam, A.2015. “Faith-inspired Initiatives to Tackle
the Social Determinants of Child Marriage.”TheReview of Faith & International Affairs, 13
(3): 59–68.[Taylor & Francis Online], [Google Scholar]). In some countries, the dialogue
with faith and community leaders can be part of discussions about family law reform and
even more generally of broader discussions on women's empowerment, but success is not
necessarily a given (Walker 2015Walker, J. A.2015. “Engaging Islamic Opinion Leaders

27
on Child Marriage: Preliminary Results from Pilot Projects in Nigeria.” The Review of
Faith & International Affairs, 13 (3): 48–58. [Google Scholar]).

2.7 Societal View Early Marriage

Child marriage is a widespread violation of human rights. It is an impediment to social and

economic development, and it is rooted in gender inequality. The low value placed on girls
and women perpetuates the act and acceptability of child marriage in societies where the
practice is common. Child marriage is defined as any legal or customary union involving a
boy or girl below the age of 18. This definition draws from various conventions, treaties,
and international agreements, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child,
Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women, Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, and recent resolutions of the UN Human Rights Council.
While boys sometimes marry young, this paper addresses the practice primarily as it affects
girls who make up the large majority of children who are married under 18. If current
trends continue, more than 140 million girls will marry early in the next decade or nearly
40,000 per day (UNICEF 2014a).

In this article, the objective is to provide useful information for such dialogue by
documenting what the society thinks or known about the economic impacts of child
marriage on the girls who marry early, their children, and their families. The hope is that
such information can help sensitize faith and community leaders about the consequences of
the practice and the need to eliminate it. The article is structured in five sections. Each
section documents the economic impact of child marriage in a specific area: participation
and decision-making, educational attainment, labor force participation, violence, and
health.

Participation and Decision-Making

A girl has voice and agency when she can make decisions about her life and act on those
decisions without fear of retribution or violence (Klugman et al. 2014). Related closely to
lack of voice and agency, and rooted in gender inequality, is alienation from participation
and decision-making about issues in one's own life, as well as those facing a household,
28
family, or community. Child brides often experience overlapping vulnerabilities—they are
young, often poor, and undereducated. This affects the resources and assets they can bring
into their marital household, thus reducing their decision-making ability. Child marriage
places a girl under the control of her husband and often in-laws, limiting her ability to voice
her opinions and form and pursue her own plans and aspirations.

Married girls are typically out of school, and most have little to no say in decisions about
whether they should continue or return to school, limiting their literacy, numeracy, and
financial skills (Malhotra et al. 2011; Plan UK 2011; Vogelstein 2013). By virtue of their
low levels of education, they are often not seen by their husbands and in-laws as capable of
earning or managing finances or making financial decisions for the household (Becker
Fonseca-Becker &Schenck-Yglesias 2006; Blumberg et al. 1995; Haddad, Hoddinott, &
Alderman 1997; Jain &Kurz 2007; The World Bank 2012). Those who do work rarely have
control over their earnings. Isolation from school, friends, and the workplace hampers their
access to social support that is important to their emotional well-being, and limits their
access to social capital and networks that can increase their earning potential and
productive use of earnings (Duflo 2011). In addition, married girls often lack the ability to
negotiate sexual activity, contraceptive use, or birth spacing with their husbands (Raj 2010;
UNFPA 2013) and in many cases are unable to speak up against the physical or emotional
violence they experience at the hands of their husbands or in-laws within their own homes.

Within her marital household, a young wife typically has little bargaining power and ability
to make decisions regarding various aspects of her life. Husbands and in-laws largely
determine her role in the family and control her access to and participation in the outside
world. This often remains the case throughout her marriage and translates to weaker control
over resources in her household, tighter constraints on her time, more restricted access to
information and health services, and poorer health, including mental health, self-
confidence, and self-esteem than women who marry later.

This lack of power and decision-making autonomy can have a significant influence on
economic decisions. Where women have decision-making power and their priorities are
reflected in how household resources are allocated, household expenditures on key areas
29
such as education and health tend to be higher (IFPRI 2003). Similarly studies have found
that an increase in a woman's income share or access to credit will increase the share of
household expenditures on food, clothing, and children's education (Backiny-
Yetna&Wodon 2010; Bussolo et al. 2011, Hoddinott& Haddad 1995). Inequitable intra-
household resource allocation in terms of agricultural land or key inputs typically found in
households of young brides may also contribute to productivity gaps in agriculture (The
World Bank and ONE 2014).

Only through her participation and voice in decision-making can a girl's or woman's
aspirations for her children be realized. A girl's or woman's forced silence on issues
pertaining to childrearing affects the lives of her children before they are even born,
because of her lack of voice and agency in reproductive decisions, including the timing,
spacing, and number of children. The impacts carry through her children's upbringing and
into their adult lives, family formation, and the generation they, in turn, raise. In this way
child marriage reinforces inequitable gender norms among the next generation, which can
result in reduced community investments in social services and programs that might
increase her children's chances of success in the future.

In addition to the individual and intergenerational effects of reduced voice and agency,
constraining women's and girls' voice and agency contributes to losses in productivity and
has long-term effects for development goals (Klugman et al. 2014). The lack of voice and
agency in household decision-making and civic participation that typically accompanies
child marriage also limits girls' input into community and national decision-making.
Research suggests that women's greater involvement in political decision-making increases
the likelihood of greater investment in social services, including those directly related to
economic growth, such as education (Beaman et al. 2012; Chattopadhyay&Duflo 2003;
Chen 2009; Ramaswami, & Mackiewicz 2009).

Educational Attainment

When girls are married early, their educational trajectory is altered. Formal schooling and
education often cease, which means they stop acquiring knowledge and skills that would
carry them through life, including as productive members of their households and
30
communities. They are also removed from the social network and support structure that
schools provide. The earlier a girl marries, the more likely it is that she will have a low
level of schooling. Field and Ambrus (2008) and Nguyen and Wodon (2015a) suggest that
each year of early marriage below the age of 18 can lead to a decrease of 4–6 percentage
points in the probability of secondary school completion for girls, with, in some cases, an
impact of the number of years of early marriage on literacy as well. Data from parental or
teacher responses in household surveys on the reasons why girls drop out of school also
suggest that child marriage has important negative effects on education attainment (Nguyen
& Wodon 2015b; Wodon, Nguyen, &Tsimpo 2015)

The economic impacts of girls' reduced educational attainment can be measured in terms of
reduced earnings and productivity. Depriving a girl of the opportunity to learn limits her
prospects for employment and her ability to gain useful skills (Khanna, Verma, &
Weiss 2013) or vocational training (UNESCO 2012) for the formal labor sector, inevitably
impacting her lifelong earning potential. But in addition, potential shifts in household
consumption away from economically beneficial investments tend to be observed with
lower levels of education. Not only does lack of education attainment deprive individual
girls of voice and agency and decrease their learning and earning potential in the long term,
but lack of formal education also has intergenerational effects—impacting her children's
education attainment, nutritional status, and physical health.

For many girls, school is not only a source of formal and informal education, but also a
space for them to develop social skills and networks and build support systems, which
allows them to be mobile and engaged in community affairs and activities. Girls who are
married early are often removed from these supportive social networks and isolated in the
marital home (UNICEF 2014b). In addition, withdrawing from school lessens girls' ability
to engage in community and national-level discussions and debates, or engage in the
political processes.

Lack of education also makes it more difficult for girls to access information on health and
welfare for themselves or their children (Abu-Ghaida&Klasen 2004; Semba et al. 2008).
Girls' education is linked to increased health knowledge and increased use of household
31
resources to promote the education and health of their children (Boyle et al. 2006). Mothers
with more education spend more family resources on child nutrition. Children of less well-
educated mothers are less likely to be well nourished and immunized against childhood
diseases, and more likely to die (Pfeiffer, Gloyd, & Li 2001; Smith & Haddad 2015). Girls
whose mothers have had no education are more likely to be married early, contributing to
the cycle of poverty in subsequent generations.

Labor Force Participation

Child marriage may influence female labor force participation in a number of ways,
including through a reduction in expected returns from participation in paid employment
due to lower educational attainment and an increase in the relative value of unpaid
household work stemming from higher lifetime fertility (Klasen&Pieters 2012). A lack of
engagement in the labor force may have long-term implications not only for women and
their families, but in addition at the aggregate level it may significantly reduce economic
growth in communities or societies (Chaaban& Cunningham 2011; Elborgh-Woytek et
al. 2013; Smith & Haddad 2015).

As discussed in the previous section, early marriage limits young women's access to
education, which in turn affects employment opportunities and the nature and terms of their
employment. Low education is a barrier to entry into formal, paid employment (Grown et
al. 2005). Secondary and post-secondary education are strongly associated with labor force
participation (Cameron, Dowling, &Worswick 2001; Mammen&Paxson 2000), but most
girls who marry early do not reach that level. Young married girls whose schooling is cut
short also lack the knowledge base and the marketable skills needed for formal work, and
are confined to informal or home-based type work, typically characterized by inferior
working conditions and lower (or nonexistent) incomes.

Child marriage may also reduce labor force participation by significantly increasing the
barriers to employment posed by fertility and women's reproductive roles, both of which
are closely linked to age at first marriage. As will be discussed further below, early
marriage is associated with early childbearing, short birth spacing, and higher number of
children. Large family size and women's roles as primary caregivers for their children
32
emerge as having negative effects on labor force participation decisions, particularly where
there are no or limited childcare options. Because these barriers are particularly felt during
the early stages of marriage and family formation, child marriage has the effect of delaying
potential entry into the labor force, stunting the potential professional growth and further
reducing competiveness in the marketplace. Furthermore, the traditional gender norms that
typically accompany child marriage, coupled with relatively low returns to participation in
the formal workforce, lower the opportunity cost of not working for women and their
households, further reducing the likelihood of participation.

Also related to fertility, a less explored potential impact of child marriage on labor force
participation is through the adverse health impacts of early and frequent pregnancies. Early
and frequent childbearing are associated with greater risk of complications and morbidity
(Prata et al. 2010). Women who survive severe complications while giving birth often
require lengthy recovery times and along with long-term physical, psychological, social
consequences, can also experience economic consequences, including withdrawal from the
labor force (Koblinsky et al. 2012; UNFPA 2014).

Decreased levels of labor force participation have significant effects beyond the individual.
Lower participation in paid employment may increase household poverty, increase
vulnerability to economic shocks, lower income diversity, and incentivize short-term
allocation decisions at the expense of longer-term investments in human and physical
capital. At the more aggregate level, this may lead to lower levels of physical well-being,
reduced investment, and lower productivity, all of which influence economic growth. These
factors, in turn, may have significant intergenerational impacts, leading to poorer health
among children and lower levels of investment in education and other forms of human
capital accumulation, as well as a reduced ability to address shocks such as illness, all of
which increase the likelihood of early marriage in subsequent generations.

Violence

Child marriage itself can be considered a form of violence against girls (Amin 2014;
Solotaroff&Pande 2014). Gender norms that devalue girls and women and drive the
practice of child marriage may also promote the acceptability of violence. Many girls are
33
married off by their families with the intention of protecting the girl from violence and
sexual harassment (UNFPA 2012). In reality, protection from violence is not guaranteed,
and physical and sexual violence is often experienced at the hands of the husband once the
marriage has occurred (Plan UK 2011). Child brides also suffer emotional violence in their
homes and experience severe isolation and depression as a result of early marriage (Le
Strat, Dubertret, & Le Foll 2011; Nour 2009). Indeed, girls who are married early are at a
higher risk of experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) than girls married after age 18
(Clark, Bruce, & Dude 2006). Child brides are also at higher risk of experiencing physical,
sexual, emotional, and other forms of violence in the home at the hands of their husbands'
families and in-laws (UNICEF 2014b). As they are often dependent on their husbands and
in-laws, they are unable to speak out against these acts of violence. A study conducted by
The International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) (Kanesathasan et al. 2008) in
two states in India found that girls who married before 18 were twice as likely to report
being beaten, slapped, or threatened by their husbands than girls who married later. While
this does not demonstrate causality, it suggests negative effects. Violence can be physical,
emotional, or sexual, and can have serious negative effects on the physical and mental
health of girls, including for reproductive health. The economic impacts and resulting costs
of IPV for child brides are reflected in reduced earnings and productivity, shifting
investment in their households, and increased out-of-pocket costs. In addition to effects on
individual girls, the effects of IPV can be felt across generations, with negative impacts on
children's health and well-being and reinforcing the acceptability of violence.

Girls who experience IPV are at higher risk than girls who do not experience IPV for a
number of poor physical health outcomes including severe injury, chronic pain, and
gastrointestinal, sexual, and reproductive health issues (Campbell 2002; Lamb &
Peterson 2012; World Health Organization 2012). Girls who are married young and are
subject to IPV experience higher rates of unintended pregnancy, induced abortion,
pregnancy complications, low birth weight of children, and sexually transmitted infections,
including HIV. IPV also negatively affects girls' mental health, leading to depression,
anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (Carbone-Lopez, Kruttschnitt&
Macmillan 2006). Government data on harmful traditional practices in Afghanistan
34
suggests that 2,400 women may commit self-immolation each year in the country, with
early and forced marriage and sexual and domestic violence identified as key causes
(Khanna et al. 2013).

There are a number of costs for a woman and her household when she experiences IPV or
violence perpetrated by in-laws. Some of these costs can be measured and assigned a
monetary value, while others cannot. In addition to the measurable costs of violence, the
psychological and social effects felt by a woman, her household, and her children over time
need to be taken into account when assessing the impact of IPV and violence perpetrated by
in-laws on child brides.

Violence and its subsequent health outcomes can lead to reduced earnings and productivity
over time, a shift in investment of household resources, and increased out-of-pocket costs
for medical expenses. Prior research estimating the cost of IPV (Bott et al. 2005; Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention 2003; Duvvury et al. 2004; Morrison & Orlando 2004;
Rice et al. 1989; Snow-Jones et al. 2006) shows that there is a direct cost represented by the
actual financial expenditures related to gender-based violence, including use of health care
services, judicial services, and social services. These studies also examine indirect costs,
which estimate the value of lost productivity from both paid work and unpaid work, as well
as the value of lost lifetime earnings for women who have died as a result of IPV. In
addition to monetary costs, DALYs (Disability-adjusted Life Years) lost were also
estimated, including life years lost due to both premature mortality and disability (Waters et
al. 2004).

In addition to the effects on the individual directly experiencing violence, IPV also impacts
children (Duvvury et al. 2013; UNICEF 2014b). The effects of exposure to violence for
children are both immediate and long-term. Violence in the home affects a child's school
attendance and performance, as well as physical health (Anand, Desmond Marques, and
Fuje 2012). Children who witness abuse are more likely to perpetuate the cycle of violence
in their own homes, with boys twice as likely to later perpetrate IPV and girls more than
twice as likely to later experience it (Kishor& Johnson 2004).

35
Health

Early marriage can affect a girl's physical and mental well-being in a number of ways, some
of which have been highlighted in previous sections. Girls who are married young
experience higher rates of malnutrition, isolation, and depression (Le Strat, Dubertret, & Le
Foll 2011; Nour 2009), and higher maternal mortality and morbidity than girls who marry
after age 18, in part due to IPV (Campbell 2002; Carbone-Lopez 2006). These health
outcomes result in increased immediate out-of-pocket expenses for the girl and her
household, as well as lasting effects on household earnings and reduced productivity.
Intergenerational effects are seen in her children, who may have poor physical health
outcomes and poor nutrition status, and experience higher rates of infant mortality.

As noted earlier, girls who are married early experience higher levels of depression,
anxiety, and isolation than those married later, and higher levels of self-harm and suicide.
Child marriage in and of itself can be traumatic for girls, especially in cases of marriage by
abduction, resulting in lifelong mental health effects. Even if no causal link between child
marriage and suicide has been documented, there is a correlation between early marriage
and poor mental health.

A girl's nutritional status can decline if she marries early. This could be linked to poverty
within the household, or to traditional gender norms around women's role and place when it
comes to meals, resulting in malnutrition (Nour 2009). Both the mental and nutritional
health effects are largely reflective of the social position young brides typically occupy in
their households.

Early marriage is also associated with poor sexual and reproductive health. Child brides are
often unable to negotiate safe sex with their husband, making them more susceptible to
sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, and putting them at higher risk for early
pregnancy (UNFPA 2013; Walker et al. 2013). Nine out of ten adolescent births occur
within marriage or a union in developing countries. Many child brides face pressure from
their in-laws and husbands to become pregnant soon after marriage, which can lead to early
pregnancy, increased child bearing over time and unhealthy birth spacing. In Uganda child
marriage was associated with an increased likelihood of lifetime induced abortion (Kaye et
36
al. 2007). Child brides are also less likely to receive proper medical care during pregnancy
and delivery than those who give birth later. The combination of girls being physically
immature and the lack of proper medical care during pregnancy and childbirth puts
adolescent mothers at higher risk for complications during gestation and delivery, including
prolonged or obstructed labor, fistula and death (Xu et al. 2003). Complications of
pregnancy and childbirth are the second leading causes of death among adolescent girls
ages 15–19 globally, with nearly 70,000 dying each year (UNFPA 2013; World Health
Organization 2014).

The health effects of early marriage extend beyond the girl herself in a number of ways.
Infant mortality among babies born to mothers under age 18 is 60 percent higher than
among those born to mothers over age 18 (UNICEF 2014a). Children of adolescent mothers
are also more likely to have low birth weight and suffer poor nutritional status when they
are born and throughout childhood (Wachs 2008). The effects of poor child nutrition can be
seen throughout the life course, with negative impacts on educational attainment and health
into adulthood. Furthermore, a married girl's role is integral in the day-to-day functioning
of her household and, as such, her health influences all household members. When a girl
suffers from poor health, be it physical or mental, there are both immediate direct costs for
health care, and longer-term economic impacts and resulting costs in terms of lost
productivity and earning potential. Unexpected illness can result in large medical expenses,
lost earnings, and less saving at the household level due in part to large income shocks from
illness in the family, all of which perpetuate the cycle of poverty.

For a girl and her household, the economic impacts and resulting costs associated with
child marriage can result in increased out-of-pocket expenditures for medical and
associated costs, many of which stem from early pregnancy and complicated labor and
delivery for young mothers. Studies identify out-of-pocket expenditures associated with
obstetric care and childbirth in a variety of countries, showing additional costs associated
with care for women in rural areas who face particular challenges in accessing health
services (Perkins et al. 2009; UNFPA 2013). This is also important to consider since girls
in rural areas are much more likely to marry early.

37
2.8 Empirical View

The educational coverage in Nigeria is amongst the lowest in the world. Even compared to
the subSaharan countries, access to education and retention rates in Nigeria are low (MoE
1999:3-4). Low access to Nigerian higher education is likewise striking. Successive
regimes have failed to effect changes in educational access. This problem is more reflected
in low women’s access to education, which results less from effect of policy orientations
and regime types than from economic and sociological issues (AlemHabtu 2003:100).

The Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS 2000, in DSC 2003) indicates that the majority of
the Nigerian population has little or no formal education. The gender disaggregated data of
the survey shows that 62% of the males and 77% of the females have no formal education.
This survey further shows that less than 3% of the males and 1% of the females have
completed primary education. This indicates the need for rapid transformation of education,
both quantitatively and qualitatively (DCS 2003). Ethiopia has experienced many changes
and reforms in its educational system. Currently, education occupies a central position in
the country’s development policy. The Constitution of FDRE (1995) states that, “Access to
public health and education are a priority and the state has the obligation to allocate
increasing resources for these services” (Non-Formal Education Report 1999:9; Second
Annual Report on Ethiopian Economy 2000/01, in DCS 2003). The current Education and
Training Policy (1994), the First Five Year Educational Sector Development Program
(ESDP I) (1997/98-2001/02), the Five Year National Education Development Plan
(2000/01-2004/05) and ESDP II (2002/03-2003/05) all clearly state the country’s
commitment to provide access to quality

2.9 Theoretical Approaches

Anthropological Approaches to Gender Roles and Relations

Gender studies in anthropology begin with the late 19th century, when anthropology
emerged as a distinct academic discipline, and anthropological studies are pursued up to
now (Marcia-Lees and Black 2000). By placing these approaches in historical perspective,
Marcia-Lees and Black (2000) review the major anthropological orientations to gender

38
studies. In this section, an attempt is made to review these theoretical orientations to gender
relations and inequalities. Knowing the theoretical orientation out of which any particular
knowledge arises is an important first step in analyzing it (Marcia-Lees and Black 2000:14-
15). In order to review these orientations, terms such as gender, gender roles, behaviors,
stratification, and asymmetry, according to Marcia-Lees and Black (2000: xi-2), need to be
conceptualized as follows:

• Gender, as a cultural construct, can be understood as the meanings that a particular society
gives to the physical or biological traits that differentiate males and females. These
meanings provide members of a society with ideas about how to act, what to believe, and
how to make sense of their experiences. Since gender constructs are cultural interpretations
of physical differences, they are open to change. This dynamic aspect of culture is not
surprising because culture, as anthropologists define it, is a system of meaning that is
learned and shared by members of a group. Culture organizes people’s behavior and
thoughts in the context of their society’s history and environment. Since individuals learn
cultural ideas within the context of their society, gender constructs and expectations can be
unlearned and modified, although the process can be quite difficult. The significance of
these interpretations can have major consequences for individuals. Defining gender as a
cultural construct suggests that gender is largely due to nurture or cultural practices and
ideas, not to “nature” or biological causes. This nurture position is, however, somewhat
controversial in some societies and within some academic fields because of the widespread
belief that gender behaviors are inborn. As a result, there exists the nature/nurture
controversy in defining gender roles or gender behaviors.

• Gender Roles and Behaviors refer to the social skills, abilities, and ways of acting
2thought appropriate to members of a society, depending upon whether they are male or
female. Anthropologists are particularly interested in uncovering the reasons for the
differences in the roles assigned to men and women as well as in the relationship of these
roles to the differential access men and women have to power and authority in their society.

• Gender Stratification connotes the system of unequal access of men and women to a
society’s resources, privileges and opportunities, and the differential control over these
39
resources and privileges accorded by sex. This hierarchical system reflects the expectations
of a particular society or subculture. It arises from a group’s differential evaluation of males
and females and their roles, and the status they are allotted based on that assessment.

• Gender Asymmetry refers to the situation in which men’s and women’s roles are not the
same and their positions in society are not equal.

2.10 Summary of the Review

Almost half of girls in Africa born between 1985 and 1989 married before the age of 18. It
is often argued that child marriage has serious negative impacts on the girls’ education and
health, as well as that of their children. Yet few studies provide precise estimates of such
impacts, essentially because of endogeneity issues. Using an instrumental variable
approach, we estimated that in the region as a whole, each additional year of early marriage
reduces the probability of literacy under the preferred specification by 5.7 percentage
points, a finding very similar to that of Field and Ambrus (2009) for Bangladesh using
different instruments. Furthermore, each additional year of early marriage reduces the
probability of secondary school completion under the preferred specification by 3.5
percentage points, and the impact on the probability of attending secondary education is 5.6
percentage points. These estimates are large and they suggest that further efforts to curtail
the practice of child marriage could have large positive effects on the education of girls in
Africa.
What can be done to reduce child marriage and improve schooling for girls? In many
countries, laws have been adopted to prevent marriage below 18 years of age, but these
laws are often not enforced. The laws are needed, but they are not enough. Interventions to
reduce the cost of schooling for girls and the quality of the education available to them
show more promise. Conditional or unconditional cash transfers are often mentioned and
have been proved successful in many different settings, and may have an impact on child
marriage (Baird et al., 2010, 2011). Other interventions, such as the availability of a
secondary school nearby and public transportation to go to secondary schools that are
further away may help, as can improvements in the quality of schooling so that the benefits
for girls from enrolling are higher. Another alternative is to condition transfers on not
40
getting married, with some programs suggesting positive impacts. For example, in rural
Ethiopia the Berhane Hewan program focuses on income earning projects for families
sending their daughters to school and a pregnant ewe is presented to the girl and her family
at graduation (Erulkar and Muthengi, 2007, 2009; see also Edmeades and Hayes, 2014, on
Ethiopia). Another example is the program ApniBetiApnaDhan(Our Daughter, Our Wealth)
in the state of Haryana in India which has provided since 1994 financial incentives to
parents if they give birth to a daughter and she remains married until 18. The incentives
consist of an immediate cash grant upon birth and a long-term savings bond redeemable on
the girl’s 18th birthday if she is unmarried with additional bonuses for education. Sinha
and Young (2009) suggest on the basis of the limited data available that the program may
have positive impacts on the sex ratio of living children, on the investments by parents in
their daughters’ human capital, and on the likelihood that girls achieve higher education
attainment conditional on enrolling in school. It is however also important to emphasize
that reframing the transition of girls to marriage requires a policy dialogue with religious
and community leaders who have a great deal of influence on those issues. Meeting with
these leaders to critically examine the causes and consequences of early marriage can help
in building support for policies against child marriage. In some countries, this dialogue
could be part of broader discussions on family law reform.

41
 CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.0 Research Method

The method and procedure adopted in carrying out this study are deal with in this
chapter. The following sub – heading is therefore treated in this chapter.

3.1 Research design

3.2 Population and Sample

3.3 Sample and Sampling Techniques

3.4 Instrument used for Data Collection

3.5 Procedure for Data Collection

3.6 Validity and Reliability of Instrument

3.7 Method of Data analysis

3.1 Research Design

The research uses a descriptive survey type, the descriptive survey method is used
because the research wants to investigate the early marriage and its impact on female
student’s academic performance in social studies in some selected secondary
schools in Damaturu Local Government Area of Yobe State. Under this method,
questionnaires were designed for government and teachers for wide coverage.
3.2 Population and Sample

A population refers to the whole group of things or bodies which a researcher is interested
in studying and about which he intends to obtain information and draw conclusion).
According to Silver Throne (1980:12) “population is the totality of any group, person or
object which is defined by some unique attributes”. This is to say that population is any
group of being a researcher has focused attention on and chosen as approved topic of study.

42
 Some selected Secondary school teachers in Damaturu Local Government constitute
the population for this research.

There are some public and privates secondary school which form of the population,
both male and female teachers where involved below are the list of the population study.

There are sixteen public and private secondary schools that we can mention in the
local government area, which formed the population. Both male and female teachers were
involved. Below are the lists of the population study.

Sample is a subject or portion of the research selected to be studied rather than studying the
whole population (Mwanse, Dalong, Kassai&Zuhumben 2012). In statistics and
quantitative research methodology, a data sample is a set of data collected and/or selected
from a statistical population by a defined procedure. The elements of a sample are known
as sample points, sampling units or observations. Typically, The sample usually represents
a subset of manageable size. Samples are collected and statistics are calculated from the
samples so that one can make inferences or extrapolations from the sample to the
population. The data sample may be drawn from a population without replacement, in
which case it is a subset of a population; or with replacement, in which case it is a
multisubset. A complete sample is a set of objects from a parent population that includes
all such objects that satisfy a set of well-defined selection criteria.

3.3 Sampling and sampling Techniques

The hat and draw method was used to select sample for the study. By this method “yes” and
“No” were written in pieces of papers and shuffles together. Whoever, carries yes stands for
selected while whoever carries no stands rejected.

From the population, the researchers selected ten schools randomly.

The schools are located in the same area in the local government. They were selected
out of the sixteen schools in the local government fifty social studies teachers were
selected.

43
 The selection was based on their experience and relationship they have with social
studies. The schools selected are.

S/N Name of Schools

S/N NAMES OF SCHOOLS

1 Yobe Scholars Academy Damaturu

2 Government Girls Unity Collage Damaturu

3 Royal Excellent Academy Damaturu

4 ST Mary Private School Damaturu

5 Bukar Ibn Ali Secondary School Damaturu

6 Government secondary school Damaturu

7 Yobe Children Academy

3.4 Instrument used for Data Collection

The instrument for data collection is the process by which the researcher collect the
information needed to answer the research problem. The used of structured questionnaire
was adopted as instrument for data collection. The respondent was expected to tick their
level of opinion on the research questions. However, the researcher used the linker scale
option which are Agree Strongly agree Disagree Strongly Disagree and Undecided to
score the questionnaire items, which after the questionnaire more score. The researcher then
group agree and strongly agree to be agreed together, disagree and strongly disagree to be
disagreed while undecided stand alone. The questionnaire contained two sections, A and B.
Section A consist of personal data of the respondents while section B consists of the
questionnaire items in which the respondents are expected to tick and provide the answer
where necessary.

44
3.5 Validity and Reliability of Instrument.

To ensure reliability of the instrument a test-retest method was used to ascertain the
reliability of the research instrument where a few number of the respondents were chosen
and a pre-test questionnaire was administered to them. This was to find out if all opinions
were seen to be the same and constant, hence confirming the reliability of the questionnaire
and the responses there in.

3.6 Procedure for Data Collection.

The researchers employed the use of a questionnaire and a letter was prepared to
accompany the questionnaire to each respondents. The administration of the questionnaire
was done by the researchers themselves in order to ensure that the instructions are being
followed by the respondents. He also wait there to collect it to avoid the loss of any
questionnaire.

3.7 Method of Data Analysis

In analyzing the data collected, the researcher used the simple percentage method
of data analysis. The analysis was represented in tabular form for easy understanding and it
consist of the number of respondents and the corresponding percentage. The formula is
Thus:

NRX 100
FR 1
Where
NR = Number of respondents
FR = Frequency of respondents
100 = Percentage

45
 CHAPTER FOUR

4.1. Data Analysis and Interpretation

This chapter deals with discussion, presentation and interpretation of data gathered in
the process of finding out the Causes and effect of early marriage academic
performance of female students. The data were collected from four selected secondary
schools in Damaturu Local Government Area of Yobe State. The result was analyzed on
the basis of each of the research questions in chapter one. Below is the table.
Table 1: Does your school have counseling programme?
Alternative answer No of Percentage %
respondents

Yes 35 35%

No 65 65%

Total 100 100%

In the above table, 35% respondents responded positively that counseling program on early
marriage is held in their schools, while 65% students responded negatively.
Table 2: Have you ever heard of early marriage?
Alternative No of respondents Percentage %
answer

Yes 26 26%

No 74 74%

Total 100 100%

In the above table, 26% students responded positively that they have heard of early
pregnancy, while 74% students responded negatively to the question.

46
Table 3: Do lack of control in the various schools cause early marriage?

Alternative answer No of respondents Percentage %

Yes 92 92%

No 8 8%

Total 100 100%

In the above table, 92% students from different schools responded positively, while 8%
students responded negatively.
Table 4: Do you think your community status can have any effect that leads to early
marriage?
Alternative answer No of respondents Percentage %

Yes 52 52%

No 48 48%

Total 100 100%

In the above table, 52% students from different schools responded positively, while
48% students responded negatively.
Table 5: Does the government have any role to play on the eradication of early marriage?
Alternative answer No of respondents Percentage %

Yes 68 68%

No 32 32%

Total 100 100%

In the above table, 68% students responded positively that the government have a role
to play in the eradication of early marriage, while 32% students responded negatively.
47
Table 6: Can early marriage increase crime rate in your community?
Alternative answer No of respondents Percentage %

Yes 76 76%

No 24 24%

Total 100 100%

In the above table, 76% students from different schools responded positively, while
24% students responded negatively.
Table 7: Does home environment have some effect on early marriage?
Alternative answer No of respondents Percentage %

Yes 80 80%

No 20 20%

Total 100 100%

In the above table, 80% students responded positively that home have some effect on
early marriage, while 20% students responded negatively.
Table 8: Does home environment have full effect on the educational development of
students?
Alternative answer No of Percentage %
respondents

Yes 70 70%

No 30 30%

Total 100 100%

In the above table, 70 students responded positively while 30 students responded

negatively.
48
Table 9: Does lack of home training like sex education, causes early marriage on the
educational development of students?
Alternative answer No of respondents Percentage %

Yes 59 59%

No 41 41%

Total 100 100%

In the table above, 59% students responded positively, while 41% students responded
negatively to the question from this representation, it is understood that lack of home
training like sex education causes early marriage on the educational development of
students. This implies that sex education will improve the academic performance of
students in some selected secondary schools in Jos North Local Government Area of
Plateau State.
Table 10: Does lack of control in the welfare cause early marriage?
Alternative answer No of respondents Percentage %

Yes 68 68%

No 32 32%

Total 100 100%

In the above table 68% students responded positively that lack of control in the state
welfare causes early marriage while 32% students responded negatively to the question.

49
Table 11: Does the quality and quantity of good counselors bring end to early marriage on
the educational development of students?
Alternative answer No of respondents Percentage %

Yes 96 96%

No 4 4%

Total 100 100%

In the above table, 96% students from different schools responded positively while
4% students responded negatively.
Table 12: Does the cultural and religious background of students have good effects to stop
early marriage?
Alternative answer No of respondents Percentage %

Yes 70 70%

No 30 30%

Total 100 100%

In the above table, 70 students from different schools responded positively while 30
students from different schools responded negatively.
Table 13: Does lack of discipline between leaders in your school leads to early marriage?
Alternative answer No of respondents Percentage %

Yes 72 72%

No 28 28%

Total 100 100%

50
In the above table, 72% students responded positively that lack of discipline between
leaders your school leads to early pregnancy in Jos North Local Government Area of
Plateau State while 28% students responded negatively.
Table 14: Does early marriage leads to overpopulation, electoral fraud and dictatorship?
Alternative answer No of respondents Percentage %

Yes 98 98%

No 2 2%

Total 100 100%

In the table above, 98% students from different schools responded positively that
early pregnancy leads to overpopulation, electoral fraud and dictatorship, while 2%
students responded negatively to the question.
Table 15: Is early marriage a state of deprivation and insecurity?
Alternative answer No of respondents Percentage %

Yes 75 75%

No 25 25%

Total 100 100%

In the table above, 75% students responded positively that early marriage is a state of
deprivation and insecurity while 25% responded negatively.

51
Table 16: 1-5 thousand women in the worldwide region are suffering in early matrimonial
homes.
Alternative answer No of respondents Percentage %

Yes 80 80%

No 20 20%

Total 100 100%

In the table above, 80% students responded positively that 1-9 thousand people in the
worldwide suffered in their early matrimonial homes, while 20% students responded
negatively to the question.
Table 17: Early marriage is the most common crime in some secondary schools?
Alternative answer No of respondents Percentage %

Yes 51 51%

No 49 49%

Total 100 100%

In the table above, 51 students responded positively, and 49 students responded

negatively to the question.
Table 18: Looking at the word early marriage is education necessary?
Alternative answer No of respondents Percentage %

Yes 83 83%

No 17 17%

Total 100 100%

In the table above, 83% students responded positively that education is necessary into
eradicate early marriage, while 17% students responded negatively.
52
Table 19: Is adequate financial background essential in learning to enhance the educational
development of students?
Alternative answer No of respondents Percentage %

Yes 60 60%

No 40 40%

Total 100 100%

In the table above, 60% students responded positively while 40% students responded
negatively to the question.

Table 20: Does the educational background of parents have any impact on academic
performance of students?
Alternative answer No of respondents Percentage %

Yes 80 80%

No 20 20%

Total 100 100%

In the table above, 80% students from different schools responded positively that the
educational background of their parents have impact on their academic performance while
20% students responded negatively to the question. The parents are the ones who will
support their children financial in other to enhance their academic
performance/achievement.
4.2 Discussion of Results
The results of this investigation have been quite revealing and instructive, the analysis of
the data collected revealed that a survey on early marriage and its impact on female
academic performance in social studies has the need for urgent attention to the development

53
of our children educational system and to bring an end to the rate of child abuse in our
society and the nation at large.
These survey include globally, childhood is regarded as a period of sensitivity
requiring special attention, care and protection. In the traditional African context, children
were not allowed to listen to adults’ conversations let alone, make comment or
contributions. In the same vein, the school system was not an exception to this scenario.
Teachers only permit children or students to make contributions when they deemed it
necessary in the classroom. In 1959, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly declared
the child Rights Act which was adopted by all member states. Expectedly, the Child Right
Act addresses the rights of children and youths under 18years of age and covers every other
right of the children from health care to education, from exploitation and right to their own
opinion. In the same vein, the International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that (80)
million children aged 18 and below are engaged as labourers across the world and another
two (2) million is involved in prostitution.

The study also asserted that early marriage is one of the most dangerous causes and
consequences of child marriage. Girls married early are more likely to experience violence,
abuse and forced sexual relations. They are more vulnerable to sexually transmitted
infections (including HIV). Going to school gives girls choices and opportunities in life,
allowing them to play an active role in their communities and break the cycle of poverty.
Girls who are married are unlikely to be in school. Education is essential for girls to be able
to make informed decisions about their sexual health and well-being. Sharon K.
Houseknecht (2005). The early marriage of young of and adolescent girls as persists across
countries is caused by poverty, ignorance, social and cultural norms, societal conflicts and
wars. As a result of poverty and economic need, some families take decision to marry off
their daughters either to lessen their economic burden or as a way to get connected to richer
family that may be of economic benefit to them. In this case most of these young girls are
implored, forced or deceived into marriage. In most communities where families could not
afford or continue to provide for their children welfare consider the next option to give
away their young daughters to another family in form of marriage. The family in-law or
husband to the daughter is well accepted most especially for their wealth and riches as they
54
are expected to provide for the daughter and the daughter’s family. Ignorance sometimes
plays a major role as one of the causes of child marriage. In this situation, some parents feel
that it is better and safer to give away their young daughter in marriage to avoid the shame
of the daughter getting pregnant out of wedlock. Some societies believe that early marriage
will protect young girls from sexual attacks and violence and see it as a way to protect their
daughters (UNFPA, 2013).
Finally, the result of the study shows that the educational background of parents has
impact on the academic performance especially secondary schools. The parents are the ones
who will support their children financial in other to enhance their academic
performance/achievement.

55
 CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION RECOMMENDATION AND SUGGESTION

FOR FURTHER STUDIES

5.1 Summary

The research was carried out in order to appraise out the survey on early
marriage and its impact in the female student’s academic performance in
social studies in some selected secondary schools in Damaturu Local
Government Area of Yobe State. Research questions were generated in this
study thus: the social studies teachers in all the ten schools in the local
government formed the population for the study.

The data collected were analyzed using simple percentages of the results of
the analysis were interpreted. It was discovered that there were shortages of
equipment to teach social studies in schools. The equipment and other
instructional materials for the teaching of social studies were grossly adequate.

5.2 Conclusion

It should be noted that what affects the female students affects the wellbeing
of the entire community and such student is a child of the entire community. A
popular Igbo song which says “Onuluakwanwameengwangwanaoburo so ofuonye
new nwa”, in English translation this means that anybody who hears a child’s cry
should hurry and cuddle the child since a child is a child of the community. This
testifies to the fact that a child comes into a world already occupied by other
people and his chances of survival in it and his own effective participation and
care matter usually beyond his control. The immediate bearing of these remarks is
to make clear the fact that child welfare and care are not for the child alone but
are part and parcel of his community and nation. The value a community places
upon children should be reflected in the care and services it provides for them.

56
Studies have shown that unmarried mothers, prostitutes, unmarried school girls,
working class women and orphans are found to be the perpetuators of child
abandonment. Demand for obedience from children has often led teachers and
even parents to abuse their children. They see their highly punitive attitudes as
demands for perfect behavior and these parents often regard their harsh treatment,
as justified and morally defensible.

The study investigated the effect of child abuse on the academic performance in
secondary schools in Yobe State, Nigeria. Based on the results of the study the
following conclusions were made:

1. There is no significant difference between female students abused and those

not abused with regards to subject mastery, classroom participation, pass grade in
exams and in their submission of assignment.

2. Some of the results of the study contradicted some findings of previous

works.

3. The discovery of these findings has overtaken some of the presuppositions put
forward in both the background to the study and statement of the problem. It
could therefore be generally concluded that students abused could perform
effectively as their non-abused counterparts with regards to subject mastery,
classroom participation, pass grade in exams and submission of assignment in
secondary schools in Damaturu LGA of Yobe State, Nigeria.

5.3 Recommendations

1. There should be public enlightenment programmers to combat ignorance and

public awareness of the rights to freedom from all forms of child abuse.

2. A female child should not be disciplined when the adult’s anger is out of
control.
57
3. Intense awareness should be created among teachers and school managers
using seminars, workshops and training programmes about what constitutes
female child abuse.

4. However, for all types of abuse, there should be a compelling intervention by

school personnel to try to prevent further maltreatment and to assist the child
victims with their learning difficulties.

1. As a result of the aforementioned implications, which arose from the

investigations; the researcher wishes to recommend as follows:

2. Parents should be educated on the health hazards associated with such practices
of sending the children out on the streets during or after school hours to hawk all
kinds of goods.

3. Government should over haul and re-appraise the function of rehabilitation

institutions so that there will be a change of attitude from parents, professionals
and the general population.

4. A network of child care centres, day care centres, and foster homes must be
developed by each state government. There should be ministries involved in
children services particularly that of justice and that of social development,
information youths and culture to cater specifically for the needs of the children.

5. The importance of sex education for young students and family planning for
married couples more emphasis should be directed toward this.

6. Government in a special way, should come out fully to support in both

financially, morally the African network for the prevention and protection against
child abuse and Neglect (APPCAN), so that they will help in discovering and
reducing the social consequences of child abuse.

58
5.4 Suggestions for Future Research Study

An investigation into the survey on early marriage and its impact in the
female student’s academic performance in social studies. Some secondary
schools were selected in Damaturu Local Government area of Yobe State. The
following are suggestion for further study:

1. An investigation on how parents and in Damaturu Local Government Area

of Yobe State can be responsible for their families.
2. An investigation for Essential counselors for the teaching and
encouragement to the parents and the entire people in Damaturu Local
Government Area of Yobe State. Can be free in female child early marriage for
better academic performance of their children.

2 Government should create awareness and find lasting solutions to the

following, sexual abuse, child trafficking, street children, situations of emergency
uprising and war as it affects women and children, malnutrition and child
battering, as this could help to reduce incidence of child abuse and its social
consequences.

3 The schools, peer groups, mass media and indeed the large society as
socializing agents, need to work close together to give the children a clearer
orientation in socialization in order to prevent child abuse.

59
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 APPENDIX

Post Graduate Studies

Yobe State University,

Damaturu

Yobe State

25th August, 2022

Dear Sir/Madam

We are final year students of the above named College conducting a

research on “A Survey on Causes and Effect of Early Marriage on the
Academic Performance of female students.

Please you are kindly requested to provide answers to the questions set out
in the attached questionnaire to the best of your knowledge. Information supplied
and views expressed are solely for academic purpose.

Yours Faithfully,

Alhaji Hassan Maina

(Researchers)

68
 QUESTIONNAIRES

INSTRUCTION: Please tick ( ) inside chosen box

SECTION A: PERSONAL DATA

Sex: (a) Male [ ] (b) Female [ ]

Age: 18-29 [ ] (ii) 30-39 [ ] (iii) 40-49 [ ] (iv) 50 and above [ ]

Marital status: (a) Married [ ] (b) single [ ] (c) divorced [ ]

(d) Widowed [ ] (e) separated [ ]

Academic Qualification: (a) WAEC/GCE [ ] (b) OND/NCE [ ] (c)

HND/B.Ed [ ] (d) Other Qualification [ ]

Years of Experience: (a) 0-2 [ ] (b) 3-5 [ ] (c) 6-10 [ ] (d) 11 and above
[ ]
1. Does your school have counseling programme?
Yes [ ] or No [ ]
2. Have you ever heard of early marriage?
Yes [ ] or No [ ]
3. Do lack of control in the various schools cause early marriage?
Yes [ ] or No [ ]
4. Do you think community status can have any effect that leads to early
marriage?
Yes [ ] or No [ ]
5. Does the government have any role to play on eradication of early
marriage?
Yes [ ] or No [ ]
6. Can early marriage increase crime rate in the community?
Yes [ ] or No [ ]
7. Does home environment have some effect on early marriage?

69
Yes [ ] or No [ ]
8. Does home environment have full effect on the educational development of
students?
Yes [ ] or No [ ]
9. Does lack of home training like sex education, cause early marriage on the
educational development of students?
Yes [ ] or No [ ]
10. Does Lack of control in the welfare cause early marriage?
Yes [ ] or No [ ]
11. Does the quality and quantity of good counselors bring an end to early
marriage on the educational development of students?
Yes [ ] or No [ ]
12. Does the cultural and religious background of students have good effects to
stop early marriage?
Yes [ ] or No [ ]
13. Does lack of discipline between leaders in the school leads to early
marriage?
Yes [ ] or No [ ]
14. Does early marriage lead to overpopulation, electoral fraud and
dictatorship?
Yes [ ] or No [ ]
15. Is early marriage a state of deprivation and insecurity?
Yes [ ] or No [ ]
16. 1-5 thousand women in the worldwide region are suffering in early
matrimonial homes?
Yes [ ] or No [ ]
17. Early marriage is the most common crime in some secondary schools?
Yes [ ] or No [ ]
18. Looking at the word early marriage is education necessary?

70
Yes [ ] or No [ ]
19. Is adequate financial background essential in learning to enhance the
educational development of students?
Yes [ ] or No [ ]
20. Does the educational background of parent have any impact on academic
performance?
Yes [ ] or No [ ]

71