Save the Children admits that the number of child marriages “is increasing even further as conflict prevents children from receiving the protection and support they need.”
The escalating conflict in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique, has led to a 10% increase in the number of child marriages in 2023, with girls forced to marry members of terrorist groups, Save the Children reported on Tuesday.
Save the Children found a 10% increase in recorded cases of child marriages in 2023, compared to the same period last year” and fears “that the numbers will continue to rise as the conflict prevents children from receiving the necessary protection and support,” the non-governmental organization (NGO) lamented in a statement.
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According to the NGO, “more and more children are expressing concern that this could happen to them as the conflict draws to a close. Eighth year with no end in sight”.
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A wave of attacks in Cabo Delgado, in the northern region of Mozambique, since January this year, caused the school closurespreventing more than 22,700 children from studying, he said.
According to data from the United Nations in June, more than 189,000 people have been forced to flee their homes since the end of last year, the largest displacement since the start of the conflict, which has killed more than 4,000 people and left more than 700,000 displaced since 2017, the NGO lamented.
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According to statements from local children, the Child marriages have increasedas well as teenage pregnancies.
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This increase is due, on the one hand, to the kidnapping of girls They are forced to marry members of terrorist groups and, on the other hand, they seek dowries from their relatives, who are compensated monetarily for the kidnappings and use that money to feed their family, especially because “the conflict has reduced their income,” explained the NGO, based on local testimonies.
Some cultural practices and traditions They are also driving the rise in early marriages,” the children surveyed said.
Married girls are much less likely to stay in school and are at greater risk of physical and sexual violence, as well as higher risk of complications during pregnancy and childbirth, the NGO warned.
Save the Children called for a Rapid resolution of the conflict in Cabo Delgado and that more funding be made available to provide care and assistance to girls and boys who face increasing risk of child marriage and other protection issues.
Source: Observadora
