Millions of youngsters worldwide are impacted by child marriage. A practice that puts children at a high danger of violence, abuse, and exploitation while also violating their human rights.
Worldwide, 15 million girls get married anually before turning 18 according to the United Nations. 40% of girls in some nations, like Ethiopia, get married before they turn 18 years old, and 14% get married before they get 15 years old.
Child marriage is connected to socioeconomic variables like poverty, illiteracy, and other issues. Children are getting married by their parents and other relatives because of financial pressures or cultural expectations. In other instances, brokers trick kids into being married, frequently to someone from a different village.
Teachers at Kebele elementary school were not concerned about the well-being of their students. Before JOFA intervention, teachers didn’t notice children were exhausted, scared, and overwhelmed because of the abuse they were exposed to.
They had been doing nothing to help some of the children in their school who were experiencing huge stress and anxiety, negatively affecting their academic performance. The school was not connecting students with resources to help them manage their mental health and connect them with peers who could provide emotional support.
Our intervention
The JOFA project is giving training in an elementary school in the Babile district, Ethiopia for 40 teachers and school management. They are learning how to provide psychosocial support.
The intervention is bringing changes that help students feeling more supported and less anxious after the intervention. The trained teachers were more likely to provide emotional support to the students and, more importantly, teachers felt more confident in offering psychosocial support after receiving the training.
The impact on children’s wellbeing
Nasria Abdulnasir is a 13-year-old girl living in rural Awusherif Kebele, Ethiopia. She is one of the six children in her family and her parents work as merchants. Nasria’s parents don’t had much education but they understand the consequences of child marriage. Nasria is a grade five student with glowing grades and a bright future ahead.
Nasria has always been a hardworking student who was driven and focused on her studies. When Nasria turned 13, she began to hang out with a group of peers who were older than she was. They began to tell her stories of marriage and love and persuaded her that she should marry a boy from a near neighborhood and arranged her to be married. One day, when she was at home with her friends, the older boys approached her from a nearby village. They charmed her with sweet words and promised to take her out for a fun day. She didn’t now that they had ulterior motives.
One of the boys took her to a nearby village and convinced his parents that he wanted to marry her. Nasria was deceived and was taken away from her home, her family and into the home of one of her future husband’s relatives in Cinakson district.
Her parents, heard about the incident and, desperate to get their daughter back, reported the incident to the Child Rights Committee of Kebele.
Nasria was too young and naive to understand what was happening. While she was staying four days in his relatives’ home she was also at risk of being sexually abused by her deceivers and was not allowed to leave the house without permission.
Nasria soon realized she had been taken advantage by someone she trusted and she had been robbed her innocence and her childhood and noticed the changes in her condition. She was overwhelmed with fear and confusion as she watched her childhood slipping away from her. She was emotionally abused, and felt extremely isolated. She was scared and confused about what was going on leaving her feeling scared and helpless.
Despite her fear, Nasria mustered the courage to speak out against her abusers and told them she did not want to marry. Her uncle and the Child Rights Committee members also heard about her arrangement from her family to marry and immediately took action and raced to the village to rescue her. They contacted the family and they found her being held captive in a house and informed them that such an arrangement was illegal and unacceptable, and immediately demanded her release.
The men refused to let her go and argued that she was meant to be married to their relative. Desperate to save her, they got in to negociate and the men, eventually, agreed to the deal.
Nasria’s uncle brought her back to her family and she was able to continue her education. Nasria was so grateful to her uncle and child right committee members for rescuing her. She was able to continue pursuing her dreams in education. Nasria was lucky that the Child Rights Committee was able to intervene and rescue her.
Nasria was eventually rescued from early marriage, but the trauma of her experience stayed with her. She was haunted by nightmares and flashbacks and struggled to trust people and was also deeply ashamed of her experience and found it difficult to open up to anyone. She had been through a traumatic experience and was struggling to adjust to her new environment.
Nasria had difficulty sleeping due to nightmares, was easily startled, and had difficulty concentrating in school. She was also socially isolated and withdrawn, often avoiding social interactions with her peers.
To help her cope with the stress of her situation, Nasria’s teachers helped her through psychosocial support. Through the support, Nasria was able to build a trusting relationship with trained teachers. The teachers helped Nasria learn coping strategies and develop a better understanding of her emotions. Nasria also participated in Life Skills group sessions, which helped her build a support system and connect with other children to discuss about similar situations.
She was able to share her experiences and learn from others. Over time, Nasria was able to build a more positive outlook on life. She was able to establish better relationships with her peers and focus more on her schoolwork. She also began to cope better with her traumatic experiences and was able to enjoy life more. Through her life skills training in critical thinking and problem solving, Nasria was able to gain autonomy and capability, and take on the issues interfering with her well-being. With the new knowledge, she was able to make wise decisions and become a driving force for social reform in her school. She shared her story with the students and it was a stark reminder of the dangers of child marriage and how important it is to protect children’s rights.
She was also provided with educational materials to help her catch up with her studies.
Nasria’s case is an example of the devastating effects of child marriage. It is a reminder of the importance of protecting children from exploitation and abuse. Nasria’s story serves as a reminder of the need for more public awareness and education about the dangers of child marriage that lead to depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Nasria story serves as a reminder that child marriage is a serious issue that needs to be addressed in the intervention area.
Training teachers in psychosocial support can lead to positive changes in school settings. These changes include an increased focus on providing emotional support to students, which can help reduce anxiety and create a more supportive school environment.