Introduction
‘Stop! I am too young for this; I want to attend school and become a lawyer’. These were the heart-breaking words of Mabena, a 10-year-old girl from Cross River State, Nigeria, who was forced into a ‘money wife’ arrangement as collateral to settle a debt her family owed. Her future, dreams, agency and identity were cruelly traded for just $2. This tragic phenomenon, known as kuripa ngozi in Zimbabwe, trokosi in Ghana, and money wives in Cross River and Lagos, Nigeria, forces young virgin girls into early marriages to settle their families’ monetary or service debts. The practice is one of the most despicable forms of economic discrimination and gender-based violence in sub-Saharan Africa. It represents a stark reality where the lives of young girls are given off as child brides and as collateral for debts owed by their parents. But the true cost is beyond monetary value, it is the theft of potential; the loss of agency; physical harm such as rape; illnesses such as vesicovaginal fistula; emotional and mental health challenges; and the perpetuation of cycles of poverty, gender inequality and inequity.
Challenges hindering the elimination of money wives in Nigeria
The challenges that hinder the elimination of money wives in Nigeria include; firstly, poor implementation of international and national laws. Nigeria is a signatory to international and regional treaties such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol). The Maputo Protocol has been lauded as the most progressive legal instrument for women’s rights in any regional context. This means that Africa has the leadership in addressing gender issues, challenging cultural and religious stereotypes and setting the tone of safeguarding the rights of girls like Mabena. Being a dualist state, Nigeria must domesticate international and regional treaties like the Maputo Protocol into national laws. In 2015, Nigeria enacted the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act (VAPP), incorporating provisions from CEDAW and the Maputo Protocol. Despite this, minimal progress has been made in the elimination of this practice, as 44% of girls marry before the age of 18. While Nigeria’s 35 of 36 States have adopted the VAPP Act, enforcement remains weak, particularly in rural areas where the money-wife practice persists.
Secondly, the continuous practice of harmful cultural norms in the name of anti-Westernisation. The money-wife practice persists because it is often undertaken on cultural grounds, with critics of reforms arguing that eradicating such practices would destabilise local customs and long-standing traditions, integral to the identity of some communities. This hints at cultural relativism: the belief that cultural norms should not be judged by external standards, obscuring the fact that the practice violates fundamental human rights. However, this view ignores the fact that no tradition should come at the cost of a child’s future or freedom.
Thirdly, the challenge of poverty and a lack of awareness, Mabena’s father, a local shopkeeper, whose little earnings are meant to support a family of eight, including a sick wife, sees no alternative but to trade his daughter’s education and future to escape crushing ‘meagre’ debts. These and similar circumstances continue to be the lived realities of many young girls across the continent. A lack of economic opportunities such as sponsored access to markets, cooperative association memberships, or access to small loans compounds this challenge. Furthermore, the lack of understanding that the economic exploitation of girls is not just a local issue; it also has far-reaching implications for Nigeria’s development. Child brides are more likely to drop out of school, remain in poverty, and suffer from poor health outcomes, all of which hinder the nation’s sustainable development.
Call to action: for Mabena and many others
Mabena’s story is not just hers. It is the story of countless girls in Nigeria and Africa. While the government has obligations to protect these girls under domestic and international law, we also have a responsibility as individuals and communities to act. For girls like Mabena, the solution lies in collective action. First, we must amplify awareness through strategic advocacy. Engaging communities in town hall meetings, sensitisation programmes, and capacity-building workshops will help dismantle these harmful cultural norms. The arts, music, theatre, and visual storytelling can also be powerful tools in transforming deep-seated ideologies around the value of young girls and the harmful impacts of early marriage.
Secondly and closely linked to community advocacy is leveraging technology for online and offline advocacy. Technology can significantly amplify advocacy efforts to address these challenges while promoting the protection of girls and access to evidence-based and verified information on the challenges of child marriage. Digital platforms can be leveraged for access to information on the implications of child marriage, big tech and local platforms used for information sharing can also play a critical role in creating innovative technological solutions and education initiatives for disseminating information that is free and widely accessible to many families across the continent. Although much progress has been achieved in digital security, there is still an urgent need for platforms to uphold human rights by enhancing their monitoring practices and safety mechanisms. Platforms must deploy more robust systems, including investing in safety and security and collaborating with organisations focused on digital rights and intersecting gender issues, to ensure that platforms are not complicit in human rights violations. By combining traditional advocacy with innovative technological solutions, we can create a more inclusive, informed society in which girls like Mabena are empowered to thrive free from the constraints of harmful cultural practices.
Thirdly, it is imperative to hold accountable those who perpetrate these detrimental practices. Local governments, traditional leaders and community influencers must be engaged in enforcing the VAPP Act and ensuring that no girl is sacrificed in the name of financial settlement. Civil society organisations must persist in advocating for more robust enforcement of laws against child marriage, thereby ensuring that girls develop their full potential.
Lastly, girls like Mabena deserve a future, not as commodities, but as empowered individuals. We give them the tools to break the cycle of poverty and discrimination by providing them with access to quality education. Mabena resides in us all. Her cry, ‘for an opportunity to become a lawyer,’ is a plea for our collective action. We have the tools; legal frameworks, advocacy platforms, and community engagement power to transform her reality. Let us use them. It is time to stop the exploitation of girls and ensure they can dream of a future full of possibilities, free from the chains of economic discrimination. For Mabena, and countless others like her, we must act now.
