Marta* was 13 years old when her mother told her she would have to marry a 73-year-old man. No longer able to afford schooling her, her mother saw marriage as the only solution. When Marta refused, she was asked to leave home.
“She (my mother) went inside, took my clothes…and kicked me out of the house,” said Marta.
She (my mother) went inside, took my clothes…and kicked me out of the house.
Her story is one too many in a country with one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world. Nearly one in two girls in Mozambique marry before the age of 18 (DHS, 2011).
The impacts of child marriage on girls’ physical and mental well-being is alarming. Global data show that married girls often become pregnant while still in adolescence, increasing their risk of complications in pregnancy and childbirth, including the risk of obstetric fistula and death. Child marriage affects the bodily autonomy and agency of girls to negotiate safe sexual practices, increasing the risk of HIV infection, as well as violence, including sexual violence (UNFPA, Child Marriage Sectoral Issue Paper, 2022).
“The main cause [of child marriage] is poverty. The parents subject the girl to child marriage because they see it as a benefit,” said Celia Manuel, Social Worker at the Health, Women and Social Welfare Service in Nampula, Mozambique. Youth mentor for Rapariga Biz, Suraia Ministro, notes that, “For the parents, as soon as the girl has her first menstrual cycle and after completing her initiation rites, they think she is ready for marriage.
With swift intervention, Marta’s predetermined future took a different turn. She became one of about 9,000 girls in Nampula and Zambezia provinces who are supported by the Global Programme to End Child Marriage (GPECM) to continue or re-enroll in school, and avoid child marriage.
We helped her understand it wasn’t right to marry a 13-year-old girl with a 73-year-old man. Because it could ruin her future.
“After being kicked out, she [Marta] came to my house and explained her situation. We spoke to the community leader and to the social action office. Finally, we went back to her mother’s house. We helped her understand it wasn’t right to marry a 13-year-old girl with a 73-year-old man. Because it could ruin her future,” said Ms. Ministro.
Girls like Marta receive support from programmes such as the multi-donor funded** GPECM programme, launched in 2016 by UNFPA and UNICEF, and Rapariga Biz (RB), a joint initiative of UNFPA, UNICEF, UNESCO and UN Women launched in 2016 and funded by the Governments of Sweden and Canada. In partnership with the Government of Mozambique and civil society organizations, these programmes help women and girls avoid child marriage.
This support includes training community leaders and mentors in the prevention and mitigation of child marriage. Since the programmes’ inception, 5,600 trained female mentors have reached more than 790,000 girls and young women with peer-to-peer mentorship, including knowledge around their sexual and reproductive health, reproductive rights and life skills. The mentors also work closely with community and religious leaders, and local authorities to identify cases.
Mentor Anica, who trained under the Rapariga Biz programme, shares her motivation to help others avoid similar experiences: “I got pregnant when I was 17. After having a child, I didn’t study for two years, because I was in grade 11 when he married me. When I provide my sessions, the girls are able to follow my advice. I’m delighted because, until this day, none of the girls from my sessions have been married.”
School attendance has a large impact on the prevalence of child marriage, with 2017 Census data showing that girls aged 15 to 17 who were in school were eight times less likely to marry as a child than girls who have never attended or have left school.
The girls are able to follow my advice. I’m delighted because, until this day, none of the girls from my sessions have been married.
“Child marriage is a devastating byproduct of gender inequality, which threatens all facets of a girl's life, her health, her education and her potential to become an influential actor in the social, economic, environmental and political development of her country. UNFPA supports all efforts of the national authorities and civil society for Mozambique to become a country where all girls, particularly those most vulnerable, are informed and supported to make their own decisions about when, if, and with whom they choose to marry,” said Bérangère Boëll, UNFPA Representative for Mozambique.
With child marriage being closely linked to lost economic and employment opportunities for adolescent girls and young women, ending this harmful practice is crucial for alleviating poverty and promoting economic development for the girls, their families, communities and societies at large. By doing so, countries like Mozambique can reap the social and economic benefits of a demographic dividend.
To reduce harmful practices in Mozambique, joint programmes such as RB and GPECM provide the necessary support to propel girls past gender barriers, enabling individuals like Marta to be the sole decision-makers in their lives and become changemakers, like Anica, within their communities.
Learn more about the Global Programme to End Child Marriage and Marta’s story by watching this video.
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*Name changed to protect individual’s identity
**Donors funding the GPECM include: Belgium, Canada, Netherlands, Norway, United Kingdom, Italy, European Commission through the Spotlight Initiative, and Zonta International
