Child marriage is a sordid fact in Mauritius. It constitutes a human rights violation. A young girl’s place is at school, at the playground, with her family and not on the bed of an improbable husband. We must act now. On the 20th June 2018, Mauritius woke up and was stunned to learn that a 13-year-old girl had died. More shocking was that we also learnt that she was religiously married to a young adult of 19. She was pregnant.

The marriage was illegally performed by a priest. Guests had attended the wedding ceremony. This horrible story has sparked passionate debates in Mauritius. We all thought that children of her age were spending their time at school and in the playground, and not in bed with their husbands. We dramatically realised that child marriage exists on our island. Official statistics note that 705 girls, aged 15 to 19 years, were married between the years 2015 to 2017. There was one girl who was less than 15 and was married to a 45-year-old man. Behind the official statistics, there are many others who are illegally married or who are cohabiting.

Our Civil Code provides that, as a general principal, marriage is legal only as from the age of 18 years of age. However, it admits exception for 16 to 18 years of age with the consent of both or either parents, even though Mauritius has ratified several international conventions whereby marital relations below 18 years of age should be made illegal.

Devastating consequences

The Minister of Gender Equality, Child Development and Family Welfare has tabled a Children’s Bill in Parliament. Sadly enough, she has failed to have clause 145 of the Civil Code to be deleted or redrafted, and thus allowing child marriage to continue. Child marriage is a human rights violation and is not in line with child development as it prevents girls and boys from being educated, enjoying good health, socializing with friends of their age, maturing and finally freely choosing their life partners. The law, as it is, is denying them their childhood.

Child marriage has devastating consequences on the life of the child bride. When girls marry young, they tend to have more children than the average women. They are exposed to increased risk of mortality and morbidity. As they are not physiologically and psychologically prepared, they face increased risk of premature labour pains, complications during delivery. Obstructed labour also leads to fistulas. This leads to higher rate of infant mortality.

In most cases, young girls marry their elders, their ability to negotiate safe sex is weak. This is how they are exposed to Sexually Transmitted Diseases as their vagina is not well lined with protective cells and the cervix may be eroded easily. They are more vulnerable to physical and sexual violence. Also there are negative effects on the offspring.

The cycle of poverty

Children, more especially girls who marry young, tend to drop out at school and end up with a very low level of education. At a later stage, they get excluded from the economic, political and social development. This is exactly how they are trapped in the cycle of poverty.

These are arguments that have been put forward by some people to canvass in favour of child marriage; they pretend that it is a protective mechanism against premarital sexual activity and unintended pregnancies. No. Child marriage is not a guarantee that the husband will stay in the marriage for life. Studies show that the divorce rate among this category of married teens is much higher than the average. Once married, the girl bride becomes a domestic worker in the house of her in-laws.

There are ways out. The solution to teenage pregnancies is not to legalize child marriage but to raise the age for sexual relations to the age of 18 years. Our laws must provide for harsher penalties for those who have sex with minors. The Director of Public Prosecution should, as a general principle, not discontinue prosecution against perpetrators who have sex with minors, even if they ultimately decide to get married.

Young girls do lose direction. The Ombudsperson and other authorities must help parents, whose children have decided to elope or threatened to do so with their boyfriends. Effective enforcement and monitoring mechanism must be put in place.

Wake-up call

At the end of the day, government and parents must make sure that children are going to school. Their presence or absence have to be registered at school. From the medical perspective, it should be made compulsory to report child pregnancy by doctors and nurses. Nothing good will happen without a proper educational programme. This should include the framing of a comprehensive strategy to modify stereotypes, attitudes and practices. Schools, media, social media should all contribute to sensitization programmes against child marriage.

Better data collection about marriage, birth, school attendance and health indicators, hotlines, awareness programmes and research on child marriage in the country have to be encouraged. A child register should be put in place. Once a child is born, his or her data is linked to the Ministries of gender, health and education. It is only then that we will be able to trace the whereabouts of the said child and there will be a better control.

It is not too late for this Parliament to take its responsibility and amend the Children’s Bill and align same with international conventions we have been signing. A compromise could be that for marriages between the age of 16 and 18, an application should be made to the judge in Chambers. It is the latter who shall provide his consent, provided the marriage is in the best interest of the child.

Let that child bride of 13 years, who died on 20th of June 2018, be a wake-up call for all of us to act.