School now, marriage later: an uphill battle for South Sudanese girls

Rebecca Abak Machot, 17, dreams of becoming a doctor, but if tradition in her Lakes State community prevails, she may not be able to fulfill her wish.

I fear I could be married at any time,” she said.
 
The transitional constitution of the new nation safeguards equal rights for women, including education for girls. During South Sudan’s independence festivities earlier this month, the importance of gender equality was mentioned in several speeches.

Many citizens agree that educated women have a vital role in nation building. But if the village of Ager Gum in Rumbek County is anything to go by, the law takes a back seat to long-held cultural norms.

In local Dinka culture, girls are considered eligible for marriage at the onset of menstruation, so childbearing begins early, obliterating most chances of their completing primary school.

But customs involving early marriage are by no means limited to Lakes State. The practice is widespread throughout South Sudan.

Economic Factors

Although numerous studies suggest societies whose women have access to education fare far better than those whose women are illiterate, many South Sudanese families still see their daughters as a source of income through dowry.

From left: Martha Yom Buoi, Martha Yom Chiec, Rebecca Abak Machot.
Photo by: Benjamin Majok MonParents are focused on wealth gained by marrying off young girls and pay zero attention” to educating them, said Rebecca Abak Machot.
 
She is among many South Sudanese teenage girls who do not want their activities confined to domestic tasks such as cooking, farming and caring for their younger siblings.

Some tribes consider education for girls as a taboo in society,” said Martha Yom Buoi, 16, who is in Ager Gum School’s eighth grade class.

Enter the study now, marry later” campaign, led by the school’s parent-teachers’ association to raise public awareness about the value of education for girls as well as boys.

I am telling the parents and the communities of Lakes State and all South Sudanese that early and forced marriage for teenage girls is not in conformity to their health and education in the state,” she said.

The delay of marriage until after girls have had an education is widely supported by international humanitarian organisations, including the United Nations, which South Sudan recently joined as its newest member state.

But in a region where accepting cattle as a dowry price is common practice, girls in school are no exception, and many of them have to interrupt their studies.

Listen to Marivs Birungi's reportage          "Take me to school"

In exchange for a hundred cows, girls like Martha Yom Buoi or Rebecca Abak Machot can be married off to men they have never met before. The agreement is made between a groom and a girl’s parents whether their daughter is willing or not.

When the girl refuses, her brother, father and uncles will beat her to accept the man in the cattle camp against her will,” said Yom.  

Martha Yom Chiece, 14, who is in the same eighth grade class, considers herself fortunate to have started school at a young age.

I am still not matured now and that is why I will complete primary school,” she said. Most of her friends, however, were married before they reached eighth grade.

The government of the Republic of South Sudan should protect girls from early and forced marriages, which are common in the state,” she added.

The head teacher of Rumbek Girls’ Primary School, Moses Kaman Chawul, promotes the cascading benefits” of girls’ education, which he said include disease prevention, reduction of poverty and violence, and a higher level of political stability.

But the current trend is not encouraging. While over 60 girls were in sixth grade, their numbers in eighth grade decreased to 27, because most of them were married off between sixth and seventh grades.

Bearing War’s Additional Toll

Two decades of civil war, resulting in the loss of at least two million lives, has left a generational gap that some South Sudanese men say should be filled by families with many children.

Watch the music video ‘Kaju’ by Sister Dee, advocating for gender equity.If a girl is married early, she will produce more children” than if she waits until the age of 20 or 30, said Aborhok Malual Nincol Lueth, 28.

According to Dinka culture, there is nowhere that we can say a girl is a child so long as she is matured,” said Nicanora Luel Bai Mathet, 20.  If a hundred cows are paid as the bride price for my sister and she refuses to accept that man, I will beat her to walk alone to the house of that man,” he added.

Such violent tactics can backfire. In one tragic case of forced marriage last year, a 17 year-old girl in a Wulu County primary school chose death to escape marriage to Adal Mangok, arranged by her parents.

Nyikada had told them that she would commit suicide if she was forced to marry Mr. Mangok,” said a family member who declined to be named.

According to a police report and Gedion Shilur Mbelle, a former county commissioner, Nyikada Ngoki shot herself with a gun belonging to her in-laws.

Nyikada’s family had received a dowry of SDG 3,000, or about U.S. $1,100. 

Health Considerations

For Tilling Maborkuei Tiling, 30, early forced marriages serve no one because of health risks to girls, which include complications in childbirth that can result in maternal and infant mortality.

Studies show other effects of early marriage can include psychological and emotional stress, lasting physical disability due to premature childbearing, and the denial of freedom and personal development.

See also Betty Asha’s comments in "Traditional culture in conflict with education" by Ochan Hannington.

In addition, girls aged 14 up to 17 years are too young to manage home affairs,” he said. We have so much divorce in the state because the girl is not well informed on how run a household.”

The head teacher of Ager Gum Primary School, Samuel Maluk Malith, said most girls are targeted for early, forced marriage as early as fourth grade.  

Most parents withdraw their girl from school for fear she could be impregnated,” he said, which translates to lost dowry income. In other cases, he explained, parents are unwilling to wait until their daughters finish school because they want bride payment in cows sooner rather than later.

Ninety cows paid as the bride price by my husband has just cut my bright and desired ambition,” said Ding Madol Marial, 16. I request my parents that if they allow me to pursue my education, I will double ninety head of cattle in the future, so why marry me now?”

Legal Deterrent

According to the Lakes State’s Child Act of 2008, children have the right to be protected from early marriage by their parents and the government.  

Some cultural practices should be abandoned because they are against the laws of South Sudan,” said Gari Raimondo Legge, who heads the state’s high court.

Gari Raimondo Legge, president of the high court of Lakes State.
Photo by: Benjamin Majok MonCiting the sentencing of over 60 youth to between ten and 17 years’ imprisonment for impregnating underage girls, Gari is convinced that a legal deterrent is highly effective.

He said the rate of teenage pregnancies dropped from 60 cases in three months to four cases in the same time frame.

This is the big achievement made by the high court in Lakes State,” he said. Nobody is above the law.”

Gari also criticized the tradition of offering young girls aged ten to 13 as compensation to parents of a deceased person, a tradition of the Latuka tribe of Central Equatorial State.

Rights advocates say public debate, along with the study now, marry later” campaign, can help communities find ways to resolve differences between tradition and the law.

Tilling Maborkuei Tiling summed up the discrepancy. Girls should be considered as human beings, not property for the family,” he said.
 

Editor: Alexa Dvorson