CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

The last five centuries, viewed as the age of modernity, have been

essentially structured by varying historical processes. Significantly, gender and

racial categories emerged during this epoch as two fundamental axes for exploiting

people and stratifying societies (Oyewumi 2004:1). Eurocentrism, being a hallmark

of the ensuing modernity, enabled the creation and imposition of Euro/American

cultural hegemony throughout the world. Consequently, male-gender privilege as

an essential part of European ethos became enshrined in the culture of modernity.

In the quest of comprehending African realities, and indeed, state of gender

relations in Nigeria, this global context for knowledge production has become

imperative. At the commencement of colonialism (and, of course, Christianity),

rigid binaries about everything including gender perceptions were imposed on the

African mind. Thereafter, the woman’s role has come to be limited to sexual and

commercial labour; satisfying the sexual needs of men, working in the fields,

carrying loads, tending babies and preparing food (Hammond and Jablow

1992:150)

However, the disempowering colonial“ideology of domesticity” as espoused

by the practice of “Housewification” provided the springboard for educational

1
imbalance in parts of Africa (Gaidzwanwa 1992). As such, .the attainment of

overall human development in Nigeria is being obliterated by this unevenness in

educational accessibility across gender categories (Abdullahi 2000). There is no

doubt that societal recognition to the value of education in the north has been

displaced paving way to the ignorance of the people deplorable condition of

education particularly that of the girl-child. This situation arose because of many

reasons among which are; socio-cultural and ignorance, economic stagnation

characterized by pervasive poverty which has virtually weakened all sectors of

development, especially the education sector, and above all inefficient and

ineffective implementation of the national and state government policies on

education. These impediments contributed to poor school enrolment particularly

that of the girl-child who is considered not necessarily relevant to pursue formal

education in traditional social set up. For instance, socio-cultural factors are

significant in parental and family decision on whether to invest in girl-child

education. Pervasive gender ideologies at the household and community levels

always favour boys over girls and promote differential educational opportunities

and outcomes.

Socio-cultural believes and custom influence decision to enroll girls in

schools, decision to withdraw them from schools and decision to drop out of

school and indeed, their academic performance as well as grade level attainment.

2
Also, the sociocultural expectation of girls and the priority accorded to their future

roles as mothers and wives have a strong negative bearing on their formal

education. The girl-child is discriminated by virtue of her sex, the structure of the

society, its values, traditions and institutions all have an in-built discrimination

against women. The assigning of different expectations to male or female has made

the traditional society in the past years to believe that it is not natural for a female

child to be educated. As such, the illiterate parents prefer to have their female

children doing some domestic works at home.

Traditional beliefs to some extent hamper the girl-child education. It ranges

from the fact that girls do not carry on the family name like boys. If at all they send

their children, it is limited to the male children who according to such parents

would occupy their place in the case of death. As such, every available means is

used to train the boys at the detriment of girls because of their important role in

protecting the “family name”.

In addition, some girl-children are withdrawn from school or denied access

to higher education because of the belief that the higher the girls educational

qualification the lower her chances of getting a suitable husband. In the same

regard, owing to the economic stagnation of the northern region, it is common to

find school age girls engaged in street hawking rather than school. Poverty and the

impoverished condition of the citizenry serve as a barrier to girl-child education.

3
Most mothers preferred street hawking and early marriage than sending their wards

to school. In the same vein, family background of the girl determines her chance of

attending.

SOCIO ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES OF THE PEOPLE OF KWALI AREA

COUNCIL

The people living in Kwali Area Council are mostly Gbari, Gbagyi, Hausa

Ganagana, Bass, Igbo Yoruba and other various tribal groups who have stayed

together, shared so much cultural values and beliefs for so many years ago.

The Gbari people do show a great variety of cultural activities and norms

observations/practices when there is less work in the dry season and which has

become the comprehensive way of the people.

There are locally made musical instruments like: Gadagba, Karangu, Kuchinya,

Salla, and Machado. There are also training of the younger ones through invitation

into social groups like Achekwo (Boxing) Afibwa etc.

Birth and deaths were celebrated according to the Gbari culture before the coming

of Christianity and Islam. The Area Council is blessed with a fertile land for

agricultural activities, residents are predominantly farmers, producing large

quantity of crops like guinea corn, rice, Yams, Groundnuts, Maize, Sugarcane,

Orange, Cashew, Mango, Garden egg, Tomatoes etc. with the introduction of

Western education, some of these cultured are giving way.

4
RELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE GBARIS OF KWALI AREA COUNCIL

Before the coming of Christianity and Islam, the Gbari's of Kwali Area Council

were predominantly traditional religion followers.

In traditional values, the importance of a child cannot be over emphasized in the

olden days where a wealth is determined by the number of children he has. It is on

this basis that the growth welfare and social development of the child was primary

concern to every family or action.

However, there are forces or conditions in Gbari societies which retards the

development of children and the unfolding of their human potentials. One of such

forces or conditions is child abuse. Child abuse is a phenomenon that cut across all

tribal groups but it is most observed among the low socioeconomic and educational

disadvantaged group.

Child abuse from its original meaning refers to wrong use, unjust customs or

violent attack against children, according to Kaufuman (1981) it is the traditional

belief of the Gbari people in Kwali Area Council that sending a girl child to the

school is never a pride instead, they prefer to send them to farm to go and fetch

firewood or hawkaround, thereby depriving them the right to education. Thus

denial to education leads them to early marriage. In the early marriage practice in

some Gbari communities in Kwali Area Council, the activities are based on

traditional beliefs of the people. That is, a girl child should be sent for marriage

5
immediately after seeing her first menstruation, which normally comes at the age

of 12-14 years according to their beliefs. If she is not married at this age, the

parents would be accused cursed by the gods and eventually if she gets pregnant

without being married; the born child is regarded as an imbecile and the parents

will be made to appease the gods.

The education of a girl child is a threat to Gbari people in Kwali Area Council due

to ancient cultural values and belief system. However, the researcher is interested

in looking into the young girl’s marital life in conducting a study to find out the

impact of early marriage and family background on secondary school students.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

First of all, if you ask a question if it is legal to force children into marriage,

it is actually not legal according to the Child’s Rights Act of 2003, where it is

pointed out that the age of consent for a child is 18 years old. Some countries can

allow marriages at 16 years old as an exception. However, it does not stop people

from arranging marriages for their own children.

In Nigeria, a lot of 10-12-year-old girls, whose reproductive system is not

ready for intimate activities and childbirth yet, are forced by their parents into

marriage. They are stopped from going to school and getting an education and are

exploited for serving their husband and giving birth to children. Considering that

6
they are still children themselves, it is absolutely unacceptable, as it kills their

future and entire life, exposing them to adulthood so early.

According to the official statistics, child marriage rate has been reduced by

9% since 2003, but it is still a problem. Mostly, child marriages are common in

third-world countries, and to become a modern and developed country, Nigeria has

to get rid of this issue once and for all.

Most of the young girls who are forced into marriage by their parents are

completely banned by their parents from going to school. Some of them excelled in

studies, so it is safe to say that Nigerian bright young people, who could potentially

help develop the country, are shut off, and their potential is destroyed forever.

Usually, there is a large age gap between a girl and her husband, which can

subject her to domestic violence and psychological abuse. Not even mentioning the

risks that the young girl can meet when she is forced to give birth, the diseases she

and the newborn baby can suffer from, and even death of a mother or a child.

It becomes useful to conduct a research on the impact of early marriage

amongsecondary schools girls; here isa case study of some selected schools in

Kwali Area council, Abuja.

7
1.3 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study covers a period of four years from 2013 – 2017. The essence is to

compare the impact of early marriage of the girl-child ofsecondary school girls in

Kwali Area Council. The study area for this research is the entire FCT Abuja but

for the sake of convenience, Kwali Area Council has been selected as sample.

Kwali is one of the two area councils created from Gwagwalada Area

Council on October 1, 1996 by the military administration of General Sani Abacha.

One profession that the people of Kwali Local Government Area are famous for is

pottery. Indeed, it is the country home of the world-famous potter woman, Dr. Ladi

Kwali whose image currently adorns the 20 Naira bill. Another is cloth making.

But today, other professions such as farming, hunting and trading are also

practiced by the inhabitants of Kwali Area Council.

Kwali Area Council plays host to a number of important monuments

including Federal Government CollegeNational Mathematical Center Sheda

Kwali, Sheda Science and technology complex, Nigeria Education Research and

Development Center, National Fire Academy Sheda amongst others.

8
1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The primary objective of the study is to ascertain to what extent early

marriage affects the secondary school girl-child(students) in using Kwali Area

Council as a case study.

However, the specific objectives are:

1. To find out the rate at which early marriage of the girl-child is being

practiced.

2. To find out the impact of early marriage on the girl-child in primary school.

3. To understand the effectiveness of specific strategies targeted at women’s

emancipation.

4. To make appropriate policy recommendations.

1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

This study focuses on providing explanations to the following questions:

1. Is early marriage of the girl-child amongst secondary school students

practiced in the Kwali Area Council?

2. Doesearly marriage has any negative effect(s) on the secondary school girl-

child?

3. Does poverty affect the chances of the school girl-child involvement in early

marriage?

9
 4. Is customs and traditions playing any role in the early marriage of the girl-

child?

5. To what extent does educational discrimination impact on women’s

empowerment?

6. How appropriate are some specific strategies designed to combat women’s

disempowerment?

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study is significant in the sense that, as a scholarly work it will be

beneficial to other researchers who may wish to carry out further research on

similar topic.

The result of this research work will be useful to the government. Because it

will make the government to discover the level of the girl-child education in

Nigeria and how to improve on it in Nigeria at large and FCT in particular.

The students themselves will benefit from this research work as it will

enable them to identify the benefits of education in our contemporary society and

problems associated with the girl-child education.

It will also benefit parents, because it will point out the areas through which

the parents influence girl-child education in Nigeria and the quota they need to

contribute to resolving the problems associated with girl-child education.

10
 The teachers will also gain from this research work as they are the tutors of

the Nigerian youths and students. It will also show their own roles in the

development of girl-child education in Nigeria.

The study will be instructive to policy makers with regards to the evil

bedeviling the girl-child education in the F.C.T and the nation at large.

1.7 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

Although this research was carefully carried out, I am still aware of its

limitations and shortcomings.

First, the research was carried out in one out of the six (6) Areas Councils in

the FCT. One Area Council is not enough to sample opinions on the girl-child

early marriage especially the secondary school students.

Time constraints was a challenge as I have enough time on my hands to visit

all the Districts in the Area Council to sample opinions through the use of

questionnaire.

Another challenge encountered was that of finances; finances limited the

number of institutions visited , the volume of questionnaires etc.

11
1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS

DETRIMENT: harmful

GIRL-CHILD: a young female child usually an adolescent.

INEFFICIENT: not producing the effect intended or desired.

IMPLEMENTATION :the process of an idea from concept to reality; putting into

practicality what has been written or documented.

CONTEMPORARY: modern, of the present age.

CHILD ABUSE: this is the exploitation of the poor by the strong and wealthy

without fear of retaliation.

MARRIAGE: process of coming together of a man and woman as husband and w.

FAMILY:

STUDENTS:

EDUCATION: A process of teaching, training and learning especially in schools,

colleges to improve knowledge and develop skills.

EARLY MARRIAGE: this involves girls between the ages of 9-15 years being

married to me that are old in three fold who cannot cater for themselves.

CHILD NEGLECT: this is the deprivation of the basic rights and needs of the

child by parents, schools, peers, government and cultural communities occurring as

act of commission or omission.

12
 CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 INTRODUCTION

In this chapter, related Literature will be reviewed under the following headings:

1. Concept of marriage;

2. Types of marriage;

3. Scope of early marriage;

4. Causes of early marriage; and

5. The effects of early marriage.

2.2 THE CONCEPT OF MARRIAGE

The concept of marriage has been defined variously by different scholars.

However they are generally accepted definitions in Nigeria.

Marriage according to the Dictionary of English language is, the state of

being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and

contractual relationship recognized by law.

Marriage has also been defined as, a legally or formally recognized union of

two people as partners in a personal relationship (historically and in some

jurisdictions specifically a union between a man and a woman).

Retrieved from: www.wikipesia.com

13
 Marriage is one of the universal social institutions established and nourished

by human society. It is closely connected to the institution of family. According to

Gillin and Gillin, "Marriage is a socially approved way of establishing a family of

procreation." Westermarck says that marriage is rooted in the family rather than the

family in the marriage.

Marriage is an institution of society with different purpose, functions and

forms in different societies but is present everywhere as an institution. According

to Malinowski, “marriage is a contract for the production and maintenance of

children." Retrieved from: www.sociologyguide.com

2.2.1 TYPES OF MARRIAGE

Marriage is a union of a woman and a man to become wife and husband. To

legitimize your relationship, your marriage should be lawful. In addition, it should

be with the consent of both parents (or other witnesses) and the parties that are

engaged to be married.

Hairy, A. (1993) opines that there are four main types of marriages in

Nigeria and we are going to talk about each of them in detail.

1. Customary Marriage: This is the common law marriage. Basically, the

payment of the bride price is an essential part of a valid customary law

marriage in Nigeria. Usually, the bride price can be some payment or gift, in

14
 money, brass rods, natural produce, cowries or anything the family prefers.

It is often given to the parent or guardian of the bride.

2. Traditional Marriage: The other type is the traditional marriage. In this

case, the groom brings everything that has been mentioned on the bridal list

to legitimize his relationship with the lady. He then comes with members of

his family, friends, and other well-wishers. The bride’s family performs the

traditional rites and officially gives the newlyweds their blessing.

The Introduction is an essential part of the traditional marriage. The main

point of the Introduction is for both families to get acquainted with each

other. Also, such things as the bride price, the bride list, and the wedding

dates are usually discussed during the introduction.

3. Religious Wedding: The religious version could either be an Islamic

wedding for Muslims or a Christian wedding for Christians. It can be

referred to as a white wedding especially in the Christian context. This

marriage is a divine union backed by the couple's religious beliefs.

The white wedding is sometimes a combination of the wedding reception

party and the religious marriage ceremony.

To legitimize a religious marriage, it should be licensed and recognized by

the state. The churches and other institutions that conduct weddings would

also need to receive approval from the state. This way, if you are going to

15
 have a religious wedding, you will not need to go to court for the registration

and collection of the special marriage certificate. All this can be done

through the church.

4. Civil Wedding: This one is also known as court wedding. During this

wedding, the couple legitimizes their relationship under the marriage act of

Nigeria with a marriage certificate. This type of marriage is obligatory

because it ensures the security of each partner and their children.Court

wedding is compulsory in Nigeria, and you don't need to spend a lot of

money to get it done.

Retrieved from: www.naija.ng

2.3 THE SCOPE OF EARLY MARRIAGE

Early marriage, or child marriage, is defined as the marriage or union

between two people in which one or both parties are younger than 18 years of age.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes the right to “free and full”

consent to a marriage, acknowledging that consent cannot be “free and full” when

one of the individuals involved is not sufficiently mature to make an informed

decision about a life partner. Nonetheless, in many low and middle-income

countries, particularly in poorer rural areas, girls are often committed to an

arranged marriage without their knowledge or consent. Such an arrangement can

16
occur as early as infancy. Parents see marriage as a cultural rite that protects their

daughter from sexual assault and offers the care of a male guardian. Parents often

feel that a young girl is an economic burden and therefore wish to marry off their

young daughters before they become an economic liability. Retrieved from:

www.k4health.org

One may ask a question if it is legal to force children into marriage, it is

actually not legal according to the Child’s Rights Act of 2003, where it is pointed

out that the age of consent for a child is 18 years old. Some countries can allow

marriages at 16 years old as an exception. However, it does not stop people from

arranging marriages for their own children.

In Nigeria, a lot of 10-12-year-old girls, whose reproductive system is not

ready for intimate activities and childbirth yet, are forced by their parents into

marriage. They are stopped from going to school and getting an education and are

exploited for serving their husband and giving birth to children. Considering that

they are still children themselves, it is absolutely unacceptable, as it kills their

future and entire life, exposing them to adulthood so early.

According to the official statistics, child marriage rate has been reduced by

9% since 2003, but it is still a problem. Mostly, child marriages are common in

third-world countries, and to become a modern and developed country, Nigeria has

to get rid of this issue once and for all.

17
 Most of the young girls who are forced into marriage by their parents are

completely banned by their parents from going to school. Some of them excelled in

studies, so it is safe to say that Nigerian bright young people, who could potentially

help develop the country, are shut off, and their potential is destroyed forever.

Usually, there is a large age gap between a girl and her husband, which can subject

her to domestic violence and psychological abuse. Not even mentioning the risks

that the young girl can meet when she is forced to give birth, the diseases she and

the newborn baby can suffer from, and even death of a mother or a child.

2.3.1 CAUAES OF EARLY MARRIAGE

I will analyze some reasons why early child marriage in Nigeria is so

common. Surely, there is a background behind this act. Abubakar I.W. et al (2014)

opines the main causes of child marriage as follows

1. Poverty in the country: sure, most of the young age marriages happen

in the poorer areas, mainly rural ones. We all know that Nigeria is a poor

country, and most people who live in the rural areas are struggling to

survive. Most parents who earn very little to maintain normal lives and

support a young daughter sometimes choose to force her into marriage.

Girls suffer from it because they often get married against their will at the

age of 10 or even younger. Even though boys do not suffer from this

problem as much as girls do, the boys whose families are poor usually are

18
 forced into child labour and are subjected to other large issues caused by

it.

2. Gender inequality: Even if in the urbanized areas with progressive

views gender inequality is much less of a problem, there are still rural

areas with ancient beliefs. Often, people are convinced that the boy child

is a good luck, while the girl child is not, and she can only be used as a

future bride.

3. Cultural traditions: beliefs in different communities can vary. Some of

them are based on old religious traditions, and the communities are

unwilling to change their lifestyle. As a result of these beliefs, children

are getting married really early.

4. Education: The lack of proper education is another reason why people

get their children married at a young age. Many people do not have a

proper idea about the post-marriage life the child will have to face and

the childbirth complications. Also, due to the lack of education people

tend to hold onto many unhealthy traditional beliefs.

5. Insecurity:Since the female harassment rate keeps growing, many

people are concerned about the future of their daughters. Before she

becomes an adult, they arrange her a marriage with someone much older

19
 than her, believing that they are giving her into safe hands and ensuring

her a trouble-free future.

2.3.2 EFFECTS OF EARLY MARRIAGE

Child marriage in Nigeria has an inevitable impact on those who are

subjected to it, and here are consequences of this kind of marriage for young girls:

1. Early pregnancy: The pregnancy at a very early age is harmful to every

girl. The normal age for pregnancy is at least 18-20 years old, and if you

get pregnant earlier, there is a high risk that you will have to deal with

health issues. Sometimes it is life-threatening both for the mother and the

baby, considering that healthcare in the rural areas is not entirely

developed.

2. Domestic violence: There are a lot of situations when the future husband

and in-laws start blaming the girl for everything after marriage,

sometimes even torturing her in a physical way. The child’s

psychological health is still not strong, and dealing with the complicated

adult life can be too difficult for her to handle. Besides, the violence

against her can often result in physical and mental trauma.

3. Illiteracy: once the girl gets married, the parents stop educating her,

believing that she does not need education once she is a wife. This

increases the rate of illiteracy among Nigerians and kills so many bright

20
people’s potential. Who knows, maybe they could have played the crucial

role in the life of Nigeria, if only they got a proper education? Retrieved

from: www.google.com.ng

21
 CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter explains the research methods and procedures in the collection

of data with regards to the variables: early marriage and the secondary school girl.

It examines the research design, population, instrumentation, method of data

collection and analysis.

3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN

The descriptive survey design is used for collection of data with regards to

the impact of early marriage and family background of the school girl on the

academic performance. This is to curb inadequacies as much as possible while

observing the elements within the specified population.

3.3.1 AREA OF THE STUDY

The study was carried out in Kwali Area Council of FCT, Abuja. Kwali is

one of the two area councils created from Gwagwalada Area Council on October 1,

1996 by the military administration of General Sani Abacha.

One profession that the people of Kwali Local Government Area are famous

for is pottery. Indeed, it is the country home of the world-famous potter woman,

Dr. Ladi Kwali whose image currently adorns the 20 Naira bill. Another is cloth

22
making. But today, other professions such as farming, hunting and trading are also

practiced by the inhabitants of Kwali Area Council, Abubakar I.W. et al (2014).

3.4POPULATION OFTHESTUDY/SAMPLINGTECHNIQUES

In the research, the simple random method is employed due to the

population size. The population covers different categories of people within the

society. These includes: civilservants, traders, unemployed, retirees amongst

others. However, samples were taken from Kwali Area Council of the FCT, Abuja.

3.5INSTRUMENTOFDATACOLLECTION

TheInstrumentemployed in data collection is questionnaire. This is one of

the most common tools for data collection. Relevant questions were carefully

structured and administered to the sample/population.

The questionnaire consist of list of questions to be asked the respondents in

order to get their views. The questionnaire was divided into two (2) sections, A and

B. Section 'A' dealt with personalinformation. This includes: Age, Gender, marital

status, and occupation. Section “B” contains list of questions pertaining the

variables (early marriage and primary school girls) of this research. The questions

were structured in multiple choice format. This section contains fifteen questions.

3.6METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION

To find out the impact of early marriage amongsecondary school students,

the questionnaire seeks to find out“if early marriage of the girl-child amongst

23
secondary school students practiced in Kwali Area Council, Does early marriage

has any effect(s) on the student girl-child, and how can early marriage among

secondary school girls be discouraged or discontinued?

A fifteen question questionnaire was used to find out the roof early marriage

among secondary school girls in Kwali Area Councilof FCT, Abuja.

3.7 METHOD OF DATA ANALYSIS

The result of the data collected were converted into percentage (%) using

simple tabulation for the purpose of clarity and Interpretation of the data.

24
 CHAPTER FOUR

DATA ANALYSIS ANDINTERPRETATION

4.1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter is aimed at analyzing and interpreting the responses from the

questionnaire data collected. The ease of interpretation and clarity of the study is

based on the questions the questionnaire seeks to answer. A frequency count to the

responses to each questionnaire items carried out. The percentage responses to

each of the options are then calculated as shown in the table below. Simple

percentage is used in analyzing this work.

4.2 PRESENTATION AND DATA ANALYSIS

Demographic data collected from survey questionnaire is represented in tabular

form as shown below:

TABLE 1:Age distribution of respondents

AGE NUMBER PERCENTAGE%

18 - 30 15 25

31 - 40 25 41.67

41 - 60 20 33.33

TOTAL 60 100

25
Table 1 above shows the age distribution of the respondents. 25% are of the 18 –

30 years. While 41.67% falls between 31 – 40 years and 20% are between 41 – 60

years respectively. This results indicates that there is relative fairness in the

distribution of the questionnaire with regards to the ages of the respondents.

TABLE 2: Sex distribution of respondents

SEX NUMBER PERCENTAGE %

MALE 36 60

FEMALE 24 40

TOTAL 60 100

Table 2 above shows the sex distribution of respondents. 60% comprises of males

while 40% are females. Given the situation above, we may say that male

outnumbers female in the working class and they constituted the majority of the

respondents.

TABLE 3: Qualification of respondents

Educational Qualification Frequency Percentage %

NCE/OND 31 51.67
BSc./B.A/HND 12 20
BSc.(Ed.)/B.A. (Ed.) 17 28.3
TOTAL 60 100

26
Table 3 above represents educational qualification of respondents. 51.674%

constitute those , with NCE/OND; 12 constituting 20% of the total respondents

posses BSc./BA/HND. While 17 respondents constituting 20% of the total

respondents constituting 28.3% possess either of BSc. (Ed.)/B.A (Ed.). This

portrays that the number of NCE/OND graduates outnumbers those with their first

degrees.

TABLE 4: Responses to other questions answered by respondents

S/N ITEMS Responses Nos (%)

1 Do you agree that early marriage of the Yes 50 83.3

primary school age girl-child is practiced in No 10 16.7
the FCT?
Total 60 100
2 Has Western education any impact on the Yes 20 33.3
practice of early marriage of the secondary No 40 66.7
school girl-child?
Total 60 100
3 Does early marriage among secondary school Yes 35 58.3
girls have any negative effects on them? No 25 41.7
Total 60 100
4 In your opinion, would you say early marriage Yes 7 11.7
amongsecondary school girls should be No 50 83.3
encouraged? No idea 3 5
Total 60 100
5 Is poverty an encouraging factor for the Yes 40 66.7
involvement of the secondary school girl- No 15 25
child in early marriage? No idea 5 8.3
Total 60 100
6 Do you agree that early marriage of the Agree 18 30
student girl-child will help to reduce poverty Disagree 35 58.3
No idea
in the society? 7 11.7
Total 60 100
27
7 Do you agree that customs and traditions Agree 54 90
plays any role in encouraging early marriage Disagree 6 10
of the student girl-child? No idea - -
Total 60 100
8 Can you say that educational Yes 53 88.3
discriminationhas a negative impact on No 7 11.7
women's empowerment?
Total 60 100
9 Are you satisfied with the current level of Yes 9 15
awareness campaign for the girl-child No 51 85
education in the FCT?
Total 60 100
10 Examining the government's rationale for the Yes 35 58.3
campaign for the girl-child education and the No 18 30
current reality in Kwali Area Council, would No idea 7 11.7
you say it’s effects has led to improvement in
the rate of early marriage among secondary
school girls?
Total 60 100

Table four (4) contains ten (10) items and the responses are analyzed and

interpreted below:

Item one reveals that the respondents are aware of the practice of early

marriage among secondary school girls in the FCT.50 of 60 constituting 83% of

the total respondents are of the practice of early marriage among secondary school

girls and 10 constituting 16.7% out of the total respondents are not aware of the

practice in the FCT.

Item two (2) indicate the impact of Western education on the practice of

early marriage among secondary school girls: 20 constituting 33.3 of the total

28
respondents agrees that Western education has any impact on the practice of early

marriage amongst secondary school girls. 40 constituting 66.7 of the total

respondents said no.

Item three (3) shows whether early marriage among secondary school girls

have negative implications. 35 constituting 58.3 of the total amount reveals that

early marriage among secondary school girls have negative implications for them.

25 constituting 41.7 said it doesn’t have negative implications on the girls.

Item four (4) seeks to find out whether early marriage among secondary

school girls should be encouraged or not. 7 constituting 11.7 of the total

respondents agrees that early marriage among secondary school girls should be

encouraged, 50 constituting 83.3 disagrees while 3 constituting 5% of the total

respondents have no idea on whether early marriage among secondary school girls

should be encouraged or not.

Item five (5)seeks to find out if poverty is a factor encouraging the

secondary school girls to go in to early marriage or not. 40 constituting 66.7 of the

total respondents agrees that poverty is one of the factors that contribute to early

marriage among secondary school girls in Kwali Area Council. 15 constituting

25% says poverty is not a factor leading to early marriage while 5 constituting 8.3

of the total respondents are indifferent.

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 Item six (6) seeks to find out if early marriage can help to reduce poverty in

the society. 18 constituting 30% of the total respondents agrees that early marriage

among secondary school girls will reduce poverty in the society, 35 constituting

58.3 of the total respondents says early marriage among secondary school girls will

not reduce poverty, while 7 constituting 11.7 have no idea.

Item seven (7) seeks to reveal whether customs and traditions plays an

encouraging role as regards the practice of early marriage among secondary school

girls. 54 constituting 90% of the total respondents agrees that customs and

traditions encourage early marriage among girls of secondary school age in the

study area. 6 constituting 10% of the total respondents says no.

Item eight (8) indicates the views of respondents as to whether educational

discrimination has a negative impact on women’s empowerment. 53 constituting

88.3 of the total respondents agrees that educational discrimination has negative

impact on women's empowerment while 7 constituting 11.7 disagrees that

educational discrimination affect women's empowerment.

Item nine (9) seeks to find out the level of satisfaction of the respondents

with the current level of awareness campaign for the education of the Nigerian girl-

child. 9 constituting 15% of the total respondents expresses satisfaction on the

level of awareness campaign for the education of the Nigerian girl-child, while 51

30
constituting 85% of the total respondents expresses dissatisfaction with the current

level of awareness campaign.

Item ten (10) seeks to reveal the impact(s) of the current campaignby the

government on the education of the girl-child as against the current reality of early

marriage in the study area.35 constituting 58.3 of the total respondents reveals that

the current level of awareness campaign by the governmenthas led to improvement

in the rate of early marriage among secondary school age girls in the study area. 18

constituting 30% of the total respondents reveals that it has not affected the level of

early marriage among secondary school age girls while 7 constituting 11.7% are

indifferent.

4.3 DISCUSSION OF RESULTS

The results of this study reveal that early marriage among secondary school

girls is practiced in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. This is evident as 83.3 of

the respondents are aware that early marriage among secondary school girls is

practiced in the FCT. This could be traced to the fact thatcustoms and

traditionsplays a role in encouraging early marriage among secondary school girls.

This fact is reflected in item 7.

Similarly the results also reveals that Western education has little impact on

the practice of early marriage among secondary school girls in the study area. This

31
is revealed as 66.7% of the total respondents disagrees that Western education has

no impact on the practice of early marriage among school girls.

Accordingly, the result also indicates that educational discrimination has a

negativeimpact on women's empowerment. This is illustrated in item eight (8) as

83.3% of the total respondents opines that educational discrimination has negative

impact on women's empowerment.

The findings further reveals thatearly marriage among the most school girls

should be discouraged as shown in item 4. 83.3 of the total respondents also agreed

that early marriage among secondary school girls should be discouraged.

In conclusion, responses have shown that there is early marriage among

secondary school girls in Kwali Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory,

Abuja regardless of the practice of Western education and government awareness

campaign for the discouragement of it.

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 CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter summarizes all the findings of the research work with regards

to the research questions set in chapter one. Hence, conclusions are also reached

based on the findings and finally, it suggests a way forward in facing the

challenges of early marriage among secondary school girls in the Federal Capital

Territory, Abuja. However, due to administrative inconvenience Kwali Area

Council of the Federal Capital Territory was taken as sample for this research.

5.2 SUMMARY OF MAJOR FINDINGS

Based on the result of this study, the following findings can be deduced. The

result supports that there is the practice of early marriage amongsecondary

schoolgirls. It clearly portrays that Western education has little impact on the

practice of early marriage among primary school girls in the study area.Similarly,

the result also indicate that educational discrimination has a negative impact on

women's empowerment. Finally, all and sundry should join in the campaign

against early marriage among secondary school age girls in our society.

5.3 CONCLUSION

The study thus far reveals that early marriage among secondary school girls

is practiced in the Federal Capital Territory even though there is an indication that

33
educational discrimination has a negative impact on women's empowerment. It is

obvious that the family background contribute toearly marriage of the girl-child

and that exposes her to more danger in the future. Hence, the impacts cannot be

overemphasized. Therefore, individuals at all levels should join in the crusade

against early marriage of the girl-child and encourage her education beyond the

secondary school.

5.4 RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Raising awareness about the issue. More people need to know about the

problem and attempt to take action. The rural inhabitants need to be

educated more about the consequences that child marriage can cause, and

about the harm, it can do to their children.

2. Making the laws stricter. While the laws exist, they are not strict enough.

There should be a powerful law against child marriage.

3. Authorities paying attention. The problem should be frequently reported to

the authorities who can punish people exploiting children. Maybe all the

cases will not be prevented, but if at least some will, that will be victory.

4. Fighting poverty. Of course, poverty is the biggest problem in Nigeria, and

many people marry their children to strangers because they need money.

Authorities should be taking measures to resolve this issue, and if there is a

smaller amount of struggling people in Nigeria, the child marriage rate will

34
decrease too. Problems like female harassment and discrimination should

also be addressed, as they play a key part in the early marriage issue.

35
 REFERENCES

Abubakar I. W. (2014): Studies in The History of Abuja. Vol 1, Bahia and

Dalila Publishers, Lagos Nigeria.

Gutman, L.M. and Akerman, R. (2008) Determinants as Aspirations Centre for

Research on the Wider Benefits of Learning Research Report 27. London
Institute of Education.

Nystrand, (1981) Introduction to Social Studies Juniors’ Secondary School.

Peter's M. Seeds, K, Goldstein, A. and Coleman, N. (2008) Parental Involvement

in Children’s Education, (2007).

Strategic Direction: National Association for the Education of Young Children"

(PDF). naeyc.org. Retrieved 12 July 2018.

United Nations Millennium Development Goals". Un.org. Retrieved 2017-05-23.

GOAL 2 : Achieve Universal Primary Education" (PDF). Un.org. Retrieved 2017-

05-23.

Hairy, A. (1993). Studies on causes and Impact of early Marriage among Primary
School girls. Dougirei Journal of Education. Vol 3.

Lennery, L. (1964): Anxiety in Adolescent in Relation to School child

Psychology/Psychiatry. Chicago – University Press.
Justice Development and Peace Commission Training Manual on Popular

Participation (1998)

Ebigbo P.O. (1998) Psycho-social aspect of Child Abuse and Neglect in Africa.

Paper presented at conference on Law Relating to Children in Nigeria by

ANPPCAN 7th– 18th August.

www.sociologyguide.com

www.k4health.org

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www.naija.ng

www.google.cim.ng

37
 QUESTIONNAIRE

Section A: Personal Data

Age: _____________________________________________________________

Sex: ______________________________________________________________

Qualification: ______________________________________________________

Section B: Research Questions

S/N ITEMS Response Nos (%)

1 Do you agree that early marriage of the

primary school age girl-child is practiced in
the FCT?

2 Has Western education any impact on the

practice of early marriage of the primary
school girl-child?

3 Does early marriage among primary school

girls have any negative effects on them?

4 In your opinion, would you say early marriage

among primary school girls should be
encouraged?

5 Is poverty an encouraging factor for the

involvement of the primary school girl-child
in early marriage?

38
6 Do you agree that early marriage of the
primary school girl-child will help to reduce
poverty in the society?

7 Do you agree that customs and traditions

plays any role in encouraging early marriage
among primary school girls?

8 Can you say that educational discrimination

has a negative impact on women's
empowerment?

9 Are you satisfied with the current level of

awareness campaign for the girl-child
education in the FCT?

10 Examining the government's rationale for the

campaign for the girl-child education and the
current reality in Kwali Area Council, would
you say it’s effects has led to improvement in
the rate of early marriage among primary
school girls?

39