Sadi's story

Introduction

Niger, a small country between Nigeria and Libya, has the third highest rate of infant mortality in the world and it is the worst place in the world to be a mother, with 12 out of 1000 women losing their life during childbirth. One of the major contributing factors is the early marriage of girls. Sarah Lendon heard one girl's story during her recent visit to UNICEF Australia/AusAID's project in Niger.

I met a lot of extraordinary people while in Niger, but the person that sticks in my mind was a 15-year-old wife and mother who had been married for 2 years. I will call her Sadi. When I met Sadi in her village, she had her 14-month-old baby tied to her back. The little girl was unhappy and kept crying despite Sadi's rocking. My UNICEF colleague held the baby and we were very concerned to see the state of her eyes. They were red and clogged with infection. Sadi then told us her story.

She was married at the age of 13 to a man she had never met who was much older than her. Every night she would run away to the bush to hide from her husband. But each time her husband's friends would find her and force her to return. She was her husband's property and there was no escape. By the age of 14 she was pregnant. Luckily she was one of the few girls to survive the birth without permanent injury. I asked Sadi about her sisters and friends. She said that, like her, they had all left school to get married at the age of 13 or 14. And that Sunday, her youngest sister, at the age of 12, was also getting married.

The girls of Niger have their first babies before age 16. Their bodies are small and malnourished therefore they go through an agonising and dangerous labour, which can last up to five days. One major injury that may result is their bladder is torn. This injury is called a fistula and the girls leak urine continuously. It can be cured by a major operation which is rarely available in Niger.

If the girls survive labour, then they drop out of school to care for their baby.

For me the one consolation I could draw from my conversation with Sadi was the knowledge that UNICEF Australia's project in Niger is working with traditional chiefs to change the practice of early marriage of girls. We were able to tell Sadi and her friends that the Sultan of Zinder - who is the effective King of the region - was coming to speak to the people of their village. The Sultan is committed to changing the practice of early marriage of girls and, with the support of UNICEF Australia and AusAID, is travelling to many villages to urge parents to stop marrying their daughters at such a young age and to educate them about the serious consequences of early marriage of girls. It is too late to stop Sadi marrying and having a child so young, but not too late for many of her friends.

The Early Marriage of Girls Project

The UNICEF Australia/AusAID Early Marriage of Girls Project in Niger, which commenced in December 1999 with support from AusAID, aims to increase the average age of marriage of girls and to increase the number of girls receiving an education. These goals are being achieved by working with the traditional chiefs and religious leaders, who organise large traditional gatherings in the villages to discuss the early marriage of girls and its serious health consequences. The plays, songs, debates and speeches performed at the gatherings are broadcast over national radio and filmed by a video crew. The video footage will be used to produce two advocacy films: one for government officials and other decision-makers and the other to promote discussions at the community level. The project will also advocate for a change of the practice within the Government.

Progress to date

• A memorandum of understanding was signed in April 2000 between 220 traditional chiefs of Niger and UNICEF Australia whereby the chiefs agreed to use all of the communication resources given to them to inform, sensitise and stimulate behavioural change in order to change the practice of early marriage of girls.
• 10 social mobilisation gatherings have been held in key villages, bringing together a total of 300 villages. These sessions included plays, songs and debates performed by school children and speeches by: the high chief of the region; a religious leader representing an association of 70 religious leaders; a representative of a human rights NGO; and the Director of the Ministry of Social Development. These gatherings were broadcast on national radio and filmed by a local video crew.
• The local video crew have collected footage of the social mobilisation sessions and documentary footage of people's experience with early marriage of girls in order to produce two advocacy films.
• The Minister of Justice has initiated an inter-ministerial committee which will address the problem of early marriage of girls and give recommendations to the Government of Niger.

The momentum and dedication to this project are shown by the progress of the first six months. The continuing support from the Australian Government and UNICEF Australia will further assist the young girls and women of Niger, such as Sadi, to realise their basic human rights, including the right to the best attainable standard of health and the right to education.

The suffering of women in Niger

• Second least developed country in the world (second to Sierra Leone)
• Population of 9 million, with 3% arable land
• 280 out of 1,000 children die before they turn 5 years old
• The worst place in the world to be a mother: 12 out 1,000 women die during childbirth
• One of the lowest literacy rates in the world: approximately 10% of the population is literate
• Women have an average of 7.4 children
• 84% of girls are married by the age of 15
• 50% of girls have their first child by the age of 16
• A doctor from Nigeria had performed 129 fistula operations in the regions of Maradi and Zinder (where our project is focused).

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