The Socio-cultural and Economic Drivers of Child Marriage and Their Effects on the Well-being of Women in Nyakach Sub-county, Kisumu County

Abstract

This is a descriptive cross-sectional qualitative study on the socio-cultural and economic drivers of child marriage in Nyakach Sub-county, Kisumu County. Specifically, the study sets out to determine their effects on the well-being of women who are or were once married before attaining the age of 18 years. This is because the study attempts to contribute to upholding or disapproving the much-stressed ideas and beliefs about this age-old cultural practice. By taking place in a rural setting, the study intends to shed light on how the changing socio-cultural, religious and economic conditions in this area contribute to Child Marriage (CM). The practice of child marriage is still rampant in Nyakach since it is deeply engrained in gender inequalities and the conviction that girls and women are in some way substandard to boys and men, girls are not as treasured as boys are. It is also driven by patriarchal values and the desire to control female sexuality. Parents guard girls’ sexuality and virginity in order to shield the family’s honor. Furthermore, tradition perpetuates child marriage for it has always happened for generations. The practice habitually goes undisputed for it has been part of the community’s lifetime and distinctiveness for a long time. In Nyakach Sub-County, the bride wealth is remunerated to the girl’s family and it is often welcomed for poor families to pay debts, manage disputes or resolve social, economic and political agreements. Many families often marry their daughters’ young since they consider it best for them, normally to guarantee their well-being in areas where girls are at high threat of child marriage as well as physical and sexual assaults. The study utilized in-depth interviews, case narratives, key informants and focus group discussions. Purposive sampling was used to recruit 40 participants for the in-depth interviews who were spread around different areas of Nyakach Sub-county, Kisumu County. Case narratives of four participants were purposively chosen through snowball sampling based on their personal experiences with child marriages and their willingness and availability to share the experiences. Four key informants provided in-depth understanding of child marriage and explained issues from knowledgeable perspectives. Two FGDs ware held separately in two divisions whereby one with the husbands of the sampled women and the other with the wives in order to take advantage of group dynamics and use group interaction to generate more data and insights on the issues under discussion.

The findings indicated that girls who drop out of school due to teen pregnancy are encouraged to marry as soon as possible so that their husbands can take control of their sexuality and to cushion them from further pregnancies before marriage due to low value attached to a girl’s education. The study findings show that women married as children in Nyakach Sub-county are living below poverty lines. Their economic situation is deplorable. They lack proper source of income to fend for their families. Children born to them are malnourished and sickly. This finding is supported by Klugman et al. (2014) that educated women are healthier, active in formal employment, richer with less children, offered better health care as well as schooling to their children than the ones with no schooling. The study recommends laws prohibiting the practice of child marriage to be strictly adhered to so that anybody found culpable face the full force of law. Institutions dealing with the children’s rights to emphasize on the need to protect children from abuse such as child marriage. There is an urgent need for an elaborate study to look at how COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to child-marriage.