Gender and Power analysis of Child Marriage in Cabo Delgado Province June 2024

Child marriage remains a deeply entrenched issue in Cabo Delgado, with far-reaching implications for the health, education, and well-being of young girls. Girls married young are far less likely to stay in school, with lifelong economic impacts. They are often isolated and more easily exposed to physical and sexual violence. Adolescent girls are also at greater risk of experiencing sexual transmitted infections and somehow ever married girls are obliged to go into recurrent marriages due to lack of income alternatives and pressure at home.

Save the Children in collaboration with the government, child parliamentarians, and locally-based civil society organisations – Wiwanana, Promura, and Associação Juntos em Acção (AJA) conducted a gender and power analysis in Cabo Delgado province. Using intersectional and child-centered approaches, this comprehensive report provides detailed insights into the causes and impacts of child marriage in conflict affected populations, and aims to inform and drive effective design and implementation of key actions to address the issue.

One of the most concerning findings is the seeming acceptability and normality of child marriages. Girls aged 12 to 13 years are the most vulnerable and at risk of child marriage. This risk increases for those who do not live with a parent or primary caregiver or are orphaned. This includes the acceptance of young girls marrying dangerous individuals in order to keep the family ‘safe’, and tragically, the inability for girls to have a voice in shaping their own futures. Additionally, the lack of available services, such as secondary schools, health and social services means that by the time these girls enter puberty and are at risk of child marriage there is nowhere for them to find support, and nowhere to go for help.