When news filtered out that a current Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria who also served as Governor of Zamfara State married a 13 year Old girl from Egypt, many thought it was one of the clever ploy and skilful antics the media employed to attract wide spread publicity throughout the country. Senator Ahmed Sani Yerima would probably issue a statement refuting the allegations while demanding a retraction of the story, he would probably caution the media against tainting an image he had taken some many years to build. It however came as an utter shock when the Senator in question granted an interview with the BBC Hausa Service on the 29th April, 2010 asserting his right to the marriage while stating that his marriage is a private affair consequently not open to public scrutiny irrespective of the fact that he is a Public officer. The Senator maintained that he had contracted a valid marriage in accordance with Islamic Injunctions and the requirement of the Sharia Legal System. In response to allegations that his marriage was in flagrant breach of Sec. 21 of the Child Rights Act, the senator claimed that his home state of Zamfara did not domesticate the law and as such, he cannot be accused of violating its provision. Of course, Senator Yerima should know better than make such blind defences and render lame excuses for an act so blatantly inexcusable and in defiance of all known moral and ethical principle irrespective of age, cultural, religious, jurisdictional or sociological background. Little wonder his act has attracted nation- wide passionate condemnation from various Human Rights groups and women organizations. If such acts were morally reprehensible had it been committed by an average citizen, it would fall short of nothing but cruelty, inhumanity and bewilderment to be committed by a supposed Law maker whose primary responsibility is to uphold the Constitution and Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Simply put, it is an array of Shame! It is thus settled that Senator Yerima’s actions were beyond moral and ethical standards. Yet a distinction must be made between moraility and legality. While the senator’s marriage to a child might be immoral, the question of its legality or otherwise deserves a separate and distinct consideration.
According to Wikipedia, Child Marriage usually refers to two separate Social phenomena which are practiced in some societies. The first and more generalized practice is that of marrying a young child ( generally defined a below the age of fifteen) to an adult. The second is a form of arrangement in which parent of two children from different families arrange a future marriage. Marriage of young girls is a common act in sub Saharan Africa and South Asia. A statistics released by UNICEF showed that In Niger, 77 per cent of 20-24 year Old Women were married between the age of 18. In Bangladesh, this rate was 65 per cent. An essential ingredient of a valid marriage whether Islamic, Customary or Statutory is the Capacity to give full consent to the marriage. This is entrenched as a fundamental right in various international instruments on human righs including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). The Convention on the Elimination of discrimination Against Women (1979) states that the ‘Betrothal and marriage of a child shall have no legal effect and all necessary action, including legislation, shall be taken to specify a minimum age of marriage (which was recommended to be 18)’. Against this background, the Child Rights Act 2003 was promulgated in Nigeria which defines a child as one below the age of eighteen years. It specifically makes provision prohibiting the betrothal and marriage of children. It also provides that no Nigerian Child shall be subjected to physical, mental or emotional Injury, abuse or neglect, maltreatment, torture, inhuman or degrading punishment, attacks on his/her honor or reputation. The Child Rights Act is therefore clear on its position on Child Marriage. Succinctly worded, it’s an illegality. Even then, Senator Yerima attempted to hide under the Veil of the Sharia Legal System while arguing that he broke no law within the contemplation of the Sharia Law. This argument is rather pitiful yet alarming. In reaction to this, Maryam Uwais of the ‘African Union Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child’ said as follows.
In the development of the Sharia, the focus of our learned Scholars and Jurists has always been to look at the larger picture, the intent and objective (‘inaqasid’) always being to make regulations in favour of what is considered to be most in the public interest, always respecting clear injunctions of the Qur’an and the sunna. In respect of the permissible therefore, its advantages have always weighed against the perceived disadvantages, after which a legal ruling (‘fatwa’) is made in favour of the more beneficial for the society or the ‘lesser evil’. According to Ibn Ashur, a ‘fatwa’ that is in line with the objective (‘maqasid’) of shari’a is always superior to one that is not”.
Consequently, it can be safely concluded that a 13 year old girl lacks the capacity to give informed consent to a married. Any marriage resulting from such union is termed a ‘Forced Marriage’ (Ijbar) which has been rejected by all schools of the Islamic legal thought ( with the exceptions of some of the Maliki Scholars of Shari’a) such as the Shafi’ Hanafi and Hanbali. This tenet has been the cornerstone upon which Islamic Nations such as Egypt, Yemen, Malaysia, Algeria, Pakistan and others have enacted laws to protect the girl child from exploitative and forced marriages while ensuring the attainment of maturity and a level of education before embarking on Marriage. This probably explains the Senator’s decision to host the wedding in the Federal Capital Territory. His marriage would have amounted to a nullity had it been Contracted in Egypt.
In any event, an examination of the larger picture shows clearly that the consequences of Child Marriages are far too devastating for the Law to be handicapped on basis of technicalities. With the rising incidence of VVF (a distressing and common ailment predominant in many of our hospitals among Young girls), enslavement and bonded labour of the girl child, commercial Sexual Exploitation and violence, HIV/AIDS, Sexually transmitted infections, the risks far outweighs any pleasure that may be derived from such unholy union. It is therefore beyond argument that child marriage is a violation of human rights whether the laws thereto have been domesticated or otherwise.
Perhaps this somewhat triggered the cries and controversies surrounding Senator’s Yerima actions (who allegedly divorced a 17 year old girl after impregnating her thus making him a father of a child by a child!), a lawmaker who claims he has liberty to unilaterally determine what law he should comply to even when his acts offends universally accepted principles of human rights and the clear provisions of the laws of the land with the notable inclusion of Islamic Laws, it is general knowledge that the Sharia binds you to respect the laws of your land and constituted authority, his arguments are thus baseless.
It is therefore submitted that the purported marriage of Senator Yerima to a 13 year Old girl from Egypt is illegal for all intent and purposes constituting a flagrant violation of the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and should be visited with all relevant legal Sanctions.
