Early Marriage in Africa has become rampant, especially in Nigeria. Some fathers marry their daughters off for money or cattle.
A Nigerian teenager Fatima, has sued her father in a Shari’a Court in Kaduna for allegedly forcing her to marry a stranger.
Fatima told the court that she has someone she loves whilst her father, Aliyu Muhammad, has reportedly threatened to take her to the village and marry her off.
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According to the girl, she does not intend to add up to the early marriage statistics in Nigeria and its neighbouring countries.
Her lawyer, Malam Y.A Bulama, told the court that his client did not file a suit against her father out of disrespect for him. Bulama said;
The father wants my client to marry a man in their village in Niger state. Right now she’s living in her aunty’s house because he threatened to take her to the village and marry her off.
However, Fatima’s father told the court that his late parents chose the groom for his daughter when they were alive. A custom he had to respect their wishes. The ground base of early marriage is to send their daughters away as early as possible to avoid the responsibility of a father.
I married my six daughters off in the village and they are doing well. Fatima’s mother is the brains behind her stubbornness. I need permission to consult with my people on this matter.
The judge, Malam Isiyaku Abdulrahman, who held that a father has the right to choose a husband for his daughter under Shari’a law, stated that forced marriage is not encouraged. He also told the girl’s father to be patient with her.
I married my six daughters off in the village, They are doing well. Fatima’s mother is the brains behind her stubbornness. I need permission to consult with my people over this matter.”
The judge, Malam Isiyaku Abdulrahman, who held that a father has the right to choose a husband for his daughter under Shari’a law, stated that forced marriage is not encouraged. He also told the girl’s father to be patient with her. Forcing your daughter into early marriage is not constitutional.
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