In Tanzania, 4 out of 10 girls are married before their 18th birthday. Deeply embedded in Tanzanian society, child marriage limits girls' access to education and exposes them to exploitation and violence – including marital rape and female genital mutilation (FGM) – and reproductive health risks.
Many Tanzanians regard child marriage as way of securing financial security for themselves and their daughters. The practice of dowry payment by the groom to the bride's family is a key incentive for many families to marry off their daughters. In many cultures in Tanzania, girls are generally considered ready for marriage when they reach puberty and marriage is viewed as a way to protect them from pre-marital sex and pregnancy that undermine family honor and may decrease the amount of dowry a family may receive.
Girls were often pulled out from school to marry, and they found it difficult to return to school after marriage. Girls who became pregnant or married were frequently expelled. Tanzanian government policy allows schools to expel or exclude students who enter marriage or become pregnant.
Girls who rejected or tried to resist marriage were assaulted, verbally abused, or evicted from their homes by their families. Others, who were unable to escape marriage, described how their husbands beat and raped them and did not allow them to make any decisions in their homes. In Tanzania, there is almost no accountability for victims of violence related to child marriage, and marital rape is not criminalized.
By permitting child marriage, the Tanzanian government becomes responsible for the serious harms suffered by girls and women, thus violating many human rights recognized under international law. Tanzanian government should show leadership on child marriage by making 18 the minimum age and providing stronger protections against child marriage. Any upcoming examinations of national plans on violence against women and children provide an opportunity for the government to strengthen protections against child and forced marriage.
DOWRY
Dowry payment is a major factor driving child marriage in Tanzania. Dowry is negotiated by a man and his family and is paid to a woman’s family in the form of money, cattle or other livestock, or a combination of both. Although common in many Tanzanian communities, dowry payments vary depending on ethnic group, family wealth, and other cultural and social considerations, such as the lightness of a girl’s complexion or whether she has undergone female genital mutilation (FGM).
Dowry payment is believed by some communities to give a husband and his family “property rights” over the wife. Dowry payment may increase the likelihood of violence against women and girls, who may be unable to leave abusive relationships because they cannot afford to repay the dowry. Dora P. told Human Rights Watch that her husband was physically and verbally abusive, and that whenever she complained, he would reply, “I bought you. Your father has taken my wealth so I own you. Do you think you can go anywhere?”
FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION
In Tanzania, female genital mutilation (FGM) is practiced for various socio-cultural reasons depending on ethnic group, including as part of a ritual initiation into womanhood. Among the ethnic groups of the Maasai and Gogo, where Human Rights Watch conducted its research, FGM is closely related to child marriage and is done primarily as a rite of passage to prepare girls for marriage.
A Maasai traditional leader, Laizer Daudi, told Human Rights Watch, “In our land [community], you have to cut a girl before she gets married. Girls are cut between 10−15 years and they get married 2−3 months after being cut. There is a lot of pain when you combine FGM, and the forced marriage of a girl.”
Pion H., 12, was 10-years-old and in her second year of primary school when her grandmother told her she was to undergo FGM and get married:
My grandmother told me, “You must stop school immediately. Get prepared to become a ‘real’ Maasai woman.” I started crying. I was afraid. I knew it [FGM and forced marriage] was going to happen because they told my sister the same thing. She was also 10 years old when they cut her and forced her to marry a month later.
A girl who has not undergone FGM may be socially ostracized and referred to as “rubbish” or “useless.” If married, her in-laws may force her to undergo FGM. Among the Maasai and Gogo ethnic groups, a girl who has undergone FGM fetches more dowry.
CHILD LABOR
Among girls, child labor is associated with a significant increase in the probability of marriage at an earlier age. A 2008 World Bank study looking at the consequences of child labor in rural Tanzania noted a link between child labor and child marriage, stating that “the more children work, the more likely they are to marry at an earlier age.” Girls who face abuses in their workplaces may see marriage as a way to escape their suffering. Girls in work are also frequently exposed to sexual exploitation and abuse, and sometimes enter relationships with boys or men in return for food or other support, or because they are pregnant.
Human Rights Watch interviewed 20 girls who said they married early to escape child labor. In Tanzania, child domestic work is common and widely accepted as a way to contribute to the family’s income. It may also be viewed as part of a girl’s preparation or apprenticeship for future married life. Due to weak government regulation of child work, girls face many abuses, including physical and sexual abuse, and often receive little or no pay.
ADOLESCENT PREGNANCY
Tanzania has high rates of teenage pregnancy. According to the 2010 Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey, “44 percent of women are either mothers or are pregnant with their first child by age 19.”
Girls lack access to sex education and accurate information about contraception. They also have limited access to reproductive health services and lack the power to negotiate safe sex with men who usually entice them with money, gifts, and promises to educate or marry them.
The Tanzanian government has failed to ensure the provision of comprehensive sexuality education in primary and secondary schools, despite a “life skills” program¬–incorporated into existing subjects, such as biology, civics, languages, and work skills–that includes information on sexuality and family planning. Tanzania mainland lacks a national sexuality education curriculum, meaning there is no clear guidance for schools or teachers on what the subject covers and how it should be taught.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Most of the girls and women interviewed by Human Rights Watch said that they experienced violence during their marriage.
Patricia J., 19, married an 18-year-old man when she was 15, hoping to escape poverty at home. Her husband paid a dowry of 7,000 TSh ($5). She eventually left the marriage and is staying with a friend:
My husband used to beat me almost every day. One day he came home and started making noises and threatening me saying he will burn me. I asked him why and he said, “Your father took my money because he is poor.” He told me to spread my legs open. I refused. He went outside the house and came with burning charcoal. He forced my legs open and pushed the burning charcoal into my vagina. I was helpless. All I could do was cry.
Girls sometimes attempt to leave abusive husbands and return to their own families, hoping to receive help, but girls interviewed by Human Rights Watch who tried to return to their families said that they are often told that all married women must tolerate abuse, and are then forced to return to their husbands.
BANNING GIRLS FROM EDUCATION
In Tanzania, marriage usually ends girls’ education. Married or pregnant pupils are routinely expelled or excluded from school. Although not an official policy, Tanzanian schools also routinely conduct mandatory pregnancy tests and expel pregnant girls.
Human Rights Watch interviewed several girls who were expelled from school because they were pregnant. Others said they stopped attending school after finding out they were pregnant because they feared expulsion.
Sharon J., 19, was expelled when she was in her final year of primary school: “When the head teacher found out that I was pregnant, he called me to his office and told me, ‘You have to leave our school immediately because you are pregnant.’” A head teacher at Farkwa Secondary School said, “When we find a pregnant pupil in school, we call a school board meeting where we agree to expel the pupil.”
The practice of expelling pregnant girls is not explicitly mandated by law or policy, but the government has done little to stop it and the consequent denial of girls’ right to education. School and government officials frame the practice of expelling pregnant girls as part of an effort to prevent adolescent pregnancy, and as a disciplinary measure.
Credits
Photography and Cinematography:
Marcus Bleasdale/VII for Human Rights Watch
Produced by Human Rights Watch’s Documentary Video Team:
Director: Veronica Matushaj
Producers: Elena Testi
Assistant Producers: Jiahui Chen, Lamyae Barham
Design Manager: Ivy Shen
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