Perception of Causes and Consequences of Early Marriage: The Case of Gewane District, Afar Region, Ethiopia

Zebenay Shitaye

doi:10.7176/dcs/9-10-03

Abstract

A study was conducted o investigate the perception of causes and consequences of early marriage at Gewane district, Afar regional state, Ethiopia. Cross sectional research design was applied for this specific study. Household survey, Key Informant Interviews and Focus Group Discussion was used to gather data. The data were analyzed using SPSS software version 20 by using binary logistic model and descriptive statistics. The study participant thought socio-cultural and economic motives as the major reasons for the practices of early marriage in the study area. Specifically, logistic regression analysis revealed respondents’ family size, household monthly income and husbands having more than one wife as the significant factors determining early marriage. The study also indicates that unwanted pregnancy (32%), abortion (29.1%) and death (21.2%) were the major health related consequences and termination of education (28.1%), martial instability (25.6%) and domestic violence (17.7%) were the major socio- cultural consequences of early marriage in the study area. The study concludes that problems associated with early marriage are pertinent issue of women in the study area, as the practice that is supported by social norms and customs goes against their right. To overcome such a problem, awareness creation of the effect of early marriage should be promoted by family counselors, religious leaders, policy makers’ social workers and other helping professionals to fight against such harmful traditional practices. Keywords : Early marriage, Consequences, Socio-economic motives, Socio cultural reason, Discrimination, Perception, Traditional practices. DOI : 10.7176/DCS/9-10-03 Publication date :October 31 st 2019

Highlights

Marriage is a social institution that unites people in a special form of mutual dependence for the purpose of founding and maintaining a family
This paper has shown that child marriage is a socio-cultural practice in the study area
According to respondents’ perception, Sociocultural and economic motives were the major reasons for the persistence of this discriminatory practice in the study area

Summary

Introduction

Background Marriage is a social institution that unites people in a special form of mutual dependence for the purpose of founding and maintaining a family. In terms of occurrence the further documented that early marriage is widely practiced in many parts of Ethiopia; the rate in Amhara region (82%) and Tigray region (79%) are much higher than the national average (64%) in Benishangul Gumz, (64 %) in Gambella (46 %) in Afar regions (NCTPE (2003). None of these studies documented the extent of socio economic consequences of early marriage in Gewane wereda. The Explanatory Variables The predictor variables considered in this analysis include Age, marital status, education level, household www.iiste.org livelihood, family size, household income, gender discrimination within family, dory paid of a woman

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Participants Currant Age

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMENDATIONS