Luwero district registers more cases of child marriages

Oct 23, 2019

Namigadde said the district is also faced with the problem of defilement and Gender-Based Violence that is leading to school dropouts.

 
 
Luwero district is registering higher cases of school dropouts and child marriages.
 
The senior probation officer of Luwero district Joyce Namigadde said out of 10 girls that finish primary seven, two drop out of school and get married.
 
A 2014 census report about child marriages and teenage pregnancies indicated that 8.6% (230,474) of the females aged 12 to 17 years have ever given birth. More girls (8.8%) compared to 2.2% of males aged 12 to 17 years were married or are currently married.
 
Another study conducted by the World Bank in 2017 revealed that Uganda loses $24.3m annually as a result of child marriage and sh77b as a result of Gender-Based Violence.
 
Namigadde said the district is also faced with the problem of defilement and Gender-Based Violence that is leading to school dropouts.
 
"Out of 15 cases of defilement reported in Luwero, only 10 cases would go to the courts.  In a month, we receive 25 to 30 cases of violence against girls," she said
 
It is against this background that over 100 children petitioned the government in protest of violence.
 
The children who hailed from different schools in Luwero and Nakaseke districts asked the government to end child marriages and cautioned them to say no to bribes.
 
The children also stated in their petition that they should not be a source of wealth for their families.
 
They requested the government to increase the budget on menstrual hygiene so that more girls are given free sanitary towels while in school so that they can continue with their education. Other demands were equal representation at all stages.
 
The children who included those in school and school dropouts could not hide their plight as some of them narrated their ordeal.
 
The children addressed their concerns to the government at Luwero district headquarters during activities to mark the International Day of the Girl Child recently.
 
They said that some of them had become child mothers and were suffering in their marriages.
 
The program Manager World Vision, Luwero Paul Mayemba said his organisation has found that 50% of the children in upper and lower primary schools in the district have complained of violence. He added that it is against this background that they have come up to strengthen the structures from homes, communities, and schools.

 

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