Janet Saidi, now 17, first born in a family of seven children with three girls and four boys, narrates how, like many girls in her community, she would follow what her peers were doing for the sake of ‘belonging’. After one of her friends convinced her on the benefits of being in a sexual relationship, she felt excited and soon fell in love with a 25-year-old man, not knowing the harmful impacts of the decision as serious as this would impact her education and future.
She got pregnant in 2021 at the age of 15 dropping out of her Standard 7 class at Malembo Primary School. Her single mother, Mrs Saidi, who single-handedly sustains the family from farming and some piece work was bitter about it but had no choice but push her into marriage with the man. Mrs Saidi explains that she took this decision due to their household poverty, and felt as a relief to get the man take the responsibility of her daughter’s care.
Contrary to the expectations of staying in marriage, just two weeks into the illegal union,members of the Malembo School Mother Support Group and Youth Child Rights Task Force, began to pursue her matter which was raised by her school teachers’ absenteeism observation. Not all other child brides are so lucky as Janet;for hundreds of other young girls in some sites not targeted by such interventions in the district, the cycle of danger, sexual violence and exploitation continues unchecked.
Happily, Janet’s nightmare is now behind her as she was withdrawn from child marriage late 2022. Today, she has a four-months old baby, she is just waiting for the child to clock at least six months for her to return to school. For the first time her prospects look bright and she joined Succeed Girls club where she frequently talks to her friends and other young girls about harmful impacts of child marriage, teen pregnancy and the importance of education.
“I realise that I took a wrong path and now I shall work hard to complete my education and become a nurse so that I care for people and support my parents and child.” said Janet expressing how she was setting her future in order beyond child marriage and teenage pregnancy.
Janet’s story portrays how peer pressure,poverty and parental negligence could push many other young people into child and early marriages while an enabling community environment was also crucial to her successful withdrawal from the illegal marriage and getting her ready to return to school. Members of the Mother Support Group played a role of a bridge between her parents and the school while the Youth Network continues to get her as an empowered girl turned into an Agent of Change.
Rise Up, Speak Out and Act Against Child Marriage is a CYECE’s five-year project (2019 -2023) that is being funded by IM Swedish Development Partner targeting both in and out-of-school young people aged between 13 and 23 in two Traditional Authorities of Namabvi and Nankumba in Mangochi district with a primary goal of ensuring that girls in the district complete their education and lead healthy and empowered lives.
The project supports community and school stakeholders in their efforts against child marriage and the promotion of girls’ education. These identify and facilitate withdrawal of young people from illegal marriages,subjecting them to psycho-social counselling processes along with their parents, guardians and siblings, and returning some of them to school.