South Sudan Families Still Forced to Sell Girls into Marriage
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Loading... - Alice Ankomah
- 28 Sep 2022
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In South Sudan, the arranged marriage of a young girl to an older man often brings the girl’s family wealth measured in cows. Some girls bring their families up to 100 cows. Each cow is valued at $1,000.
Girls who are young, healthy and come from good families can bring much more. In 2018, one 17-year-old girl brought in 500 cows, two costly cars and $10,000 in an auction that made news around the world. She was then married to a man in his 50s.
The auctions still happen although South Sudan now has a law requiring girls to be 18 before they are married. The law is often violated.
Activists who are hoping to change this tradition wanted to bring up the issue of child brides being sold to older men, during a visit from Pope Francis in July.
However, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church canceled the visit earlier in June because he is recovering from a knee operation.
Francis was supposed to visit the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan from July 2 to 7. The Vatican said a new date would be set for the visit.
Jackline Nasiwa is the leader of the Center of Inclusive Governance, Peace and Justice in South Sudan’s capital of Juba. She said families must sell their daughters “so they get something to survive.”
South Sudan broke away from Sudan in 2011 with the hope of growth and peace, but that has not happened. The new country remains poor and is still recovering from a civil war that ended in 2018.
Many people are hungry as a result of flooding and other problems brought by climate change. Food prices are increasing after Russia invaded Ukraine in February.
One of the ways families can get money is by selling their daughters. Read More...
