Senate Okays Marriage For Girls! This MUST Not Happen! Give Your Support To Stop This Madness!

 

This is the most absurd thing any sane government could ever do.  With the teeming number of teenage pregnancies and the social and health hazards that we are already battling with, one wonders if our law makers are really thinking at all. Have they heard about obstructed labour due to small pelvis of the “child” mother? Have they heard about Obstetric fistula that results from prolonged obstructed labour that makes the girl leak urine continuously and makes her a social outcast? Do they know that many of these “children” are divorced and driven out of their husbands’ homes because of this malady? Do they know that mortality rate of children born to these “children” is very high? This is male chauvinism and child abuse being legalised, this is an assault on the sensibilities of Nigerians who care that we have a just society that looks after the welfare of the children and youths; an insult on common sense. Where are the women and the youths who are being abused by this legislation?

We, well-meaning Nigerians will not allow this injustice happen to our children. We therefore insist that our daughters be sent to school and not to infant marriages.

Education is the bedrock of every society, and the education of the girl child is as important as that of her male counterpart.
We therefore are surprised that Nigeria’s Senate didn’t consider making it mandatory for every girl child below 18 to be in school. Instead, they gave a legislative seal of approval for the marriage of underage girls. That means even a 5 year old toddler could be married off by her parents.
Nigerians of all tribes and religions have rejected this, and therefore undertake to stand against the state-sanctioned abuse of the girl child. By tomorrow, Saturday, 20th July, 2013, we’ll be signing a petition that will be forwarded to the National Assembly, Abuja.

If you are in Abuja, the venue is: Unity Fountain, by Transcorp Hilton. Also the Park. Time is: 9am-12noon.

For those in Lagos, the venues are:

1. Ojeez Restaurant, National Stadium Surulere.

2.  Alausa Park, Opposite Lagos State Governor’s Office, Ikeja.

3. The Palms Shopping Mall, Lekki

4. New African Shrine, Agidingbi, Ikeja. 5. Arrangements are still on-going for those in Festac Town and its environs.

Time is 9am-12noon.

We also ask you to volunteer your time to help us take papers to churches and mosques for signing. We need to gather as much signatures as we can push for within just 2 days. Millions of them, if we can, will speak more than mere thousands. And if the millions are in their tens, then the better.