Dear Honourable Speaker Abdulmalik Sarkindaji,
This is to humbly bring to your notice that child marriage is neither a form of rehabilitation program nor is it an empowerment project. It is sexual abuse and a violation of human rights.
It is quite unfortunate to imagine that you were committed to enabling this menace in the lives of 100 innocent orphans in your state. I am beyond grateful you have honoured the integrity of your esteemed law degree by withdrawing the marriage contract.
Culture, religion, and political positionality must never be tools fashioned to perpetuate injustice. Those girls are not mere statistics. They are the first humans and the children of Nigerian citizens who died as victims of insecurity.
The backlash you witnessed must serve as a deterrent to other lawmakers who wish to tamper with the dignity of young girls. You insisted this was a platform to alleviate “the suffering of the impoverished” in your state. I believe in learning, unlearning, and relearning. Kindly be encouraged to consider approving motions that sustainably support agricultural expansion, power generation as well as socioeconomic development.
Honourable Speaker, owing to your swift response in rescinding the contract, there is a high chance that you may be unaware of what truly matters. Here are some life-changing opportunities those orphans truly deserve:
– Comprehensive psychosocial support
– Access to quality education and skills training
– Assurance of safety and security
– Protection from child marriage contracts
Read Also: Mariga mass wedding: Advocates call for sustainable solutions
It is unacceptable to willingly subject young girls to trauma. The good people of Mariga local government area did not go through the hassles of elections to have you disappoint them or politicise the future of their children.
Promoting this evil could have breached sections 21 to 23 of the Nigeria Child Right Act 2003.
Distinguished Honourable, it is important to invest in the well-being of all children and not in processes that dehumanise them.
I look forward to seeing you become a true advocate of justice in all that concerns your constituency and, by extension, Niger State.
Sincerely,
Chidinma Ibemere
Girls’ Right Advocate
