Education as a Contrivance to Ending Child Marriage in Africa: Perspectives from Nigeria and Uganda

Nigeria and Uganda have both ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and have enacted domestic legislations that provide for the promotion and protection of the rights and welfare of children. Sadly, child marriage still exists and is one of the leading causes of morbidity and school dropout among children in both countries. This paper examines the legal and policy frameworks for combating child marriage and highlights the trends, challenges and prospects from a socio-legal perspective. It reveals a number of systematic procedural problems in the legal and policy apparatus for addressing child marriage. In responding to these challenges, the authors argue that the Nigerian and Ugandan governments should enhance access to basic education and initiate institutional reforms pertinent to the legal framework for effective enforcement of the laws that address child marriage.