Horror as as girl, 13, forced to marry man aged 50 | World | News

A 13-year-old girl’s childhood was stolen from her when she was sold by her aunt to a man aged over 50 and forced to marry him. The girl, Aisha*, was born in a town in Somalia where she was looked after by both her parents until they both died and she went to live with a grandmother.

When her gran died, Aisha’s aunt sold her to the older man, from whom she eventually managed to flee. After walking for hours, she managed to get a lift to the city of Baidoa where she agreed to work for a family in exchange for a place to stay.

Despite working hard, the child was denied money and her freedom, receiving only food and shelter for her efforts, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council.

The man she was forced to marry against her will went in search of her, but when told no one knew where she had gone, he divorced her.

On learning distant relatives were living at a displacement camp, Aisha travelled to the site and came to the attention of caseworkers from the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).

She told the organisation: “They came to me, listened to my story, and treated me with respect. For the first time, I felt someone cared.”

Aisha went on to receive support from the NRC backed by a scheme funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation.

Forced child marriage is a world-wide problem which Action Aid UK describes as robbing girls of their childhoods, education, health and freedom.

Girls can also be left vulnerable to abuse, according to the charity. Girls Not Brides reports that every year 12 million girls marry before the age of 18.

The same organisation identifies the highest child marriage prevalence rates in Niger (76%), Central African Republic (61%), Chad (61%), Mali (54%) and South Sudan (52%). In Somalia, the rate is 45%.

Countries approach child marriage in various ways, some make it a crime, some ban marriage below the legal minimum age and others prescribe a minimum age but don’t criminalise or prohibit it, according to Girls Not Brides.

It reports that child marriage results from gender inequality, social norms, fragile states and poverty. UNICEF figures show almost 40% of girls in the poorest countries in the world are married as children, which is twice the global average.

*The girl’s name was changed to protect her identity.