Child Brides in Northern Nigeria and Health Implications

Child marriage persists across countries and Nigeria, especially its Northern part is no exception to this. Although, it affects both sexes, but girls are more affected as they are the major victims of child marraige. It is usually fuelled by poverty, social and cultural norms. Child brides are often disempowered, dependent on their husbands and deprived of their fundamental rights to health, education, and safety. They are at higher risk of experiencing dangerous complications in pregnancy and childbirth, becoming infected with sexually transmitted diseases, and suffering domestic violence. Hence, this paper seeks to discuss child marriage practice in Northern Nigeria with specific reference to child brides. This paper will also analyse the health implications involved as it affects child brides. This paper will be both descriptive and analytical in its approach and rely on both primary and secondary sources, that is, Nigerian dailies, journal articles, books, government publications, and interviews. The main thesis of this paper is to critically analyse the health implications of early marriage for female in Northern Nigeria. This paper will contribute to the existing literatures on early marriage, particularly on the subject matter of its health implications.