Survivors of child marriage empowered in Kwale

Kwale County can best be described as a land of endless opportunities through the efforts of the residents to be empowered in various ways.

The county is a prime example of how empowering individuals can lead to a thriving community.

Various constituencies in the county have implemented programs focused on education, skill development and entrepreneurship where residents take pride in reaching their full potential.

As we go through towns in Kwale we meet children in their colourful uniforms walking beside the roads on their way to school.

Some of them belong to the survivors of child marriage; their determination was evident in their strides with their heads held high despite the hardship they have faced in their young lives.

As I watched them, I couldn’t help but admire their resilience and strength, I was filled with a sense of pride knowing that they are breaking the cycle of child marriage and poverty.

During the wee hours of the morning, their mothers unlock the doors of their businesses by cleaning around and arranging their shops setting the day's tone.

The atmosphere has drastically changed for survivors of Sexual Gender Based Violence specifically child marriage.

The once bleak environment has now transformed into a thriving community where survivors of child marriage are empowered.

MAKING ENDS MEET

We make our way into the one tailor shop where a group of women are busy sewing trying to beat their deadlines.

Our attention is drawn to a young lady seated at the corner of the shop immersed in her work humming a song.

With each stitch, she poured her heart and soul into creating beautiful garments for her clients.

“Welcome to our shop today, Karibuni sana,” she said with a broad smile on her face.

Amina*, a 22-year-old, proudly introduces us to her colleagues and takes us through her life as a survivor of early marriage.

Amina narrated how poverty led her to abandon her dream of becoming a nurse.

She is a survivor of Sexual Gender Based Violence who defied the odds, went back to school and took up a tailoring course.

“My dream was to be a nurse, I admired how they did their job that is why I studied hard to qualify and pursue the course but it was not possible, however, I have not lost hope yet because one day I might reach there,” she said.

Tragedy struck when she lost her mother when she was in Std 4.

Amina together with her other siblings was left with their father who at the time did not have a stable job to cater for their needs.

At that time, life became tough for her family forcing her to work part-time while attending school.

Amina said that she could not afford to carry snacks to dine with her classmates during lunch hour and break time. Her focus was to provide for her siblings.

Pressure from her classmates who had boyfriends who provided their needs caught up with her.

The circumstances forced her to drop out of school in Std 8 and decided to look for someone who would help her financially.

Amina dropped out of school after finishing class eight and got pregnant, however, her boyfriend could not provide for her needs.

“It reached a point where we went to solve the issues with the area chief. He did not deny me but my father said I could not get married at that time because he wanted me to go back to school,” she said.

“With the help of the women around me and through guidance and counseling I was able to go through the antenatal care and gave birth. I was stressed at that time and after every two weeks I went for counselling.”

Months after giving birth she was enrolled in a polytechnic to pursue a sewing course which took four months.

Now empowered to pursue tailoring, Amina tirelessly sought and found a shop where she now works.

Amina can fend for her daughter who is in school and two siblings at home.

“Be careful not to fall into any trap or get married if you have not finished school yet. The marriage cycle does not end, especially with our generation currently some men are not so responsible. Concentrate on your books because that is the only way power you have for your future,” she said.

She said that through Equality Now in partnership with Sauti ya Wanawake Kwale, they have been empowered to start their businesses to take care of her family.

EMBRACING TECHNOLOGY

For Binti Omar, 19-year –old the pressure of getting married began in her class where it was normal for girls to disappear and start families.

Omar was influenced by her classmates who could show off expensive gifts given by their boyfriends.

“When I was 16 years one day I left school and decided to go and stay with my boyfriend because of the peer pressure I got from my school. Most of my classmates lived a good life and often came to school with huge shopping. I decided to try getting married in the hope of finding a good life,” she said.

As a bright student in the school, her absence raised concern and the class teacher called her parents to find out where she was.

Her mother then reached out to Omar’s friends who told them where she had eloped.

Lack of school fees and basic needs prompted her to get married in search of a better life.

“At our home, we used to go to school in shifts, when one person was in Std 8, you had to wait until the one in form four finished school first before you joined Form 1 because our parents could not afford to pay fees for two people,” she said.

“The same thing happened to shopping and basic needs, at some point, my parents used to tell me that since I studied near home, I should just go to school and they would bring the shopping in later days.”

She survived by borrowing basic needs from her friends which later became a habit they could not tolerate.

According to her, the challenges prompted her to seek a better life through another means.

“The time I wasted to be out of school pulled me behind in life. I was not a C student, I used to perform well. I was also in the school leadership, so couldn’t go back to it. My grades became low,” she said.

She pulled herself together towards the end of the last year, did her exam and finished school.

“I was trained as a paralegal, and currently I do case follow-up on defilement cases. I also do financing for Sauti ya Wanawake organisation in Kwale,” she said.

A mentorship she received saw her grow her passion for business to start selling clothes, household equipment and curtains online.

Her business is booming because she has been able to capture the young generation who shop online.

According to Amina, the business has helped her network with many people, gain skills and also get to understand digital marketing.

Having been empowered and as a young 22-year-old, she is now able to provide her basic needs with ease.

Kwale Gender Social Services and Talent Management CEC Ningome Mwamtenda said the rate of SGBV was on the rise and the Ministry decided to draft a Bill to address SGBV cases.

The Kwale County SGBV Bill was drafted in 2013 and passed in November 2023.

The Bill was then officially launched in December 2023 by Governor Fatuma Achani.

As the gender office in Kwale, Mwamtenda said they have collaborated with police to activate Gender Desks in the stations.

She said poverty and lack of information on the dangers of early marriage are the main contributors to the rising cases.

"The data of early marriage is now slowly going down because most people living in the town are informed and are changing,” she said.

"The challenge is reaching the people who are in the rural areas of Kwale but I'm hopeful with the efforts put in place to reach them, the cases will reduce."

Under the Court Users Committee, the Office of the Directorate of Public Prosecution is approaching cases of SGBV and Children's Rights.

ACCESSING JUSTICE

Head of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution Kwale County Rosemary Nandi said most of the cases are lost due to lack of proper investigations and charges.

"We ensure that the files are properly prepared by the investigating officers and they are brought to us. We check and ensure the gaps are filled and everything is correct," Nandi said.

"We make the decision to charge based on sufficient evidence that is onboard, sometimes the evidence can be left out if the officer was not guided but we ensure that happens."

Nandi said that the office prioritises and fast-tracks matters that concern children especially those who come from the rural parts of Kwale.

She added that the conviction rate of SGBV is at 80 per cent in Kwale.

Nandi said that some convictions are not easy to process when the case has a hostile weakness and cases are lost.

"Sometimes we have compromised parents who come to report the case but after some time they change their stance maybe because they have been paid something, some even relocate from their places and can't be found," she said.

According to her, some witnesses do not appear in court because of the distance and the cost involved.

"The most prevalent SGBV I have realised in Kwale is defilement which takes a lot of angles including incest," she added.

Equality Now Programme Officer Jean-Paul Murunga said the organisation is implementing the Gender Justice Project.

Murunga said they are promoting the implementation of gender equality laws including the Sexual Offences Act, Marriage Act and Protection against Domestic Violence Act.

"Cases of Gender Based Violence specifically child marriage and teenage pregnancies in Kwale are quite prevalent based on the medical reports from the hospitals who are undergoing antenatal care," he said.

Murunga said child pregnancies and early marriages force girls to drop out of school and end up being a burden to society and families.

He added that the Equality Now organisation through the Sauti ya Wanawake Chapters creates awareness in the society.

Murunga said there is a need for advocacy campaigns since some cases are out of exploitation.

"We are also holding the county accountable to implement the laws that prevent sexual activities with young children, especially girls" he said.

"We train police and children officers on the laws for them to identify and take up the cases."

He said the organisation engages the local administrators to report cases for justice to prevail.

Murunga added that the county needs to fund programs addressing women's rights that are not adequately funded.

"Activities touching on women are not funded as compared to other infrastructure projects. We accept that the projects are a priority but we feel like if the roads are built but then girls end up being pregnant then there will be a cycle of poverty, “he said.

Murunga said they are pushing the government to implement projects to help women and victims of early marriage to safeguard their future.