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Mozambique: 14-year-old expelled from home for refusing to marry in Nampula province – Watch
7:32 CAT | 08 Jun 2021
Sifa Maulana, the 14-year-old girl thrown out of home for refusing an arranged marriage in Nampula, Mozambique.
- “My grandmother said: ‘If you don’t want to get married, you’d better leave now'”.
A 14-year-old girl was recently thrown out of her home in Nampula province by her grandmother, for refusing an arranged marriage.
Sifa Maulana, like every girl her age, has dreams – in her case, of training as a nurse.
When her family gave her a choice between getting married and leaving home, she borrowed 100 meticais from her brother-in-law and took the bus, without knowing where she would end up.
“Grandmother said, ‘if you don’t want to get married, you’d better leave now’. So I packed my clothes, asked my brother-in-law for 100 meticais, and went to the bus stop,” says Sifa, who is now staying at the Mater Dei nunnery, where she was welcomed by the sisters.
Also read: Mozambique: 14.year-old flees forced “marriage” in Mutuali, Malema district
Abbess Mother Maria says she will continue her studies from the nunnery.
Mother Maria says it is a common problem. “It is very worrying, because there is oppression. Women in general have always been oppressed. Early marriage often happens just to get children out of the house – to get mouths out of the house, especially in poor families.”
Families in Nampula openly justify early marriage on the grounds of poverty.
Forced marriage is among the worst violations of girls’ human rights. In 2019, Mozambique passed a law to prevent and combat forced unions, but its implementation is still a challenge, due mainly to poor social awareness and weak reporting.
Also read: Premature marriage: “This one here, that’s your husband – did you hear me?” – OP-ED
According to Mozambican authorities, many girls marry before the age of 18 as a result of family pressure, particularly in Nampula.
Although there are no recent figures for the number of girls forced into marriage in the province, several bodies have expressed concern and have called on communities to report such cases.
Source: Voa Portugues
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