Pader district chairperson has warned locals on early marriages among girls under 18 that they risk arrest during the women’s day celebration at Kilak Corner Technical institute.
Fearless Obwoya Oyat said that some parents sell their daughters for money to older rich men. He added that fewer girls are in school than boys because of early marriages and pregnancies.
He further warned that parents who will force their daughters to marry early will be arrested including both parties.
Paska Menya Achiro, Pader district woman member of parliament during the women’s day celebration urged the locals to embrace girl child education to fill the gap created as this will promote unity and development among the locals hence fighting poverty.
According to data from Kitgum Diocese, indicates that 3,430 teenage girls between 14 and 16 years got pregnant between March and October 2020. Of these, 920 are from Pader district.
World Bank ranked Uganda 9th among the top 20 “hotspot” countries for child marriage. In 2013, Uganda was ranked 16th among 25 countries with the highest rates of early marriages.
In Northern Uganda, child marriage is at 51.5% as of 2021.
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