The Changing and Hiddenaspects of Early Marriage Arrangments among The Peasant Communities of Amhara Region: The Case of Fogera Woreda, South Gondar, North Western Ethiopia
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Date
2021-06
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AAU
Abstract
The overall objective of this study was to investigate the changing and hidden aspects of early
marriage arrangements among the peasant communities of Fogera Woreda in South Gondar
Administrative Zone of Amhara National Regional State. More specifically, the study was aimed
at exploring the nature of early marriage arrangements, identifoing major reasons for early
marriage and its hidden arrangement procedures, exploring the role of community based
organizations in promoting the hidden arrangement procedures of early marriage, and
identifoing the role of local government institutions in preventing the current hidden
arrangements of early marriage in the study area. To achieve these objectives both primary and
secondary data sources were employed.
This study mainly relied on ethnographic data gathered through a combination of qualitative
research methods such as key informant and in-depth personal interviews, focus group
discussions, case studies and personal observation. The study participants were early married
girls and women, parents, grand-parents, council of elders and knowledgeable individuals,
religious leaders, local level government institutional leaders, health officers and Woreda
officials. Finally, the data gathered through various sources were organized and analyzed
thematically by using triangulation to increase the reliability and validity of the research
findings.
Pertaining to the major findings of the study, the trend of early marriage arrangements among
the studied peasant communities has changed from the public wedding feasts to the hidden
ceremonies taking place in the name of social and religious gatherings and other events.
Regarding the prevalence of the hidden arrangements of early marriage, the extended case
studies, key informants as well as focus group discussants revealed that such mechanisms of
early marriage arrangements are very common.
The study has also identified reasons for early marriage and its hidden arrangement procedures.
The major reasons include: (J) economic factors related with parents' socio-economic status; (2)
socio-cultural reasons such as parents' fear of their daughters' loss of virginity before marriage
and related social stigmas, parents' fear of the qomo qar (being unmarriageable) stigma for their
daughters, parents' desire to have a male guardian for their daughter and their desire to
continue and extend their family line; (3) parents' lack of hope in formal education; and (4)
female-headed heads' desire to get male protection and male labor force. The ethnographic data
further revealed that currently early marriage arrangements are taking place in a hidden
manner. Early marriage arranging parents and the early marriage facilitators try to disguise it
through social, religious and other events because they are well aware of the illegality of the
practice. The local community members also collaborate to hide the early marriage arrangements
of other parents because they also want to arrange their daughters' marriage in the same way,
which is the best option designed by the members of the local community since the formal laws
forbid the practice.
This study concludes by suggesting the needfor further study on the issue at hand with particular
emphasis on how to fill the gap between socio-cultural values and economic realities of the rural
peasant communities and the laws legislating against the practice in the Amhara National
Regional State.