Nine arrested in Tanzania's anti-early marriage campaign

A campaign against early marriage has started bearing fruits in northern Tanzania, after authorities managed to arrest nine people from Maasai pastoralist communities for allegedly forcing teenage girls into early marriage for dowry.

This came barely a month when the Moshi-based Network Against Female Genital Mutilation (NAFGEM) managed to rescue a 16-year-old Maasai girl from forced marriage in Siha District on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro.

Authorities in northern Tanzania's region of Arusha, said the teenage girls were supposed to be in schools, but their parents forced them to marriages.

Wilson Nkhambaku is the Arumeru District Commissioner who said that nine Maasai men were arrested in a crackdown operation carried out in the district as part of implementing the Tanzania's President John Magufuli's order of ensuring that all children enrolled should go to school.

"We carried the crackdown operation as part of fulfilling President's order to ensure all eligible children were taken to school," the DC said, noting that large percentage of people living in the district are Maasai pastoralists, who have the tendency of not taking their children to schools.

In traditional Maasai culture, fathers often promise older men marriage to their young daughters, most of whom are between the ages of 12 and 14, with some even younger.

Not only are the bodies of the youngsters too immature to deal with sexual intercourse and childbirth, they are also usually forced to drop out of school.

"It is astonishing to see the community continues with their cultural practices by forcing girl children to early marriages, something which is contrary to the laws governing education system in the country," the official said.

"In collaboration with security organs we've arrested eight people who are the leading when it comes to not taking girl children to school and instead they look for their daughters' fiancees."

Early last month Ndoija, not her real name, is one of the many girls who fall prey to the Maasai's 'barbaric' tradition of forcing young girls into marriage.

She was forced into marriage at her tender age by a group of Maasai boys.

After being rescued from forced marriage the teenager, who is under the supervision of NAFGEM, has now joined Sangiti Secondary School, located in Kibosho area of Moshi municipality. Before meeting the harrowing experience, Ndoija had performed well in the last year's Standard Seven examinations.

The NAFGEM executive director, Francis Selasini, said on the fateful day the girl had been sent by her parents to buy kerosene when she met a group of maasai warriors who abducted her, saying they wanted to marry her.

"We received information from her colleagues, teachers and some local leaders in the area about her ordeal and informed the police (Gender, Women and Children's desk), who thereafter went to the area and managed to rescue the girl," he narrated.

"She has joined Form One at Sangiti Secondary School," Selasini said, adding that the trend seemed to have grown in recent years, adding: "This year alone we managed to rescue four girls from such forced marriages."

After getting the scholarship, Ndoija urged the government to work on outlawing outdated traditions in the Maasai and other communities that have a negative impact on the girl child. Endit