Drought pushes more and more girls into child marriage, but not for girls like Fiinxee

Meet 17-year-old Fiinxee. She was married off at the tender young age of 13. She does not even know how old her husband was.

“My family married me off because of the drought and they had no income,” said Fiinxee. “They needed the dowry, so they sold me off.”  Fiinxee is from an area in Oromia region which experiences recurrent drought. This year, Ethiopia has been hit by the worst drought in 40 years.

Child marriage often increases in times of drought as families earn dowries and also hope their children will be fed by wealthier families. This year, according to local government sources, between January-April 2021 compared to the same period in 2022, child marriage has increased by an average of 119 per cent across some areas in regions worst hit by the drought.

“I was so stressed and scared on the day of the marriage,” said Fiinxee. “As soon as the marriage began, I could not cope. I could not survive in the house and could not even manage basic household duties.”

But Fiinxee was lucky. After, being stuck in the marriage for 8 months, she heard from her neighbours that she could get help and get out of the marriage. She went to the local authorities, and they immediately helped her and a few weeks later, her marriage was legally cancelled in court.

She is now back with her family and in school. “My family was full of regret and the court negotiated that the dowry did not have to be returned,” she said. “Not only am I back in school, but I am also an advocate to end child marriage.”

Fiinxee is part of a UNICEF supported school committee that helps raise awareness about the perils of child marriage and the importance of staying in school. She also refers cases of vulnerable girls who are being forced into child marriage or are already married, to local authorities so they can intervene. UNICEF works closely with the regional governments throughout the country to help provide financial and technical support to help end child marriage.

Source: UNICEF Ethiopia