Church cries foul over marriage of a 13-year-old girl
In some parts of the North, early marriages are common phenomenon. But the case of Hauwa Kulu Labo, a 13-year-old student of Our Lady of Fatima Nursery and Primary School, Gusau, Zamfara State presents a grim picture of a thick plot hatched without the consent of her father,

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2006/apr/14/national-14-04-2006-arewa1.htm


These are the "laws" our dear Legislators may want to consider as an immediate priority rather than focusing on househelps, most of whom would rather live in servitude than return to their impoverished homes, a result of the ineptitude, incompetence and corruption of our "honorables"!

@Davidylan

If the Northerner call it their culture so be it, afterall other section of Nigeria has one or two bad things in their culture.

Igbo people's astronomical bride price and the plight of their widow to mention a few.

Akolawole:

And i have seen Househelps that have been completely maltreated INFACT sexually abused.

I know of a particular girl from seme border that were sexually abused by three of her Oga's boys which resulted into pregnancy. Out of the three, they don't even know who owns the pregnancy. Its a pity.

I've seen and heard of several such cases too, that's why I feel we need a regulatory body in charge of domestic servants' welfare. It's those who matreat these kids that should be punished.

Akolawole:

@Davidylan

If the Northerner call it their culture so be it, afterall other section of Nigeria has one or two bad things in their culture.

Igbo people's astronomical bride price and the plight of their widow to mention a few.

This is more of ignorance than culture. Why don't the educated Hausas do it? I think those who give away their kids at such young ages do it to get some money (bride price) and to do away with the responsibility of taking care of the child. But there is more to young girls marrying than the issue of exploitation. They are more vulnerable to several STDs, like VVF. There is also a greater risk of dying or complications during childbirth.

You can't compare Ibos huge bride price to this. No one is forced to marry an Ibo woman afterall. The maltreatment of widows in Iboland is just as bad as the hausa case though. As you said, all tribes have these customs but they should not be encouraged. We have customs that could lead us to greater heights, we should focus on those and do away with these drawback customs.

@GL

GL:

You can't compare Ibos huge bride price to this. No one is forced to marry an Ibo woman afterall.

What of some of us that i dying for ibo women?

When I was in Nigeria, myself and my lil sis were in the boarding school and dad was abroad. Because the house was too large for my mum and lil bro of 4 years old, she took up a fulani girl and the girl was living in our house with my mum cooking for her.
To me, it depends on what you want the househelp for. In my mum's case, she just wanted a companion in the house.

JosBoy4Lif:

Ok i don't follow??

noooowwww lllleettttt me gooooo slooooooowwwww,

that means the 2 maids, nnkechi and john have being sleeping together, likewise john and madam have being sleeping together and likewise nnkechi and oga have being sleeping together, duh



PRAYER:

God please let him get it now plsssssssssssss

Akolawole:

@Davidylan

If the Northerner call it their culture so be it, afterall other section of Nigeria has one or two bad things in their culture.

Igbo people's astronomical bride price and the plight of their widow to mention a few.

hmmmmm igbo bride price vary, ok? I dont think more than 5k was paid on my sister. The widow thing is dieing out as more people get educated,

larger_20:

hmmmmm igbo bride price vary, ok? I don't think more than 5k was paid on my sister. The widow thing is dieing out as more people get educated,

5k, that must be centuries ago

They charged well.

My question is what took so long to come up with this ?

Also the government are notorious for passing laws they know cannot be enforce. Its a shame really that the best they could come up with was this , children, not just househelps, need protecting generally. Not only house girls are sexually abused like i said children, all children must be protected and i have not seen this at all. Nigeria is so stuck in all levels of slavery its a dam shame.

I think people should search themselves if they know they can not treat another's child as theirs then they should stir clear of using very young kids as helps. I say this because, with the mess the country is in its not unusual to find relatives asking for thier kids to be taken off their hands because they can not cope. Its was common practice in britain very very long ago, but the untold hardship some face is evil. some are treated well, But i think it will be risky to look at this like who can and who cant harm a child, it should be a strict law and must be enforced, those who want to help thier relatives should send money or sponsor their education or something. And if they have kids ,let their own kids do the donkey work.

[/quote][quote author=GL link=topic=10510.msg291394#msg291394 date=1144976247]
I know of many (i really mean many) househelps who have grown, are married with kids and are doing well. Most of them wouldn't be where they are if they had remained in their villages with their parents without any education.

We've had several househelps in my family, most under 18. My parents do not maltreat them, and they usually go to school. Some actually refuse to go to school and decide to learn other things like sewing. When they come, they're usually very small but they grow bigger and fatter in a short while because of better feeding. Some have to trek long distances to fetch water in their places but they don't do that here. They are allowed to communicate with their families. We've had more than one case when a househelp had to be sent home because of some misbehaviour or the other. Their parents usually come to beg. My family isn't the only one with such cases, I know several others.

I think what we need is an agency that controls employment of househelps. They should insist that employers send them to school, feed them well and not involve them in certain jobs (e.g. hawking). They should visit them in school, talk to neighbors etc. Some of these kids are better off in their employers homes.

Hmmm in an ideal world maybe. How much will this cost? how many ppl will the govt train to monitor the children in the respective homes?Becuase that has to be done or the whole agency idea is a waste.
Totally unrealist and unwise because we know the fear of God will be put into the poor kids they'd be too scared to report any abuse.

Sorry but the govt can't even organise a piss-up in a brewery, sorry GL its a case of too many chiefs not enuff indians in Nigerian politics.

Akolawole:

@GL
What of some of us that i dying for ibo women?

yes ooooooo!

ibo girls are the sh*t!

Hmmmmmmmmm,sad

Akolawole:

5k, that must be centuries ago

They charged well.

No its not century ago. Imo people do that but not anambra people, most villages have fixed bride price and they follow the other. I actually wrote thesis on Igbo traditional marriage. if u want to see, i can send u my paper on it. It varies with cultures and people.

na wa oh

what a nonsense.

Outirhgt ban is silly knowing full well that many parents cannot afford to send their children to school. What are those kids to be doing when they cant be sent to school? Hanging about doing yahoo yahoo?