Gelchu Adola Shiferaw, Wirtu Dessalegn
Department of Nursing, Institute of Health, Bule Hora University, Bule Hora, Ethiopia.
Department of Public Health, College of Health and Medical Science, Wollega University, Nekemte, Ethiopia.
Front Sociol. 2024 Nov 15;9:1412133. doi: 10.3389/fsoc.2024.1412133. eCollection 2024.
The consequences of early marriage have become a global concern for young women. The detrimental effects of early marriage disproportionately affect girls. Regarding its effects in poor nations like Ethiopia, there is a dearth of data. As a result, this study offers baseline, first-hand, and updated information for both the nation and the study area.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of early marriage on Guji women who were married before the age of 18.
This qualitative study used a phenomenological approach and was carried out from January to April 2024. An in-depth interview technique was employed to collect the data. The interviews were conducted in the Oromo language. A purposive sampling technique was applied to choose the study participants. A total of 25 women who met the eligibility criteria were selected. A thematic data analysis approach was employed to analyze the data in this study.
Three themes, 10 subthemes, and more than hundreds of codes were extracted after the interview data were analyzed. The main themes and subthemes of this study were as follows: 1-Precipitators of early marriage (abduction and arranged marriage); 2-Consequences of early marriage (emotional damage, moral damage, early marriage is a risk factor for maternal and child health, early marriage is a major cause for girls to drop out of school, poverty, gender-based violence and divorce, lack of essential life skills); and 3-Attitudes toward early marriage (early marriage is a harmful cultural practice; girls should be protected).
The study's findings illustrated the multidimensional effect of early marriage, necessitating the involvement of numerous sectors and stakeholders. The community, religious leaders, the health, education, and legal sectors, as well as the parents of young girls, should all take an active role in delaying early marriage. This indicates the development of policies that permit cooperation amongst all relevant parties. Creating awareness among girls, families, and the community through community-based education is crucial. Early married women should participate in intervention programs to provide their experience to young girls. Women who are victims of early marriage must receive full support to mitigate its negative consequences.
早婚的后果已成为全球年轻女性关注的问题。早婚的不利影响对女孩的影响尤为严重。关于其在埃塞俄比亚等贫困国家的影响，缺乏相关数据。因此，本研究为该国及研究地区提供了基线、第一手和最新信息。
本研究旨在调查早婚对18岁之前结婚的古吉族女性的影响。
本定性研究采用现象学方法，于2024年1月至4月进行。采用深度访谈技术收集数据。访谈以奥罗莫语进行。采用目的抽样技术选择研究参与者。共选取了25名符合资格标准的女性。本研究采用主题数据分析方法对数据进行分析。
对访谈数据进行分析后，提取出三个主题、10个子主题和数百个编码。本研究的主要主题和子主题如下：1-早婚的促成因素（诱拐和包办婚姻）；2-早婚的后果（情感伤害、道德伤害、早婚是母婴健康的风险因素、早婚是女孩辍学的主要原因、贫困、基于性别的暴力和离婚、缺乏基本生活技能）；3-对早婚的态度（早婚是一种有害的文化习俗；女孩应受到保护）。
研究结果表明早婚具有多方面的影响，需要众多部门和利益相关者的参与。社区、宗教领袖、卫生、教育和法律部门以及年轻女孩的父母都应积极参与延迟早婚。这意味着要制定允许所有相关方合作的政策。通过社区教育提高女孩、家庭和社区的意识至关重要。早婚女性应参与干预项目，为年轻女孩分享自己的经历。早婚受害者必须得到充分支持，以减轻其负面影响。
