Humanitarian crisis drives children in Philippines conflict areas into early marriage

The overwhelming horrors of an armed conflict compelled Aleyah to send her eldest daughter, Daisha, out of the city of Marawi in the southern Philippines.

In 2017, Daisha, who was then 15 years old, went to Cebu City in the central part of the country to work in relative’s shop for mobile phone accessories.

“I sent her away because no one was left to provide for us,” said Aleyah. “Besides, the evacuation camp was not a safe place for her.”

Aleyah’s husband went missing on May 24, 2017, a day after a local terror group tried to occupy Marawi resulting in the mass exodus of more than 500,000 people.

The mother said her daughter experienced “several dangerous confrontations” trying to defend her father from people who accused him of being part of the terrorist group.

Aleya has “no idea” what happened to her husband, but she believes that he was “killed in crossfire” when the military attacked an enemy position.

More than a year since she left home, Daisha came back to her mother with the news that she was three-months pregnant.

One month later, she got married.

^{Main photo: More than 200,000 internally displaced persons from war-torn Marawi city stay in evacuation centers even after the government declared victory against the ISIS-inspired Maute group in November 2017.}

In the hinterlands of South Cotabato province, a firefight that lasted for an hour and left 10 people dead forced Allison and 35 T’boli-Dulangan Manobo families to flee the village in December 2017.

The displaced families sought temporary sanctuary in Koronadal City, about 60 kilometers from the village.

Allison, who was 16 years old at that time, lost her father while her 11-year-old brother was shot on the leg.

The displacement exposed Allison and other tribal children to the harsh conditions of the city, away from their village.

“I tried to look for a job but there were no opportunities for people like us who came from a farming community,” she said.

After a year, Allison decided to get married.

Today, she is living with her husband and their two-year-old baby.

More than 200,000 internally displaced persons from war-torn Marawi city stay in evacuation centers even after the government declared victory against the ISIS-inspired Maute group in November 2017.

Early marriage in conflict areas

The humanitarian crisis in many conflict areas in the southern Philippines has been forcing young women into early marriage.

Lawyer Patricia Miranda, policy advocacy and communications manager of Oxfam in the Philippines, said the drivers of child marriage are all present in refugee camps.

A study done by Oxfam in 2018 revealed that some displaced persons or their families go into early marriages because of the “difficulty of life” in evacuation centers.

“Based on what we have seen, child marriage and early pregnancy increase when there is a crisis," said Miranda.

She said “structural violence” plays a big role in the rise of incidents of child marriage.

"Structural violence is coming from the inability to access services or inability of duty-bearers to protect and promote human rights of its constituents,” said Miranda.

An expectant young mother shows her belly in this photograph taken in Datu Saudi Ampatuan in February 2020.

An expectant young mother shows her belly in this photograph taken in Datu Saudi Ampatuan in February 2020.

In 2019, Oxfam conducted a reproductive health survey in five conflict-affected provinces in Mindanao, including Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi.

At least 253 people, or 24 percent of the 1,058 respondents, reported cases of child marriage. Of those who reported that they were married as children, 97 percent were girls.

Social worker Noraja Suib said child marriage happens because displaced families “think that it is a way out or an escape out of a continuing cycle of poverty.”

“In a conflict-stricken place where there is already persistent poverty, life becomes even harder,” said Suib of the United Youth of the Philippines-Women Inc.

A mother feeds her child in a middle of a crowded evacuation camp in Iligan City. This photo was taken in 2017 during the height of the war in Marawi City.

A mother feeds her child in a middle of a crowded evacuation camp in Iligan City. This photo was taken in 2017 during the height of the war in Marawi City.

Child marriage, early marriage, and forced marriage have become a global problem as young mothers are subjected to social isolation, physical, sexual, and emotional violence, and health risks.

Angelica Ramirez, project manager of the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development, said various cultural, social, and gender norms must be considered in addressing child marriage.

She said that among the factors that have to be looked into are transition to adulthood, religious beliefs, cultural practices, laws that justify child marriage, and gender inequity.

The city proper of Marawi in southern Philippines, which was the main battle area between the government forces and the ISIS-inspired Maute group, suffered great damage from the firefight and the bombardment.

Government soldiers guard the bridge that connects the Marawi City proper to the rest of the province. Heavy firefight that claimed casualties from both sides occurred in this area.

Government security forces check a vehicle during the height of evacuation in Marawi City. In May 2017, almost half a million people were displaced after a local terror group tried to occupy the Islamic city.

The government deploys additional security personnel to fight a local terror group that tried to occupy Marawi City in 2017.

Culture and tradition

The case of 19-year-old Mona Paisal reflects how cultural practices and traditions justify child, early, and forced marriage in some communities in the Philippines.

Paisal, whose parents were migrant workers, was born and raised in Cairo, Egypt. She was sent to the Philippines at age 13 after the death of her father.

In July 2015, her grandparents in Mamasapano town in Maguindanao province told the young girl that she is going to be married.

"I was 14 years old then,” she said.

“They told me that I was going to marry my first cousin who was also 14 years old,” added the girl.

“I didn’t know what was happening,” she said. “They took my silence as an approval to what they wanted to happen," she told LiCAS.news in an interview.

The marriage did not work.

“My husband ignored me. He disregarded me even when I was sick because of a miscarriage one year after our marriage,” said Paisal whose childhood dream was to become an airline stewardess.

Her dream was, however, shattered and her life ruined because of her early marriage.

A young mother carries her child on her back while doing household chores.

The Code of Muslim Personal Laws of the Philippines allows a Muslim male at least 15 years of age and any Muslim female of the age of puberty to contract marriage.

Shariah lawyer Amanah Busran Lao explained that if the law has to be followed, “a Muslim girl who just had her first menstruation can already be married.”

Lao said the law, which was crafted in the 1970s, has to be reviewed.

“There are provisions, including the provisions on marriages, that have to be amended,” she said. "It is already 2020 and we have provisions in the law that are already obsolete."

"The law itself is problematic," said Lao. "Somehow it causes more problems than solving them, including early marriage," added the lawyer.

She said that in reviewing and amending the law, everyone must be consulted, not only lawyers and lawmakers.

Sociologist Maylanie Sani Boloto said the practice of child, early, and forced marriages in Muslim communities in the country is "not Islamic, but cultural."

"The practice of child marriage is an old tradition of different tribes in Mindanao even before the arrival of Islam," she said.

When these tribes embraced Islam as a religion many of their cultural practices and traditions were perceived or interpreted as Islamic.

Boloto said the problem is rooted in the "dominance of culture over faith."

"People don’t admit it, but oftentimes our culture dominates our religion, and worst, we use religion to justify such culture," she said.

Islam respects the rights of women and girls, Bosloto said, adding that the Koran makes women powerful because of the provision of "consent" during marriage.

"It is clear in the Scriptures that women have to give their consent before any union or marriage. Women are not forced," she said.

Fatwa on marriage

In November 2015, Muslim religious leaders and legal experts in the country introduced a fatwa, or a legal opinion, that recommended an appropriate marrying age.

Ustadz Boharie Esmail Paisal said the fatwa states that Muslim marriages can only be contracted by females beginning at the age of 18 and males at the age of 20.

The fatwa also stated that such marriage should meet the necessary conditions of "mental maturity" and "intellectual integrity."

The religious leader, however, admitted that not all Muslim religious leaders and communities followed and adopted the legal opinion.

Child marriage is not linked to a single religion. It happens to girls, regardless of religion and race, around the world.

In many parts of the Philippines, indigenous communities that are not influenced by any religion also allow early marriages.

In July 2019, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted its third resolution on “child, early, and forced marriage,” urging member states “to strengthen and accelerate action to address child marriage.”

It called on governments to ensure access to protection, health, and education services for girls who have been forced to flee or displaced due to violence and persecution.

Nepali mothers and children are seen walking in the middle of the heat of the sun in this photo taken in 2019.

Nepali mothers and children are seen walking in the middle of the heat of the sun in this photo taken in 2019.

A UNICEF study noted that child marriage is prevalent in many countries.

The total number of girls married in childhood is estimated at 12 million per year. If not addressed, more than 150 million additional girls will marry before turning 18 years old by the year 2030.

^{Main photo: Nepal is the third country in the Asia that has largest number of child brides with 37 percent of girls marry before age 18 and 10 percent are married by age 15 in spite of a national law that prohibits the practice of child marriage.}

Nepal is the third country in the Asia that has largest number of child brides with 37 percent of girls marry before age 18 and 10 percent are married by age 15 in spite of a national law that prohibits the practice of child marriage.

Prevalence of child marriage

The prevalence of child marriage is highest in sub-Saharan Africa, where four out of ten young women were married before age 18, followed by South Asia with a ratio of three is to ten.

India has the most number of child brides with more than 15 million women between the ages of 20 and 24 who were married as children.

In Asia, Bangladesh is second to India with almost 2.5 million women married as young girls. About 59 percent of girls in this country were married before they became adults.

Nepal ranked third with 37 percent of girls marrying before age 18 and 10 percent are married by age 15 in spite of a national law that prohibits the practice of child marriage.

Nepal is the third country in Asia that has largest number of child brides with 37 percent of girls marry before age 18 and 10 percent are married by age 15 in spite of a national law that prohibits the practice of child marriage.

Nepal is the third country in Asia that has largest number of child brides with 37 percent of girls marry before age 18 and 10 percent are married by age 15 in spite of a national law that prohibits the practice of child marriage.

The United Nations Human Rights Council has issued a resolution on child, early, and forced marriage, acknowledging that marriage before the age of 18 is “a fundamental violation of human rights.”

The resolution highlighted “the need to support” girls and women who have been married as children. It called on governments to “ensure that young mothers and women married as children can continue and complete their education.”

It also noted that the criminalization of child marriage is “insufficient when introduced without complementary measures and support programs,” and might only “marginalize” affected families.

In the Philippines, a bill that aims to protect children by prohibiting and declaring child marriage as illegal has passed initial discussions in the Senate.

The proposed bill states that child marriage is

“an act of child abuse as it debases, degrades, and demeans the intrinsic worth and dignity of children.”

Text and photos by Mark Saludes

Published September 22, 2020