Repelling child marriage and incestuous marriage in mountainous district of Nghe An

Persistent problem

Nearly 150km from the district center, Nhon Mai border commune is home to the Mong, Kho Mu and Thai ethnic groups of Tuong Duong district. Here, there are villages such as Huoi Man, Pha Mut, Pieng Luong, about half a day's walk from the commune center, where life in all aspects still faces many difficulties and challenges. In particular, some backward customs such as underage marriage and marriage with relatives still exist.

According to the report of the People's Committee of the communeNhon MaiIn 2020, there were 7 cases of child marriage in the area, in 2021 there were 8 cases. Cases of child marriage often occur in remote villages, where people have little contact with the outside world, so their educational level is limited.

Child marriage and incestuous marriage are prevalent in many villages of Tuong Duong district. Photo: Cong Khang

Faced with the situation of child marriage occurring in the area, the People's Committee of Nhon Mai commune has directed departments, branches, organizations and village management boards to step up propaganda, mobilization and persuasion of people, especially minors, to comply with the provisions of the Law on Marriage and Family. The situation has begun to have positive changes, up to now in 2022 there have been only 3 cases of violations, the local government has directed efforts to stop at this number.

Along with Nhon Mai commune, the situationearly marriageThis also happens quite a lot in some other communes such as Tam Hop, Luu Kien, Huu Khuong, Mai Son and Yen Na. This more or less affects the socio-economic development of the locality, negatively affecting the learning movement of teenagers.

Data reported by the district's Ethnic Affairs Office shows that in 2015, the district had 114 cases of child marriage. Thanks to the promotion of propaganda and mobilization, by 2020, the number had decreased to 77 cases. However, from 2016 to 2020, there were still 286 cases of child marriage, proving that this situation is still relatively common in the area.

Officials of Luu Kien commune (Tuong Duong) mobilize Mong people of Luu Thong village to prevent and combat child marriage and incestuous marriage. Photo: Cong Khang

In cases of child marriage, the Mong ethnic group had 161/286 cases (accounting for 56.29%); the Thai ethnic group had 43/286 cases (accounting for 15.03%); the Khmu ethnic group had 82/286 cases (accounting for 28.67%). The good news is that through the survey from 2016 - 2020, the situation of consanguineous marriage did not occur in cases of child marriage as well as in areas with a large population of ethnic minorities.

Causes of child marriage inXiangyang Districtdetermined by the influence of customs, practices and outdated concepts in marriage. The impact of social networks with bad content, the introduction of foreign cultures has directly affected adolescents, leading to cases of unwanted pregnancies, having to drop out of school to get married.

In addition, the work of propaganda, dissemination and legal education is still limited due to language barriers, low educational level, etc., leading to low efficiency. Intervention and administrative sanctions from local authorities in cases of early marriage are sometimes not resolute; policies and laws on marriage and family issues have not been effectively implemented in ethnic minority areas; parents have not paid due attention, many families are lax in managing their children, etc.

Synchronize solutions

In order to reduce the situation of child marriage and consanguineous marriage in ethnic minority areas, Tuong Duong district has implemented the Plan to Prevent and Combat Child Marriage and Consanguineous Marriage in Ethnic Minority Areas for the period 2021 - 2025. The goal of the plan is to basically prevent and repel child marriage and not let consanguineous marriage occur in ethnic minority areas by 2025, contributing to improving the quality of population and human resources in the area.

Staff of the Population Department - Tuong Duong District Health Center propagate the Law on Marriage and Family to secondary school students. Photo: Cong Khang

Implementing the Plan to Prevent and Combat Child Marriage and Consanguineous Marriage, communes have stepped up propaganda to raise awareness among people of all walks of life in many forms. In particular, the construction of pilot models and replication of models to prevent and combat child marriage andincestuous marriagein high-risk villages. In 2021, 3 model points (CLBs) were established in Pha Mut village (Nhon Mai commune), Hop Thanh (Xa Luong commune) and Pieng Cooc (Mai Son commune).

In 2022, replicate 7 more models in villages with a large Mong population, thereby maintaining, replicating and improving the quality of the models. In particular, special attention will be paid to promoting and enhancing the role of village elders, village chiefs, clan leaders and prestigious people in the community.

A skit to promote the prevention of child marriage and incestuous marriage by the Tuong Duong District Medical Center. Photo: Cong Khang

Because these are people who understand the customs and practices of the nation and the legal regulations of the State, village and hamlet conventions as well as other basic knowledge, it is convenient to carry out propaganda and mobilize people in the community to eliminate backward customs regarding marriage.

At the same time, strengthen propaganda and mobilization work combined with education and career orientation so that subjects (students, youth, and parents) are aware of the consequences of early marriage and incestuous marriage. Thereby, raising awareness and responsibility towards family and society in complying with the law; focusing on propaganda, dissemination,legal educationin the school system (middle school, high school) in the area.

Thanks to that, some localities considered "hot spots" have shown signs of positive change such as the communes of Luu Kien, Huu Khuong, Mai Son and Nhon Mai.

Leaders of the Provincial Department of Population and Family Planning and Tuong Duong District presented gifts to families that have well implemented the Population and Family Planning Policy in the area. Photo: Cong Khang