Child marriage: Foundation calls for urgent action to protect girls

The Kalthum Peace Foundation has called for urgent action to end child marriage in northern Nigeria and across the Sahel, warning that poverty, insecurity and displacement continue to deprive thousands of girls of their education, rights and future opportunities.

The foundation’s CEO, Ummu Kalthum Muhammad Rabiu, made the appeal on Tuesday in Gombe to mark the 2026 International Day of the Girl Child.

She said child marriage should not be justified as a cultural practice when it exposes girls to lifelong disadvantages.

Rabiu said the growing vulnerability of girls in conflict-affected communities requires governments, traditional and religious leaders and development partners to treat the issue as both a human rights concern and a threat to long-term peace and security.

“Child marriage is not just a girl issue. It is a security issue. It is a human development issue. It is a peace issue,” she said.

Drawing on her experience in IDP camps in Monguno, host communities in Bama and schools in Chibok, Borno State, Rabiu said girls are often the first to suffer when conflict, poverty and environmental challenges disrupt family life.

She added that when insurgency, banditry and kidnappings force schools to close, girls are often pulled out of education. In families struggling with hunger and displacement, some parents resort to marrying off their daughters in an attempt to ease their financial burdens.