ASMAA FATHI

Cairo- Child marriage continues to be one of the most important issues in Egypt. Although some families know how education is important for girls thanks to the struggle of women’s movements in the country, the government does not take a step to prevent child marriage

‘My family saw me as an economic burden’

Huda Mansour, in her fifties, lives in Alexandria. She is one of the victims of child marriage. She was forced into marriage by her family due to economic reasons when she was 14. “My mother decided to marry me off when I was a student in middle school. I wanted to go to school; however, my mother told me that she could not afford my education anymore. My family saw me as an economic burden but they sent my brother to school. At the age of 14, I was responsible for a husband. My family killed my dreams by marrying off me at a young age.”

She sends her daughters to school

Huda Mansour now works in a shop selling household items in Alexandria and she has four daughters. “After my husband died, I began to work to protect my daughters’ right to education. Many of my neighbors marry off their daughters by depriving them of their right to education. But I will keep sending my daughters to school so that they will not face what I faced. I work to build a good life for my daughters.”

‘Families are more aware of how education is important for girls’

Egyptian lawyer Heba Salah thinks more families are more aware of how education is important for girls. “However, some families still marry off their daughters because they see their daughters as an economic burden while they send their sons to school. Some families cannot send their daughters and sons because the government does not allocate a sufficient budget for education.”

Heba Salah thinks the deterioration in the economic as well as cultural and intellectual values also affect the future of girls in the country. “Girls are married off before the age of 18. They are deprived of their right to education,” she said.

Emphasizing that most child marriages end in divorce, Heba Salah said, “Parents begin to understand how education is important for girls after they see what their daughters face in their marriages. About 80 percent of families in Alexandria send their daughters to school because they know that educated women have a better future.”