Kenya in the News

In the District of Malindi, approximately 1.5 hours north of Mombasa, over 250 girls have been rescued from ‘early marriage.’ Most of the girls are between 10 and 14 years of age and had been married to men old enough to be their parents or grandfathers. Early marriages and pregnancies cause about 45% of school dropouts. This has a very negative impact of the girls’ education presently and in the future. Unfortunately this situation is boosted by parents needing money and arranging (selling-off) a marriage for their daughters as well as the cultural practice encouraging this situation which values the education of boys mare than girls.

Some of the parents of these girls were taken into the court and charged, while other cases were resolved locally.