Girls Sold for Cows in Sudan... - 06/22/22
...isn't this one of the places called a "sh*thole country" by Trump?
South Sudan fights child marriage where girls sold for cows
NATIONAL & WORLD NEWS
By DENG MACHOL, Associated Press
5 hours ago
Some young girls are auctioned off into marriage for cows in South Sudan
JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — Some young girls are still auctioned off into marriage for cows in South Sudan — one of the social challenges that activists had hoped to highlight during Pope Francis' now-postponed visit.
The price of a daughter, determined in negotiations between her father and would-be husband, is typically 50 to 100 cows, each worth up to $1,000. A girl viewed as beautiful, fertile and of high social rank can bring as many as 200 cows. One girl in a well-publicized case a few years ago was auctioned off for 520 cows, plus cars.
“The younger the girl marries, the more the family gets cattle in return,” said Jackline Nasiwa, executive director of the Center of Inclusive Governance, Peace and Justice in South Sudan's capital, Juba.
Though South Sudanese law limits marriage to those age 18 and over, it's rarely enforced, particularly in rural areas.
South Sudan’s independence from Sudan in 2011 brought widespread hope for prosperity and peace for the country’s 12 million people, but little of that has materialized.
The new country quickly plunged into five years of civil war that ended with a fragile peace deal in 2018, but deadly intercommunal violence continues, and most people remain trapped in poverty. Climate shocks like flooding, along with rising food prices caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, have deepened widespread hunger.
South Sudan has the world’s fifth-highest prevalence of child marriage, according to the U.N., which says the practice is a violation of human rights, a serious impediment to literacy and a major cause of persistent poverty. About a third of girls in the country are pregnant before turning 15, according to UNICEF.
South Sudan fights child marriage where girls sold for cows
NATIONAL & WORLD NEWS
By DENG MACHOL, Associated Press
5 hours ago
Some young girls are auctioned off into marriage for cows in South Sudan
JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — Some young girls are still auctioned off into marriage for cows in South Sudan — one of the social challenges that activists had hoped to highlight during Pope Francis' now-postponed visit.
The price of a daughter, determined in negotiations between her father and would-be husband, is typically 50 to 100 cows, each worth up to $1,000. A girl viewed as beautiful, fertile and of high social rank can bring as many as 200 cows. One girl in a well-publicized case a few years ago was auctioned off for 520 cows, plus cars.
“The younger the girl marries, the more the family gets cattle in return,” said Jackline Nasiwa, executive director of the Center of Inclusive Governance, Peace and Justice in South Sudan's capital, Juba.
Though South Sudanese law limits marriage to those age 18 and over, it's rarely enforced, particularly in rural areas.
South Sudan’s independence from Sudan in 2011 brought widespread hope for prosperity and peace for the country’s 12 million people, but little of that has materialized.
The new country quickly plunged into five years of civil war that ended with a fragile peace deal in 2018, but deadly intercommunal violence continues, and most people remain trapped in poverty. Climate shocks like flooding, along with rising food prices caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, have deepened widespread hunger.
South Sudan has the world’s fifth-highest prevalence of child marriage, according to the U.N., which says the practice is a violation of human rights, a serious impediment to literacy and a major cause of persistent poverty. About a third of girls in the country are pregnant before turning 15, according to UNICEF.