Saudi Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences (SJHSS)
Volume-10 | Issue-07 | 328-335
Review Article
The Socio-Economic Effects of Child, Early and Forced Marriages among the Muslim Communities in Cameroon: A Historical Analysis
Jabiru Muhammadou Amadou
Published : July 3, 2025
Abstract
Child, Early and Forced marriages have been common practices among many ethnic groups in the world. However, marriage is regarded as a moment of celebration and milestone in adult life. Sadly, the practice of force and early marriages gives no such cause for celebration especially when the groom and most especially the bride are compelled to get married without their consent. This has been the case with most of the Muslim Communities in Cameroon. The phenomenon of forced and child or early marriages have being so rampant among the Muslim communities in Pre and Post Independent Cameroon. Most Muslim parents in Cameroon hide behind Muslim or Sharia law as pretext for sending their girls children to married early. In the three Northern Regions of Cameroon as well as the other Regions down South, the Western Region and the Anglophone Regions, where there is high concentration of Muslims, force and child or early marriages are still being practice, despite the sensitization done by government, NGOs and some foreign partners against those practices. This has constantly ragged or retarded the socio-economic development of the girl child in particular and the Muslim Community in Cameroon at large. The analyses employed critical discourse analysis (CDA) framework. Data gathered both from the primary and secondary sources were analyzed through the chronological, descriptive and analytical methods. Based on the sources used, we arrived at the conclusion that most victims of forced and child or early marriages in the Muslim Communities in Cameroon are victims of customs and not Muslim or Islamic law. It is now left on the government and Muslim authorities to do a lot of sensitizations and carry out, why not repressive measures to make sure that the phenomenon of forced and child or early marriages among the Muslim Communities came to an end.