In banditry-ravaged Zamfara State, Northwest Nigeria, no fewer than 105 young women were married off in a government-sponsored mass wedding on Saturday, amidst celebrations. According to SaharaReporters, the brides were orphans who lost their parents in terrorist attacks.
The mass wedding ceremony took place at the Bungudu central mosque, overseen by Abdulmalik Zubairu, the State House of Assembly member representing Bungudu Constituency. Zubairu clarified that the initiative was specifically for virgins, excluding widows or divorcees. A committee of prominent scholars reportedly verified that the brides were indeed orphans whose parents had been victims of terrorism.
“We established criteria for eligibility, requiring that the women be indigent virgins who have never been married and who wish to start a business,” Zubairu explained to reporters.
The practice of fixed or arranged marriages, which sometimes involves child marriage, is prevalent in Northern Nigeria, despite international condemnation of such practices. Recently, Nigeria’s Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy, attempted legal action against a similar event organized by Mohammed Abdulmalik Sarkin-Daji, the Speaker of Niger State House of Assembly, aimed at marrying off 100 girls. Despite the legal challenge, the marriages proceeded in accordance with Islamic teachings.