Forced marriages ruining lives of rural girls in Arsi

Chaltu Jeylu will never forget the day she was 'married'. As the 13-year-old made her way to school, her would-be suitor and 14 of his friends dragged her off the road. Forcibly married for two months, she suffered repeated rape. Other girls, sitting nervously with Chaltu, a quietly spoken round-faced girl, echo her disturbing story, all victims of an old tradition, practised in rural Ethiopia. Chaltu is from Arsi, some 250 km from the capital, Addis Ababa, in eastern Ethiopia. A rugged, highland region dominated by the peaks of the 4,000 m high Chilalo Mountains, Arsi is best known for the athletes it spawns, including legendary runner Haile Gebreselassie and double Olympic 10,000 m champion Deratu Tulu. But abduction of girls for marriage is widespread in this corner of Ethiopia. More than half of 'marriages' that take place in Arsi region are through abduction, sources said. Girls are usually snatched while away from their villages, going to school or fetching water. There follows a bizarre arbitration process through local courts or by village elders where their families are paid off with some kind of dowry - usually in the region of US $50 plus some livestock. With annual incomes averaging $100 a year, desperately poor rural families always need money. The local customs and dowry usually ensure the girl stays with the man - they are usually 10 or 15 years older - who attacked her. They are also accepted within the community as wedded, despite the legal age for marriage in Ethiopia being 18. For Chaltu the disturbing effects of her abduction, which took place in December 2002, are all too evident. Gone is her youth, a weary expressionless look is now etched on her face. She also fell pregnant, giving birth to a baby boy. Her attacker has never faced any punishment. But Chaltu, now 14, has faced the wrath of her community, a small poverty-stricken village. Denounced by her father for bringing shame on the family by refusing to stay with her 'husband', she also faces abuse in the community. Only her mother provides sanctuary. She was also forced to hand over her son to her 25-year-old 'husband' after she refused to stay with him. The dowry too was paid back after village elders stepped in. Chaltu also fears attack from relatives of the man who attacked her. "I am frightened," she told IRIN. "People threatened to break my hands if I went to court. They said I broke the traditions of the community. I am very angry and he should be punished for the things he did to me." She also said she felt shame for the abuse she suffered, adding that no one will now want to marry her. While local officials accept she was raped, they say there is little they can do. Effective health centres are few and far between, meaning medical evidence for trial cannot easily be obtained. With a population of 126,000 people, the policeman who covers the 1,000 sq km district, with scant training and who patrols on foot, cannot do much. Officials add that many young girls "change their minds" when court cases are brought against attackers. And the pressure brought on young girls not to press charges is enormous. Parents too fear shame and arbitration by village elders, so most cases never get to court. They are instead settled with agreement by the parents of both families. Some families of the male attackers even use the chance of schooling as an enticement. The Ethiopian Women's Lawyers Association, which is based in Addis Ababa, said the law does not favour the victim even if they do manage to get to court. Acting director Ellen Alem told IRIN new laws were only due to come into effect in May 2005, which aim to hand down heavy sentences for offenders. Under the new laws, sexual attacks on minors like Chaltu could carry a maximum sentence of 25 years, while abduction has been increased from five to 10 years and rape from 10 to 15 years. But as Alem points out, maximum sentences are rarely handed down. "They are tough but the problem is these penalties are not applied. Mainly the sentence would be just three or four years," Alem said. "It is not seen as seriously here, it is part of the culture and part of the attitude. With abduction, judges often say that the man wants to marry her and what is wrong with that." "Our main aim is to get the girls back into school," Zeyinab Kalu, women's affairs officer at Kalu, the nearest town to Chaltu's village, told IRIN. But some girls do fight back, even if there is little reward, she said. Alfu Haji Aman, 13, was raped and, ignoring her parents' pleas, pursued her attacker through the largely ineffective legal system. The man who attacked her will face court later this month but she holds out little hope of him receiving justice. "I want to see him punished but I don't know what will happen," she told IRIN. "Tradition, custom and the law support the men," she added with resignation. Rahel Worku is a nurse at Kalu Health Centre, where many girls from Kalu receive help after they have been abducted. She told IRIN the attacks have devastating effects, both physically and mentally. "They are very young girls and their bodies are not matured so they are injured," Rahel, a 20-year-old junior nurse, said. "They are also affected mentally and psychologically." The spread of the HIV virus is a further threat. "They may well be infected," Rahel said. "It is a very high risk, but we have no testing facilities so we do not know. Often they are badly beaten," she added, pointing to 12-year-old Samara Umare, who was attacked in February while collecting water for her family. Her fingers were broken and she suffered paralysis in her left arm. She rarely speaks. The stigma surrounding child abduction for marriage is also enormous. The girls are often labelled "Gusumeti" - a derogatory local term meaning a non-virgin. "Could I marry a girl who was rescued from abduction?" laughs Tsegaye Ayane, the vice-head of education for the area who also champions the plight of those same girls. "No," he says, pausing to think over the matter. "There would be too much shame for me."