TEDxCalabar

GIRL, BRIDE, MOTHER: THE MODERN SLAVERY CALLED 'MONEY MARRIAGE'.

If you think the Trans-Atlantic slave trade was perhaps the highest expression of man’s inhumanity to man, then you may be wrong. There’s another kind of slave trade more barbaric, more brutal, more callous, more cruel, more demeaning, more despicable, more hellish and more horrendous than the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.

It's a cultural practice by the Becheve tribes in Northern Cross River State, Nigeria, called ‘Money Marriage'. An elderly man buys a little girl for a wife. Her sole responsibility is to provide for herself and her old husband. She prostitutes to do so. When the husband dies, his next-of-kin marries her. If the girl-wife dies without giving birth to children, her parents bring a replacement. Girls are sold for as low as Ten Thousand Naira – about $29. The husband determines what he does with her – even if he uses her for ritual.

Now, statistics from some UN agencies has it that globally every 2 seconds, a girl is married before she turns 18. And that yearly, about 15 million girls are married before they turn 18. And that 1 in 3 girls in the developing world are married by age 18.

So, are there compelling justifications to end 'Money Marriage?'

What new interventions will build a safer, healthier and more prosperous future for these 'Money Wives?'

Richards Akonam - a Career Missionary who has empowered these 'Money Wives' - draws on his 25 years of passionate work and strong advocacy against ‘Money Marriage’ (girl marriage) in Cross River State to answer these tough questions. What ingenious solutions does he proffer to this native and global challenge?

This turned out to be a very moving, emotional and heart-wrenching talk.

Richards Akonam is a Pioneer Missionary and works among the Utanga (Cross River State, Nigeria) and Becheve tribes (Benue State, Cross River State – Nigeria, and Republic of Cameroon) respectively. He’s the Director of Missions at Faithhouse Missions, as well as Director, Richgrace Foundation.

Richards has led Faithhouse Missions for 25 years, advocating strongly against the practice of ‘Money Marriage’ among the Becheve tribes. His work has given succour to indigent children and has redeemed and empowered many girls who once were sold into slavery through ‘Money Marriage’. He’s an author and song writer. He holds, among other certificates, a degree in Guidance and Counselling.

TEDxTalks YouTube Channel Link: https://youtu.be/bHT821Ibrd4