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Influence Of Age At Marriage And Educational Level On Anxiety Level Of Women
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Marriage as a union of a man and a woman is not meant for adolescent or
children. It is an institution that would last as long as the world
continues to exist; it should not be tackled in a haste. According to
Obiageli (1989), it requires a thorough examination and re-examination.
However, marriage is therefore God’s first human institution with direct
responsibility of replenishing the world. It involves joint
responsibility of mature opposite gender which are supposed to be
ascribed with loving and caring for each other. But because of the
rampant nature of teenage marriage, some families and marriage today are
facing and experiencing the worst trying period; tension, anxieties,
quarrels, fears, fighting, uneasiness and chaos have become the order of
the day, thus, creating high blood pressure and premature death. This
situation of marriage can be associated with low level of education,
orphanage factors, many female children, accidental or unplanned
pregnancy and the desire to enjoy the honour associated with matrimony,
as well as cultural heritage accorded to married people.
However,
motherhood at a very young age entails a risk of maternal death that is
much greater than average, and the children of young mothers have higher
levels of morbidity and mortality. Early child bearing continues to be
an impediment to improvements in the educational, economic and social
status of women in all parts of the world. Overall for young women,
early marriage and early motherhood can severely curtail educational and
employment opportunities and are likely to have a long term adverse
effect on the quality of life of young women and their children. Against
all odds, it takes mental and physical maturity to make a successful
marriage. Anatomically, it is known that bones continue to grow and
stops between 18-20 years. By international conventions, 18 years has
been established as the legal age of consent to marriage. Before this
age, mental and physical maturity are inadequate. Hence, a youth who
gets married before this age definitely does not have the where without
to make a successful marriage.
Inspite of the desire of most
teenagers in many culture these days to make great progress in their
chosen fields and to lead a life of self reliance, the priority with
many of them is marriage and a settled home with a living partner and
children. But because of the problems accruing from early marriage and
low level of education, these dreams have in most cases become a mirage.
Perhaps, since the beginning of the world, the belief has been that a
woman is created for nothing else but for marriage and rearing of
children hence neglecting education. Thus, most culture however, have
come to resolve that the earlier a girl takes up this role for the
reason of her existence, the better.
Early marriage and low level of
education lead to beginning sex quite early and this could cause some
havoc on a girl’s physiological and emotional health. Based on that, it
has become an absolute necessity to enact laws to safeguard the lives
and health of our young girls to make sure that something that can be
prevented is avoided. However, for the health and well been of the
mother and child, it would be desirable to postponed marriage and face
education till above the age of 20 years when the woman is mature
enough both emotionally and physically. This in turn would reduce
maternal and infant mortality rate, slow population growth and thus
contribute to the improvement of the quality of the family generally.
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