The Effect Of Marriage By Abduction On Child Survival In Meskan And Mareko District Butajira Ethiopia

A retrospective cohort study to assess the effect of “Marriage by Abduction” (MBA) onrnchild survival was conducted from November 2001 to January 2002 in Meskan andrnMareko District, Gurage Zone, Southern Nations Nationalities and peoples RegionalrnGovernment (SNNPR). Data were collected using an anonymous structuredrnquestionnaire.rnA census has been conducted prior to the actual sample size determination and itrnproduced a prevalence of 6.32% for “Marriage by Abduction” in the total population. Arntotal of 1105 married women participated in the study. The ratio of marriage with andrnwith out abduction was 1:3. Out of the total sample 954(86.3%) were from rural peasantrnassociations(PA) and151(13.7%)from urban dweller association (UDA). Of allrnrespondents 899(81.4%) were Muslims and 206(18.6%) were Christians. Majority ofrnrespondents 938(84.9%) were illiterate and 939(85%) were housewives by occupation.rnOf the total sample 244(22.1%) were married by abduction(exposed) and 861(77.9%)rnmarried with out abduction(non-exposed). The mean age of abduction was found to be 17rn+ 2.5SD. Among the abducted groups 17(7.0%) and among the non abducted 50(5.84%)rnexperienced still birth in their life, and it was found that statistically not significant inrnbiviariate analysis (p>0.502) Eighteen (7.4%) of the abducted and 71(8.2%) of the nonabductedrnwomen reported history of death of neonate with in 7 days after birth and it wasrnfound that statistically not significant in biviariate analysis(p>0.9305). Sixty sevenrn(27.4%) and 235(27.2%) among those married with and with out abduction respectively,rnVIrnreported life time Infant death. The proportion of polygamous marriage in the abductedrngroup was found to be 67 (27.5%) as compared to 212 (24.6%) in the non-abducted.rnIn a focus group discussion conducted with both groups of women who married by orrnwithout abduction all of the participants condemned the practice of abduction, andrnreported that reconciliation by local elders after the act of abduction is one of the mainrnreasons for the perpetuation of the problem. Infant or neonatal mortality was not found tornbe associated with “Marriage by Abduction” after controlling for possible confoundersrnwith logistic regression. Even if dealing with deep-rooted cultural problem is challenging,rnin this study it is recommended that sensitization and awareness creation addressing eachrnsegment of the population would help in alleviating the problem

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