Severe droughts in Kenya drive child marriage, increasing the risk of modern slavery
Severe droughts in northern Kenya are driving child marriage, increasing the risk of modern slavery. Climate change is worsening exploitation, highlighting the urgent need for stronger protections.
Severe droughts in northern Kenya are leading struggling families to marry off their daughters, increasing the risk of modern slavery.
Families facing extreme drought after months of no rainfall in Marsabit County, northern Kenya, are resorting to child marriage as a means of survival.
As livestock perishes and food supplies decrease, women and girls are being exchanged for essential items like camels and goats.
The prolonged drought has deepened existing inequalities, leaving women and girls particularly vulnerable to exploitation.
Child marriage used as a survival strategy in extreme droughts
Boke Mollu, interviewed by Al Jazeera, was only 15 when her parents told her she would be married to a stranger.
“They were blunt about their motivation: their animals had died, and a bride price of three camels and three goats was more valuable than keeping me at home,” Boke recalls, now at age 19.
She initially accepted, however, her husband soon became abusive.
“I stayed because I had no other choice. My family wouldn’t take me back because he had paid the dowry.”
Walk Free’s research shows that child marriage is a key form of modern slavery.
Compounding crises such as conflict, climate change, and the COVID-19 pandemic have increased girls’ vulnerability to violence, exploitation, and a lack of support.
An estimated 22 million people globally were living in a forced marriage on any given day, according to the latest Global Estimates of Modern Slavery.
Climate crisis leaves women and girls vulnerable to sexual violence
As climate change worsens, women and girls need to walk further to collect water or graze livestock, which increases their risk of sexual violence.
Wato Gato, also interviewed by Al Jazeera, was looking after her family’s goats when she was assaulted multiple times by a man who disappeared into the desert.
She was 15 at the time, and months later, she discovered she was pregnant.
“My family blamed me and told me to leave. I had nowhere to go,” Wato said.
Urgent action is needed to protect women and girls from exploitation
The increasing frequency of extreme weather events is deepening gender inequalities, pushing women and girls further into modern slavery.
Walk Free’s Global Slavery Index highlights the urgent need for targeted interventions to protect vulnerable populations, including:
• Expanding social safety nets to support vulnerable families and prevent child marriage.
• Strengthening legal frameworks to address forced marriage and sexual violence.
• Investing in climate resilience programs that protect livelihoods and reduce reliance on exploitative coping mechanisms.
As climate change accelerates, protecting women and girls from modern slavery must be a priority in global adaptation responses.
