Women Educational Advancement in Sub-Saharan Africa: Situation Analysis of Consequence of Double Harmful Demographic Practices

Ayo S. Adebowale, University of Ibadan
Martin E. Palamuleni, North-West University, South Africa
Kehinde O. Okanlawon, Obafemi Awolowo University

Early childbearing (EC) and Child Marriage (CM) are harmful demographic practices that often limit girls’ socioeconomic advancement in life. We examined the influence of Age at First Birth (AFB) and Age at First Marriage/Cohabitation (AFMC) on educational attainment. We utilized DHS dataset on women aged 25-49 years from 16 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Data were analysed using linear and logistic regression (a=.05). The highest proportion of women attaining At Least Secondary Education (ALSE) was found in Zambia (62.2%) and least in Burkina-Faso (5.9%). In Burundi, as the case for other 15 countries, the likelihood of attaining ALSE was 2.76(C.I=1.82-4.18) times higher among women who had first birth at ages =18years than their counterparts who had theirs at ages <18years. In Nigeria, marrying/co-habiting at ages =18years was 7.52(C.I=6.97-8.10) times improving the likelihood of attaining ALSE. EC and CM have strong negative influence on educational advancement of women in sub-Saharan Africa.