Katsina man divorces 14-year-old wife for allowing male doctor attend to her during delivery

A man has reportedly divorced his 14-year-old wife for receiving medical assistance from a male practitioner during childbirth in Katsina State.

The teenage mother experienced a complicated childbirth, prompting her family to rush her to the hospital.

Unfortunately, there was no female medical practitioner available at the time, and a male medical professional attended to her during labor, leading to the unexpected crash of her marriage.

Although the young mother successfully gave birth, her husband’s happiness was short-lived when he arrived at the hospital and discovered that a male medical practitioner had assisted his wife during labor. Outraged by this, he decided to divorce her.

Dr. Fatima Adamu, the Executive Director of Nana Women and Girls Empowerment Initiative, brought attention to this distressing incident during a keynote speech at the Human Resources for Health Production Dialogue held in Abuja.

“A 14-year old Fulani girl in Katsina State,she delivered and had difficulty with delivery, so we had to take her to the hospital and after the delivery, the husband divorced her because she was attended by a man. This young girl was divorced all because she was attended by a man during delivery,”she lamented.

The women’s rights activist lamented that Nigeria was producing medical doctors far below its need.

“There is shortage of health workers despite the production.We are producing health workers far below our need. Our average population growth is 3.2 , but our annual production of nurses and midwives is 2.6,so definitely,there is gap. That is the latest data available that could be accessed,”she added.

Also speaking,Mr. Paul McDermott, Director of USAID/Nigeria HPN Office, represented by

She appealed to governments, especially state governments, to prioritize equity in the recruitment and deployment of medical personnel, particularly to rural communities.