Factors influencing age at first marriage in rural Tanzania: a case study of Kisarawe district

The aim of this study was to examine factors influencing age at first marriage in Kisarawe District. It analyses the relationship between education, religion, premarital sexual activities, employment and age at first marriage. The study also evaluates the association between age at first marriage and fertility as well as the intervention measures of age at first marriage in Kisarawe district. The data were gathered from a sample of 167 individuals in Kisarawe district. Other method used in this study included field Observation and Participatory Rural Appraisal. The study found that as the result of increase on education, employment and religious perceptions there is an increase of age at first marriage, also poverty that is the economic condition of the parents and premarital sexual activities has the major influence on the changes on age at first marriage of their children. Thirdly The Marriage Act of (1971) do not have a uniform age of marriage to both male and female. This changes of age at first marriage it lead to changes on fertility. The study found the average age at first sexual intercourse to be 14 years; age at first marriage to be 15 years, while average age at first child bearing was estimated to be 18 years. By age 15, almost 10 percent of juvenile women have given birth. The education of a woman, employment, and religion play the greatest roles in influencing age at first birth in Kisarawe. The striking results were Religion where by Moslems have lower age at first birth than Christians. There is also a strong relationship between age at first birth and age at first intercourse the results indicate that the younger the age of the mother at the birth of the first child, the higher the number of children to be born to that mother. Women with no little education have to be provided with information on reproductive health and to provide them with life skills so that can enable them to avoid early marriage. Also it is advisable to the District to increase access of modern mass media such as TV, Newspapers to the women in their areas especially in rural areas which can help in providing of information on marriage and other related issues (to expose women into new ideas)