The issue was one they hoped to raise with the Pope when he visited the country in two weeks – a trip that has now been postponed because it is not good enough to travel. Jackline Nasiwa, executive director of the Center for Inclusive Governance, Peace and Justice in the South Sudanese capital, Juba, said: “The younger the girl gets married, the more the family gets cattle in return. They sell their daughters to get something. “ The price of a girl is determined in negotiations between her father and her prospective husband and is usually 50 to 100 cows, each worth up to $ 1,000 (15 815). A girl who is considered beautiful, fertile and with a high social status can carry up to 200 cows. A girl in a well-publicized case in recent years has been auctioned off for 520 cows, plus cars. South Sudan prohibits marriage between the ages of 17 and under, but is rarely enforced, especially in rural areas. The country, which emerged just after Sudan gained independence in 2011, has been embroiled in five years of civil war in which women have often been victims of sexual violence due to conflict. Since a fragile peace agreement was reached in 2018, deadly inter-communal violence has continued and the country remains one of the poorest in the world. South Sudan is the fifth country with the highest prevalence of child marriage, according to the United Nations, which says the practice is a violation of human rights, serious damage to education and the cause of prolonged poverty. Unicef, the UN child arm, says about a third of girls in the country are pregnant before the age of 15. They do not allow all girls to be influenced. Picture: Nyanachiek Madit, 21, who successfully refused when her father told her at the age of 17 that she would marry a man about 50 years old. Photo: AP Nyanachiek Madit, was 17 when her father told her she would marry a man in her 50s because her family could not afford to send her to school. The 21-year-old, who was born with a congenital disorder, said: “I did not accept to get married because I am disabled and my education will be my ‘leg’ later”. She dared her father and other members of her family to beat her or even kill her. Her family did not force her to get married, but she refused to pay her school fees as punishment. ChildBride Solidarity, which offers scholarships to girls whose parents abandon them after opposing early marriage, came to Nyanachiek’s aid and is now studying in the South Sudanese capital. “I am just happy,” she told the Associated Press. South Sudan is also one of the most dangerous places to be a mother, says the United Nations Population Fund. About 1,150 mothers in 100,000 die during live births, giving it one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. Chris Oyeyipo, of the United Nations Population Fund (UNPFA), said during a Mother’s Day event in Juba: “You can not have a healthy mother, you can not have a happy mother if you marry your children and you make them mothers “. UNPFA is one of the bodies promoting policies, programs and legislation designed to end child marriage. The UN wants to eliminate child marriage – which refers to any formal marriage or informal union between a child under the age of 18 and an adult or another child – by 2030 worldwide. Rates worldwide have dropped, with about one in five girls getting married at age 17 or under today, compared with one in four a decade ago. However, experts say early marriage exposes girls to domestic abuse, including rape. Unicef ​​and Plan International say only about 10% of girls in South Sudan drop out of primary school due to factors such as conflict and cultural beliefs. Aya Benjamin, South Sudan’s minister of gender, children and welfare, says authorities are working hard, but it can be difficult to change mindsets. He said: “It is our collective responsibility to ensure that our girls can enjoy their childhood. We do not discourage marriage. “We are just saying that girls should be allowed to be children. Let them be themselves. Let them grow up, let them go to school and let them decide what they want to be in life and that way we can have a healthy society. “