The Sunday Mail
by Sydney Kawadza – Extra Correspondent
Numerous stories have been written about the rampant and continued abuse of children who are forced into marriage.
Many times cases go unreported.
Religious and traditional beliefs, poverty and pure criminality are the major drivers of child marriages.
The case of a 43-year-old Murehwa man who allegedly coerced an 11-year-old girl into marriage is just one of several cases pending before the courts.
Zimbabwe is ranked 41st in the world insofar as the prevalence of child marriages is concerned.
About 39 000 girls are married off every day while 14 million are in marriages every year worldwide.
According to the Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive Rights’ “Policy Brief on Youth Sexual And Reproductive Rights and Child, Early and Forced Marriages”, the scourge is an urgent human rights concern.
“One-third of girls in the developing world (excluding China) are married before their 18th birthday and one in nine are married before the age of 15 (UNFPA).
If this trend continues, by the next decade, 142 million girls will be married before age 18 – which means around 39 000 girls under 18 will marry every day (UNFPA).
Child marriage affects both boys and girls; however, it impacts girls more significantly.”
The brief describes child marriages as a marriage or union that occurs when one or both the spouses are below the age of 18. Forced marriage is without the free and full consent of either or both spouses; or when one or both spouses is unable to end or leave the marriage.
Forced marriage can also happen under circumstances where free and full consent is undermined, such as through the use of physical, psychological, or financial coercion. “Early does not have to refer solely to age, however, and could be read to include other factors that would make a person unready to consent to marriage.
“Those factors could include the individual’s level of physical, emotional, sexual and psychosocial development, educational and other aspirations, and lack of information regarding the person’s life options.”
The rising occurrence of such marriages has seen local activists to push for Government action.
Former TV child star Ms Makanaka Wakatama has decided to come out of her shell to tackle the problem head-on using her personal experiences using her Makanaka Trust.
Ms Wakatama says there is need to empower girls who have been subjected to child sexual abuse and early marriages.
“If girls are married off for cultural purposes or religious beliefs, then there is need for all stakeholders, including Government and its partners, to take action against all the perpetrators,” she said.
“There are girls who have left marriages or want out and these should be helped so that they make a fresh start in their lives.”
Ms Wakatama said these victims can be assisted via self-help projects or be encouraged to further their education. Real Opportunities for Transformation Support (ROOTS) director, Miss Beatrice Savadye, who recently launched a campaign to end early or forced child marriages in Zimbabwe under the banner “Not Ripe for Marriage”, adds: Statistics from a study carried out by a local research institute reported that 21 percent of children, mostly girls, are married before the age of 18.
“Child marriage is a violation of children’s rights and destroys the aspirations of young people with the consequences of this evil practice usually being poor reproductive health which leads to death, violence and forced sexual relations; and lack of education which subjects women to abuse by their spouses and denies them participation in the economic and political spheres.”
She says the practice cannot be tolerated in this day and age, especially within the context of the new constitutional dispensation, where all people are equal irrespective of gender and age.
“Young girls, especially from poor backgrounds, are as a result of this practice being abused and dehumanised.
“Therefore, while we respect the culture and traditional practices in our country, communities should rally together to address harmful cultural practices.
“Early-forced child marriages are acts of physical abuse and rape which are carried out against anybody’s will and against the law as well as our constitution in this country.”
The “Not Ripe for Marriage Campaign”, says Miss Savadye, aims to raise awareness on the perils of forced, child and early marriages at the same time fundraising to build an economic base for marginalised girls and young women.
Ms Wakatama says gender discrimination against girls has led to gross rights violations.
“Despite laws and international legal instruments to protect children and women, girls face the worst abuses in the home, school and community.” In Zimbabwe an average of 6 000 girls are reportedly raped annually.
“Unless we move in with empowerment and education programmes, the future of most girls will be destroyed because of gender-based violence,” Ms Wakatama said.
Incoming chairperson of the Sadc Ministers Responsible for Gender and Women’s Affairs, Zimbabwe’s Ms Oppah Muchinguri was recently quoted calling for increased participation of men in the fight against gender-based violence.
“We need to allocate more resources to men’s fora such as Padare so that they can speak up against rape and child marriages.
“They are silent on these issues and we need their voices to be heard,” she said during a Tweet@ble discussion at Hypercube Technology Hub in Harare. The ongoing Sadc Summit in Victoria Falls has invited African Union Goodwill Ambassador for the Campaign to End Child Marriage Nyaradzai Gumbonzvanda, who urged regional leaders to come up with practical solutions.
The AU Commission in June launched an Africa-wide campaign to end child marriage, focusing on policy action and raising continental awareness with member states expected to implement legal frameworks that protect children.
According to a communiqué released after the Ordinary Meeting of Sadc Ministers Responsible For Gender/Women’s Affairs, held in Lilongwe, Malawi, the region re-affirmed their support for UN Resolution 58 /3 on Women, the Girl Child and HIV and AIDS and the AU call for the end of AIDS by 2030 and the campaign to end child marriages in Africa. Several recommendations have been proposed to curb the menace in Zimbabwe, including the need for Government to strengthen and enforce existing laws on child and marriage rights.
Activists have also urged Government to ensure access to education for all, including special attention to ensure access to quality secondary education for girls from disadvantaged backgrounds. Other recommendations include the need for Government to ensure access to sexual and reproductive health services for adolescents and young people irrespective of marital status and this might help.
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