Online Reporter
More than 21 000 teenagers fell pregnant in just two years in Matabeleland North province alone and it seems the trend is similar across the country. This is a very worrying development which demands urgent action from communities to reverse the trend.
These thousands of teenagers that are falling pregnant are being denied the right to fully exploit their potential as citizens because they are forced to drop out of school to assume the role of mothers.
The lives of most of these teenage mothers is doomed as they cannot actively participate in economic development due to limited education and lack of requisite skills. Many of these teenage mothers are forced into early marriages and as such cannot continue with their education to enable them to pursue professional careers.
We therefore welcome the initiative to engage traditional leaders to fight child marriages and teenage pregnancies in their communities under the “Not In My Village” campaign being spearheaded by the National Aids Council (NAC) with support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
The campaign piloted in Mashonaland Central province, is now being rolled out to other provinces including Matabeleland North province. The campaign provides a platform for traditional leaders who include chiefs, headmen, village heads and other stakeholders to develop strategies of combating HIV/Aids whose spread is fuelled by social ills such as child marriages and teenage pregnancies.
What is encouraging is that the campaign is enjoying full support of traditional leaders and other stakeholders in all the provinces where it has been launched.
Chief Siansali of Binga said during the launch of the campaign in Matabeleland North province that traditional leaders must take a firm stand against child marriages.
“If as a traditional leader I put my foot down and declare that no child in my area will marry before turning 18, I believe such practice will stop,” said Chief Siansali. The chiefs who attended the launch were all agreed that they should lead in fighting child marriages and teenage pregnancies which are fuelling the spread of HIV/Aids among the youths.
Regent Chief Mabhikwa said there is urgent need for swift intervention to protect the girl child from sexual abuse. She said it was unfortunate that some cultural norms normalise child marriages hence communities were accepting this bad practice.
Chief Mabhikwa said it should be the responsibility of traditional leaders to fight child marriages by ensuring that the culprits are brought to book.
According to NAC, 23 percent of the girls aged 15 to 19 have experienced sexual violence while 17 percent have already given birth and another 17 percent are pregnant with their first child.
These statistics are very disturbing because they confirm that the girl child’s life is under serious threat hence the need for communities to take action.
We want at this juncture to urge traditional leaders to ensure that the “Not In My Village” campaign is as success so that the Girl Child can enjoy her childhood and the right to education. We need more female professionals to contribute in building the Zimbabwe we all want.
