adminTanaka Mahanya
Defence and War Veterans Affairs Minister, Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, said child marriages remain a challenge largely due to some cultural and religious beliefs.
She said resistance to the Government’s efforts towards gender equality remain in certain sections of society where child marriages are still rampant.
“Government has, however, deployed maximum efforts to thwart such practices.
“I must commend the media for exposing such practices which have buttressed Government’s efforts to fight against such vices and allowed law enforcement agencies to respond accordingly and bring the perpetrators to book,” she said.
She said that in Zimbabwe, the adoption of the UNSCR 1325 buttressed the Government’s efforts towards women emancipation and empowerment.
“It was hitherto the practice that the girl child was not prioritised in terms of education.
“They were treated as commodities who needed to be married off to men at the earliest possible time to enhance the family’s wealth.
“It is such cultural beliefs that accounted for the high degree of illiteracy among women and girls during the pre-independence era,” she said.
She said the history of mankind is fraught with cases of gender inequality and discrimination against women and the girl child that emanated mainly from cultural underpinnings.
“It is important to give impetus to local implementation processes and enhance efforts towards ensuring women’s empowerment and gender equality in all spheres of the economy and in politics.”
Online Reporter