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Zimbabwe joined the rest of the world yesterday to mark International Day of the Girl Child.
The day, celebrated on October 11 yearly is a moment when governments, communities and other key stakeholders take stock of the status of the girl child — frequently a story of social and economic marginalisation — and work out strategies to correct it.
The theme for this was “Girls’ Progress = Goals’ Progress: A Global Girl Data Movement.”
There are 1,1 billion girls in the world today who, according to UN Women in a statement to mark this year’s event, are brimming with talent and creativity.
However, the world body says, their dreams and potential are often thwarted by discrimination, violence and lack of equal opportunities.
“One such issue that is standing in the way of girls’ progress is child marriage,” UN Women says. “The data is daunting — one in three girls in developing countries (except China) get married before they turn 18. Girls who are child brides miss out on education, are more vulnerable to physical and sexual violence, and bear children before they are physically or emotionally prepared. The cycle of violence that begins in girlhood, carries over into womanhood and across generations. The 2030 Agenda must address their needs and unlock their potential.”
As the UN says, the girl child faces huge obstacles in her life which make it difficult, in some cases, completely impossible for her to reach her potential socially and economically. In our country, girls in some communities still struggle for education, access to health services and equal opportunities as those enjoyed by boys. This occurs in some rural and religious settings where girls are treated as cheap objects that are born to get married as soon as they turn 15 or so, earning her parents, nay father, lobola.
It is sad that a girl who gets married at such a tender age would not have attained an Ordinary Level certificate, let alone a professional one. Often, she gets into a union with a man far older than her. Power relations in such a marriage are typically in favour of the older man, who has a job and more financial clout.
We are happy that Zimbabwe has gone a long way in addressing the challenge of child marriages.
In January, the Constitutional Court ruled that no child under the age of 18 should enter a valid marriage in terms of the Constitution.
Ruling in a case that had been brought up by two women — Ms Loveness Mudzure (19) and Ms Ruvimbo Tsopodzi (18) who were victims of child marriages — Deputy Chief Justice Luke Malaba struck down Section 22 (1) of the Marriages Act (Chapter 5:11) which allowed children of 16 years to marry, saying it was unconstitutional.
The nine-member bench led by Deputy Chief Justice Malaba declared that Section 78(1) of the Constitution sets 18 years as the minimum age of marriage and that any law to the contrary was unconstitutional.
“It is declared that Section 78(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of Zimbabwe Amendment Number 20 of 2013 sets 18 years as the minimum age of marriage in Zimbabwe. It is further declared that Section 22(1) of the Marriages Act (Chapter 5:11) or any law, practice or custom authorising a person under 18 years of age to marry or to be married is inconsistent with the provisions of Section 78(1) of the Constitution and therefore invalid to the extent of the inconsistency. The law is hereby struck down.”
The court added in its 56-page ruling:
“. . . Child marriage [is] an embodiment of all evils against which the fundamental rights are intended to protect the child. The studies showed that where child marriage was practised, it was evidence of failure by the State to discharge its obligations under international human rights law to protect the girl child from the social evils of sexual exploitation, physical abuse and deprivation of education, all of which infringed her dignity as a human being.”
That was a great ruling that should help in a big way to minimise cases of girls getting into marriages too early.
However, there is much more to the advancement of the rights of the girl child than outlawing child marriages.
We expect society to move from the primitive thinking that girls don’t deserve an education. Traditional and religious groups who are still steeped in this practice must renounce it. A girl is a human being who has a full range of rights to enjoy just like a boy. Actually, some girls are more gifted academically than boys and contribute more to family and community development.
Also girls must have access to health services that speak to their biophysical uniqueness. Here we are talking about access to materials they need during their menstrual periods, a critical stage in their development that comes when they are too young to be fully prepared for it. We know that in rural areas some girls miss classes when they start having their monthly periods because of the shame that comes when they, for example, spoil their clothes for lack of sanitary pads.
On another note, girls constitute the highest number of rape victims. The Zimbabwe Statistical Agency reported in June last year that the most vulnerable age group are girls aged between 11 and 16 years who constitute about 68 percent of the total number of girls abused throughout 2014.
We denounce the sexual predators and demand greater community vigilance to detect and report abuse. We demand severe punishment on the abusers too.
There are more challenges facing the girl child but we are confident that society’s respect for her is improving. Admittedly, some still marginalise her and it is this group of people that deserves more government and stakeholder attention for the girl child to take her rightful place in society.
Online Reporter