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OVER one million young Zimbabwean girls married before the age of 18, with 241 000 of these betrothed below 15 years, a latest United National Children’s Fund (UNICEF) report has revealed.
In the Southern African region, Mozambique has the largest number of child marriages, with 4.4 million, followed by Madagascar 2.9 million, Angola 2.5 million, Malawi 2.2 million, Zambia 1.8 million, South Africa 1.6 million and Zimbabwe 1.4 million.
Mashonaland Central tops the list of provinces with the highest number of young girls married before 18, with Matabeleland South having the lowest.
Mash Central accounted for over 50 percent of the girls married before 18 years, according to a UNICEF latest report on child marriages.
Matabeleland North, Midlands, and Harare had between 21 and 30 percent.
Mashonaland West, Masvingo and Manicaland were between 31 and 40 percent while Mash East had 41 to 50 percent of young girls married before 18.
In the report dubbed Child Marriages In Eastern And Southern Africa: A Statistical Overview And Reflections On Ending The Practice, Zimbabwe is now home to 1.4 million child brides.
“Zimbabwe is home to over one million child brides, one in three young women were married or in union in childhood,” read the report.
UNICEF said child bribes were disadvantaged when it comes to access to sexual reproductive health services.
“Child brides are disadvantaged compared to their peers, who marry later, in terms of education, reproductive health, employment and even exposure to violence,” UNICEF said.
“Quality social services for adolescents need to be available and accessible, including those that address sexual and reproductive health.
“Adolescent pregnancy outside of marriage, or the fear that adolescent girls will get pregnant, also help fuel child marriage, limited access to reproductive health information and services for both unmarried and married adolescents contributes to this situation.”
UNICEF also noted how Africans view adolescent sexuality as taboo.
“Girls and boys have a right to information about their bodies, pregnancy, family planning and healthy relationships,” UNICEF said.
“In Africa, adolescent sexuality is often a taboo topic, however, equipping young people with information and access to services is essential for tackling child marriage and gender-based violence.
“Lessons from Covid-19 containment measures, such as lockdowns and restrictions of mobility, point to the need to classify such services for adolescents as critical and essential in national disaster preparedness plans in order to ensure their continuity.”
Online Reporter