adminBy Tanzikwa Guranungo Correspondent
On June 16, 2015, Zimbabwe joins the rest of the African continent in commemorating the Day of the African Child.
National commemorations will be held on June 20 at Parliament Building.
Every year, a theme is identified by the Committee and adopted by the Executive Council.
During its 23rd Ordinary Session in April 2014, the Committee identified and adopted the theme for the Day of the African Child (DAC ) 2015 – “25 Years after the Adoption of the African Children’s Charter: Accelerating our Collective Efforts to End Child Marriage in Africa” which will be commemorated by bringing together those affected by and working to end child marriages such as community leaders, traditional, religious leaders, girls affected by child marriage and key stakeholders.
His Excellency President Robert Mugabe, who is also the Chairman of African Union and Southern African Development Community (SADC), will be the Guest of Honour.
The Day of the African Child has been celebrated on June 16 every year since 1991, when it was first initiated by the Organisation of African Unity.
It honours children who participated in the Soweto Uprising in 1976 .
It also raises awareness of the continuing need for improvement of the education provided to African children.
In Soweto, on June 16 1976, about 10 000 black school children marched in a column more than half a mile long, protesting the poor quality of their education and demanding their right to be taught in their own language.
Hundreds of young students were shot, the most famous of them being Hector Peterson.
More than a hundred people were killed in the protests of the following two weeks, and more than a thousand were injured.
On June 16 every year, governments, NGOs, international organisations and other stakeholders gather to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the full realisation of the rights of children in Africa.
In 1991, the then Organisation of African Unity, now African Union Assembly, passed a resolution designating June 16 as a day for the celebration of the African Child.
In Zimbabwe, the government, through the Zimbabwe Youth Council and Ministry of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment, has made a decision to use this day annually to convene the children’s parliament that brings together children as young people from across the spectrum to debate, dialogue and share experiences in commemorating and remembering this important sad day.
The children’s parliament will be used as a platform for children and youth to give feedback on their activities and convey their wishes to responsible authorities.
It is also an opportunity for children to organise themselves to come up with common goals for their development.
The debate by the child parliamentarians will be guided by the selected theme.
According to United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA ), factors that promote and reinforce child marriage include poverty and economic survival strategies; gender inequality; sealing land or property deals or settling disputes; control over sexuality and protecting family honour; tradition and culture; and insecurity, particularly during war, famine or epidemics.
Other factors include family ties in which marriage is a means of consolidating powerful relations between families.
In line with this year’s theme, child marriage is a formal marriage or informal union entered into by an individual before reaching the age of 18.
The legally prescribed marriageable age in some jurisdictions is below 18 years, especially in the case of girls; and even when the age is set at 18 years, many jurisdictions permit earlier marriage with parental consent or in special circumstances, such as teenage pregnancy.
In certain countries, even when the legal marriage age is 18, cultural traditions take priority over legislative law.
Child marriage affects both boys and girls, though the overwhelming majority of those affected are girls, most of who are in poor socioeconomic situations.
Child marriage is related to child betrothal and it includes civil cohabitation and court approved early marriages after teenage pregnancy.
In many cases, only one marriage-partner is a child, usually the female. Causes of child marriages include poverty , bride price , dowry , cultural traditions, laws that allow child marriages, religious and social pressures , regional customs, fear of remaining unmarried, illiteracy, and perceived inability of women to work for money.
Furthermore, a research conducted by Zimbabwe Youth Council and UNICEF confirm that harmful cultural and social practices are prevalent in all communities that they visited.
These practices are influenced by several factors and in most cases people attribute poverty as a significant driver.
In addition, orphans are most vulnerable to abuse in most social contexts.
In the Zimbabwean context, we have the following acts that protect rights and welfare of the child.
These include The Children’s Act (Chapter 5:06), the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act (Chapter 9:23) and the Domestic Violence Act (Chapter 5:16) deals with the rights and welfare of children in Zimbabwe.
The Constitution of Zimbabwe also provides for the protection of fundamental human rights and freedoms for all Zimbabweans, children included.
Part 3 Section 81 of our Constitution defines the following rights of children: 81 (1) d: to family or parental care, or to appropriate care when removed from the family environment.
(e) To be protected from economic and sexual exploitation, from child labour, and from maltreatment, neglect or any form of abuse
(f) to education, health care services, nutrition and shelter
(2) Children’s best interests are paramount in every matter concerning the child
(3) Children are entitled to adequate protection by the courts, in particular by the High court as their upper guardian.
In addition, the Government of Zimbabwe is a state party to a number of international and regional instruments that protect the rights of children. Regarding the rights of children, the Constitution of Zimbabwe should be also read in conjunction with the following:
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and its Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children
Child Prostitution and Child Pornography (OPSC), the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC)
Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
The child Protection and Adoption Act of 2001 also stipulates the respective guidelines for protection of children in Zimbabwe.
However in Africa child marriages were common throughout history for a variety of reasons, including poverty, insecurity, as well as for political and financial reasons.
Today, child marriage is still fairly widespread in developing countries, such as parts of Africa, South Asia, Southeast and East Asia, West Asia, Latin America, and Oceania.
The incidence of child marriage has been falling in most parts of the world.
The countries with the highest observed rates of child marriages below the age of 18 are Niger, Guinea , with a rate above 60 percent.
Niger, Chad, Bangladesh, Mali and Ethiopia were the countries with child marriage rates greater than 20 percent below the age of 15, according to 2003-2009 surveys.
Child marriage has lasting consequences on girls, from their health, education and social development perspectives.
These consequences last well beyond adolescence. One of the most common causes of death for girls aged 15 to 19 in developing countries is pregnancy and child birth.
Let’s all come in our numbers at Parliament Building and Africa Unity Square and commemorate this important day of the African child.
Tanzikwa Guranungo is Public Relations Manager for Zimbabwe Youth Council.
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