Senators call for stiffer penalties on girl child violators

CALLS for stiffer penalties to individuals who engage in or facilitate child marriages are raging on among Senators, with the Upper House debating on the matter for the third week in a row.

Contributing to the motion in the week, Sen Jane Chitsamba even called for life imprisonment for anyone who engages in or facilitates child marriages.

She described this as a serious human rights violation that deprives children of their education, health and future, calling on the Government to fully enforce existing legislation, including the Children’s Act and the Marriages Act, to curb the practice and protect minors from exploitation.

The motion was again put on the agenda earlier this week, with Sen Mirriam Katumba saying the act was very worrisome, more so to unsuspecting and innocent parents who would have invested a lot in their child’s education.

“This issue, Mr President, is very disturbing because if you look at most girls, their future is destroyed at an early age. Yes, the law is there, but we are not implementing the law. At times, we see these rape offences being committed and we agree to conceal them and opt to settle the issue among us as neighbours or as relatives,” said Sen Katumba.

Sen Katumba said some children dropped out of school because they were now mothers, yet they were still young.

She noted that the development is happening at a time when Zimbabwe has outlawed early child marriages and is also committed to the protection of children’s rights.

“The motion presented grim statistics of what is happening in Zimbabwe, showing that out of every 10 young girls, four are being married off and becoming pregnant before they attain the age of maturity. This is disturbing, Mr President. The statistics presented in these motions are not just numbers.

The true meaning of these figures is that four out of 10 girls in Zimbabwe are dropping out of school because they have been married off, which means four out of 10 girls in Zimbabwe are having their dreams shattered before they attain the legal age of maturity,” said Sen Katumba.

She said Zimbabwe is part of the African Charter on the Rights of the Child as well as the National Convention on the Rights of the Children, and its domestic laws also show a deep commitment to the protection of children.

Sen Katumba said at political gatherings and other social gatherings, it is common to hear people make pronouncements to the effect that children are the future, yet the grim statistics presented in the motion paint a different picture.

“The evidence on the ground seems to point to a society that is treating children as objects that can be used to escape poverty.

The statistics on the ground seem to point to a society that is treating the girl child as an object that can be given off to a very old man to satisfy some warped religious beliefs and sexual appetite,” said Sen Katumba.

Another Senator, Midiah Kupfuma, called for real action instead of turning the matter into “just another topic for discussion”.

“If we continue discussing the issues among ourselves and not resolving them, we will continue having these teenage pregnancies. Mr President, I am saying the law must be put into effect.

A person who breaks the law should be arrested. We must be strict to say that if it is 18 years and below, that must be put to practice, not just to be words of mouth,” said Sen Kupfuma.

She called on education authorities to provide statistics of how many children have dropped out of school because of pregnancy or because of marriage.

Sen Marry Gwature said child marriages threaten the lives, well-being and future of girls, not only in Zimbabwe but the world at large. She said child marriage can severely affect the mental and physical health, cause young girls to drop out of school and they can also be at risk of complications during childbirth.

“Therefore, as parents, grandmothers, grandfathers, Government leaders, church leaders and school heads, we should fight against child marriage by supporting young girls’ education through public awareness,” said Sen Gwature.