adminChild marriages have become a cause for concern in Zimbabwe. While several studies acknowledge that accurate data on the true extent of child marriage is difficult to get because several marriages go unregistered and the girl’s actual age may be falsified, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) 2012 reports that at least 31 percent of girls are married before the age of 18 years in Zimbabwe, with 15 percent of them getting married by the age of 15.
Although the reasons vary with each region, culture and community, the motivation is poverty. Most impoverished families are marrying off young girls to get rid of a mouth to feed at an early age, and replace it with a possible share in the lobola price. Tradition is also believed to be one of the major reasons fuelling early child marriages despite numerous Government efforts to stamp the practice through the introduction of legislation that protects the girl child from all forms of abuse.
Women’s Action Group is carrying out outreach campaigns in four of Zimbabwe’s districts, Gokwe North, Mbire, Hurungwe and Chipinge to stem the practice. Through its interaction with the community, WAG noted that early marriages were being fuelled by poverty, beliefs, impunity, tradition teenage delinquency and religion.
Women’s Action Group programme officer, Ms Maria Chiwera said early child marriages have become a cause for concern in most communities in Zimbabwe. “From the four districts that we have been working in – Gokwe North, Mbire, Hurungwe and Chipinge – we discovered that the majority of girls were dropping out of school in order to get married.
“On the other hand, you also have parents who are marrying off school going age girls due to poverty. They argue that they are forced to marry them off after failing to raise school fees owing to poor harvests and other economic problems,” she said.
She added that such reasons were usually given by parents in Gokwe North, one of the four districts that the Women’s Action Group is working with on intervention strategies on early child marriages. Gokwe is one of the worst affected areas with an estimated 60 percent (according to UNFPA 2012 survey) of girls being married or made pregnant before they turn 16, while the problem was also predominant in areas like Hurungwe, Chipinge and Mbire.
Different religious groups, mainly the apostolic sects, have been accused of fuelling the practice by marrying off young girls to ageing congregants of the church. The practice within the apostolic sect contributes a huge percentage to early child marriages.
A headman in Mbire, headman Chitsungo where the practice is quite prevalent said early child marriages are an eyesore in the area. “We have been having problems educating church leaders within the apostolic sects to discourage their members from marrying off young girls, but our efforts have been futile.
“Even when we try to engage the police, the culprits often cover up the offence, and in some instances frustrate police’s efforts to bring the perpetrators to book,” he said. Headman Chitsungo blamed the continued lobbying by human rights organisations advocating for the abolition of corporal punishment, a development which he said was giving children too much power, rendering the role of parenting that much difficult, to the obvious detriment of children themselves.
“Our children are engaging in sexual activities while young, resulting in the majority of them dropping out of school. We have cases of girls getting married at 14 here in this area.
“Asi Hurumende ikatitendera, vana ivava, tinovaranga kusvika vapinda mugwara (The Government should allow us to discipline this children),” he said on the sidelines of a health day organised by the Women Action Group at Mushumbi Business Centre to educate women to care for their health.
The continued increase in child marriages means that girls’ education is greatly undermined, the country will witness as increase in child mortality and more girls will die while giving birth, eroding the gains that Zimbabwe had achieved in child mortality.
Child marriages are dangerous because they put girls in vicious cycle of poverty and reduce their opportunities of having a good life later in the future. Apart from the social stigma they are likely to face, girls end up in violent marriages because of the power dynamics within those relationships.
Girls who marry while young are particularly at risk of dying while giving birth. Child birth is more likely to be difficult and dangerous because their pelvic area would not have developed properly. Pregnancy for them can result in serious consequences such as eclampsia, premature labour, prolonged labour, fistula, anaemia or infant or maternal death.
Young brides are consistently more likely to be beaten or threatened by their husbands than girls who marry later. Often married to much older men, they are likely to believe that a man is justified in beating his wife than women who marry later.
Far from worsening poverty among already impoverished societies, child marriages directly hinder the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals.
It has also been observed that child brides suffer emotional pressures from their families and husbands or in-laws can limit their ability to make decisions about their own bodies as well as making decisions on their own lives. While some of the victims of early child marriages might not be able to relive heart-rending accounts on the practice, the few who have been courageous enough to bare their souls, say early child marriages are brutal.
Despite the increase in cases of early child marriages, all hope is not lost. The Government and different stakeholders such as the Women’s Action Group have now launched several nationwide campaigns to curb the problem. Ms Chiwera said WAG acknowledged the need to work with traditional leaders, saying they were influential community leaders, able to put an end to child marriages.
“We are working with chiefs and organising workshops where we discuss the dangers of child marriages which include robbing them of their childhood and education as well as destroying their prospects of individual development. After acquiring that information then they can convey it to their subordinates.
They need to be educated on the plight of the girl child because they are the ones at the grassroots level where child marriages are prevalent, so they should be able to influence the behavioural change within their communities,” said Ms Chiwera.
She, however, said most communities were now calling for an end to early child marriages. “The efforts are there, but it may take some time before communities realise the importance of safeguarding our children from early child marriages,” she noted with satisfaction.
For feedback: [email protected]. This article was prepared under the project “UNH4+ Support to Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health” supported by UNAIDS with funding from the Government of Sweden.
Online Reporter