Chronicle Editor
Andile Tshuma, Gender
The church should be a safe haven, a place for the weak.
Those who have been battered by the world must find solace, hope and renewal in their faith. But, the church is becoming a monster.
Stories and reports have exposed how children are abused in some churches.
The case of Memory Machaya, the 14-year-old girl who died due to childbirth complications, leaving behind a son, has attracted the international community, with many organisations and individuals calling for action and justice.
Memory’s case has propelled Zimbabweans to have a long overdue conversation on child marriages and what happens in some religious sects, hidden by the veils of doctrine in the church.
The Zimbabwe Heads of Christian Denominations has since urged Government to set up an inquiry into the abuse of women and girls in churches to end the scourge.
This is a welcome call as it will help expose violations of women’s and children’s hidden behind the veil of faith and doctrine in churches around the country.
It is high time more religious leaders stood up and took a stand against the multiple human rights abuses that are often swept under the carpet and hidden behind the veil of doctrine and “church culture”.
Child marriage is rampant in Zimbabwe, especially among indigenous Apostolic churches, an evangelical group that mixes Christian beliefs with traditional cultures and has millions of followers across the country.
Child marriage is inexcusable. In addition to conferring physical and emotional abuse, it compromises a child’s overall development, socially isolates them, and leaves them with little or no education, skills, and opportunities for employment, making them vulnerable to enduring poverty as a result.
A landmark 2016 Constitutional Court decision declared child marriages unconstitutional and set 18 years as the minimum marriage age for girls and boys, without exceptions.
It is important for every Zimbabwean to know that there is no church or religion above the provisions of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
The Constitution shuns any violence against all Zimbabwean citizens including women stating in Section 52 that every person has the
right to freedom from all forms of violence both in public and private sectors.
Further, all the rights in the Constitution are also children’s rights, as such children have a right to education regardless of the religious inclinations of their parents, they have the right to human dignity, to personal security and to privacy which includes the right not to have their bodies abused by testing their virginity or by mutilating their genitals. Children have the right not to be married or given into marriage, forcefully or willingly until they are 18 years of age.
The Constitution particularly protects children in Section 81 stating that children have the right to be provided a birth certificate, to be protected from maltreatment and abuse, to health, shelter and nutrition. The Constitution by giving children the right to family and parental care mandates the parent to ensure that every child enjoys his/her Constitutional rights.
If the parent is incapable of protecting the child or is responsible for the abuse of the child’s right on the basis of religion or otherwise, the parent is guilty of violating the child’s right and must be investigated. This will ensure that prosecutions are done because the child is
entitled to adequate protection by the courts in particular the High Court which is the upper guardian of the child.
The State should take its role of protecting the rights of women and children and initiate an investigation of various actions of religious sects with the view to prosecuting those who are abusing women and children’s rights.
Forcing any girl into marriage causes her untold suffering and long-lasting harm. Girls are often sexually abused, beaten by their husbands and in-laws, confined in their homes, forced into pregnancy and labour, exposed to serious reproductive health risks including risk of death, and denied an education.
Millions of Zimbabwean girls like Memory continue to suffer abuse because of inaction at various levels. The future of millions of girls depends on the Government ensuring the ban on child marriages is fully enforced.
All Zimbabweans, and the world, should stand in solidarity with Memory, and all the girls whose lives are ruined daily through child marriage.
Her case has exposed the exploitation of minors, as she was reportedly forced to abandon school to get married.
UN Zimbabwe has urged the Government to fast-track the adoption of the Marriage Bill, which outlaws child marriages. The Bill that is before Parliament seeks to ban the marriage of anyone below 18 years and prosecute anyone involved in the marriage of a minor.
In a statement, UN Zimbabwe Communications Officer, Ruvimbo Mashavi said they are concerned about reports of sexual violation of the under-aged girls including early forced child marriages which continue to surface.
“The current trend of unresolved cases of violence against women and girls in Zimbabwe, including marriages of minors, cannot continue with impunity. The United Nations in Zimbabwe notes with deep concern and condemns strongly the surrounding circumstances leading to the untimely death of 14-year-old Memory Machaya from Marange, who died while giving birth at an Apostolic sect shrine,” said Mashavi.
“Sadly, disturbing reports of the sexual violation of the under-aged girls, including early forced child marriages continue to surface and indeed this is another sad case. A situation where one out of three girls in Zimbabwe will be married before the age of 18 is also not acceptable.
All forms of violence and early forced marriages severely affect the mental and physical health of girls and is a violation of the convention of the Rights of the Child which Zimbabwe is a signatory,” she said.
UN Zimbabwe said they welcome the investigations announced by the ZRP and the Zimbabwe Gender Commission into the death of Memory and look forward to the perpetrators being brought to justice.
“Efforts by the Government, Civil Society and faith-based organisations and development partners, including the Spotlight initiative, a partnership between the UN and the European Union must be strengthened to end violence against women and the girls,” said Mashavi.
To protect women and children, the Heads of Christian denominations must ensure that doctrines in their various denominations are subject to the rule of law and the provisions of the Constitution.
To create real change, the communities involved with these sects need to be educated and empowered to view child marriages for what they really are, that is, sexual abuse and exploitation.
There is also a need for a deeper engagement between the Government, non-governmental sectors, and Apostolic sect leaders over child marriages and adherence to national laws on women and children’s rights.
It is not only girls who are abused, stories have been heard of the boychild being abused in the church, talk of what happens in seminaries and on the road to priesthood, all churches must ensure that all children are safe within the church and that no child suffers abuse because of a church doctrine.
While religious freedom is enshrined in the Constitution, this right must not infringe on children’s rights. The laws of the country must apply to all, regardless of denomination. — @andile_tshuma.
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