The Sunday News
ZIMBABWE has recorded a high child marriage prevalence rate of an estimated 31 percent with Kwekwe, Tsholotsho and Shurugwi being at the summit, a development which has been attributed to mining activities as well as a high rate of immigration.
A research conducted by Plan International Zimbabwe has revealed that 31 percent of women in the country are married before they reach the age of 18.
The report, which was presented to traditional leaders in the Midlands province, notes that 98 percent of urban girls and 94 percent of rural girls in child marriages are married to artisanal miners.
Some of the causes of child marriage have been attributed to poverty, peer pressure, harmful cultural practices and the need to attain prestige and luxuries.
“Zimbabwe has high child marriage prevalence rates with an estimated 31 percent of girls married before the age of 18. The maiden age at first marriage has declined from 19 years for women currently aged 45 to 49 years to 16 years for those aged 15-19 years. According to data, 39 percent of women in rural areas aged 20-49 years currently in marriages or union were married before they reached the age of 18 years,” reads the report in part.
According to the report, one of the main challenges with enforcement of legislation that prohibits child marriage in Zimbabwe is that customary law does not set a minimum age of marriage and allows marriage of minors with parental consent.
“As a result traditional justice systems sanction this practice while statutory law prohibits it. In some areas of Zimbabwe, girls may be married as early as 12 years of age. The high prevalence of child marriages in Kwekwe — both urban (98 percent) and rural (94 percent) is attributed partly to gold mining activities in which a large population of men and even boys drop out of school to mine gold through panning, which gives them prestige. Girls and families are lured by the prestige and luxuries that these men and boys impress them with. In some cases the girls choose to have sex in return for cash for necessities that they get in the form of gifts. In Tsholotsho, it was expressed that peer pressure also plays a part in early child marriages as the girls are promised that they will be transported to South Africa for free,” reads the document.
Provincial development officer for Midlands in the Ministry of Women, Gender and Community Development Ms Sithembile Dube said the ministry has embarked on road shows to raise awareness on the dangers of child marriages.
