Crusade against child marriages on

Johnsias Mutonhori, Midlands Correspondent 

THE Zimbabwe Gender Commission (ZGC) has embarked on a countrywide outreach exercise engaging community leaders and other stakeholders in a bid to end early child marriages.

Early child marriages have been on the increase across the country, prompting the commission to conduct a national inquiry on child marriages, sexual exploitation and abuse of young girls in around the country.

According to statistics by Zimbabwe Statistics Agency (ZimStat), 34 percent of girls under 18 years are married while two percent of boys also got married before the age of 18. ZGC chair, Commissioner Margret Mukahanana, in a speech read on her behalf by the vice chairperson Commissioner Obert Matshalaga at Maboleni in Lower Gweru last week during an inquiry into the problem, said religion was a major contributor to some of the early child marriages.

“This national inquiry is coming against a background of high prevalence of child marriages, sexual exploitation and abuse of young girls in the country, particularly within the Apostolic sect which is a cause of great concern for the Commission. We want to investigate the practice, customs, laws and other drivers of sexual exploitation and abuse of young girls and child marriages within the Apostolic Sects.

“The diabolical situation has challenged the Commission to take incisive steps and amplify its voice on the issue into the national discourse through conducting this national inquiry to red flag the social injustices while on the same accelerate responsive mechanisms aimed at redressing such social dysfunctions,” she said.

Comm Mukahanana called upon all stakeholders giving emphasis to community leaders to take a lead in the fight against child marriages and girl abuse.

“Everyone has a role to play, mostly community leaders, in ending child marriage and sexual exploitation of young women and girls including those with disabilities. If we work together, we can end this practice and create a brighter future for girls, our communities and the nation at large,” she said.

Comm Mukahanana, however, said in Mildands child marriages figures were below national averages.

“According to 2019 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, 32.6 percent of girls were married before the age of 18. For Midlands Province, the statistics stand at 30.4 percent, according to MICs. Zimstat data indicate the rural-urban divide in child marriages where rural girls are twice more likely to be married before the age of 18 than their urban counterparts,” she said.

She also implicated Covid-19 induced lockdowns as one of the leading contributors to early child marriages.

“Covid-19 pandemic and other humanitarian situations have worsened the situation, as during the lockdown period cases of child marriage escalated,” she said.

Chief Jabulani Bunina Madubeko said early child marriages are common in his area of jurisdiction and  ponted out that the practice was a criminal offence.

“We encounter a lot of child marriages here and mostly parents blessed such marriages after they are given some money. Whenever such a complaint is raised, I normally refer the case to the police,” he said.