Join battle to end child marriages, chiefs urged

CHIEFS here have been challenged to join the fight against child marriages and complement Government efforts to eradicate the scourge.

In an interview recently, Chief Mutasa, who is one of the most vocal traditional leaders against early marriages, said chiefs could be the missing piece to ending the problem.

“I am an advocate against child marriages. I believe young girls need to be protected. If we do not fight this problem, how then will you achieve this gender equality you talk about? We can never have gender equality when young girls are still being married off to older men.

“Chiefs, as leaders of communities, hold the power to ensure that such practices do not continue in their areas,” he said.

Child marriages predominantly affect girls, who live in poverty and in rural areas.

Research shows that girls from the poorest 20 percent of households were more than four times likely to be married before the age of 18 than girls from the richest 20 percent of households.

Religion has also been a major driver of child marriages in the country, where girls are often encouraged to marry much older men at a very young age.

In August 2015, Zimbabwe launched the African Union campaign to end child marriage. A National Action Plan and Communication Strategy is also being developed.

Additionally, in 2016, the court ruled that Section 22 of the Marriages Act was unconstitutional and therefore “no person, girl or boy should be married before the age of 18”.

Previously, girls could get married aged 16, while boys could marry at 18.

However, there have been calls for Government to also amend laws related to marriage that are, however, at odds with the Constitution.