Guide against early marriages
IN 2014 the African Union launched a campaign on ending child marriages.
SADC then followed suit by developing a model law that triggered reforms, development or revision of laws in member states.
In Zimbabwe, the Government apart from awareness campaigns, continues to demonstrate its commitment to both the AU and SADC initiatives against child marriages.
Last month, the Government launched a teachers’ guide for schools in Zimbabwe, entitled “Let Them Bloom”.
Accompanying the guide is a documentary film bearing the same title.
The launch was held at Friendship High School in Hatcliffe, Harare.
The guide was written to assist Guidance and Counselling, Heritage Studies and Indigenous Languages’ teachers in both Primary and Secondary Schools in Zimbabwe to engage optimally using participatory video action approach with pupils and students.
This is being done in the context of life skills education curriculum, with specific focus on child marriages.
The ultimate aim is to raise the level of knowledge of pupils and students, but significantly to enable the students to translate the knowledge gained into positive behaviour, thereby ensuring the end to child marriages.
The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education estimates that nearly 7 000 (correct) children - specifically girls - dropped out of school in 2018 as a consequence of child marriages.
The guide and documentary were produced by the Africa Women Filmmakers’ Trust Zimbabwe, which was represented by its executive director, Dr Chido Felicity Matewa, with support from the Canadian Embassy.
Canada’s ambassador to Zimbabwe, Rene Cremonese, was pleased to be party to celebrations of a project, which hopes to make an important difference in the lives of young women and men throughout Zimbabwe.
“It is our hope that events and projects like this will help to bring about concrete action on child, early and forced marriage. The scale of the problem is well known: 15 million girls are married every year before they turn 18,” he explained. “This means that one in three girls in the developing world marries before she turns 18. And, one in nine marries before the age of 15,” explained Ottawa’s top envoy to Harare.
Child marriage has far reaching consequences because it denies girls their childhood, disrupts their access to education, jeopardises their health and makes them vulnerable to violence. Child marriage means that girls are not able to reach their full potential and fully contribute to the social and economic growth of their families, communities and countries.
Ambassador Cremonese noted that the focus on girls did not mean that boys were not also affected by child marriage.
“The good news is that the international momentum to address child, early and forced marriage is building. Through the landmark 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development governments have identified ending child marriage as a global target.
“Canada is committed to working in partnership to turn these global goals into real action and put an end to this harmful practice. Since October 2013, Canada has invested almost $70 million in targeted funding to the prevention of child, early and forced marriage, protecting those at risk and supporting already married girls and women.”
Canada has been an active actor promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.
It has been a major element of the over $500 million in development assistance provided to Zimbabwe since independence.
When women and girls have equal opportunities to succeed, they are powerful agents of change. They drive stronger economic growth, encourage greater peace and co-operation, and improve the quality of life for their families and communities.
Child marriage can be deeply embedded in cultural traditions, but culture is not unchangeable. The cultural norms observed in Zimbabwe in 1900 were different than those practised in 1950 and again in 2000.
The vision of the guide, “Let Them Bloom”, is simple - allow children in Zimbabwe to prosper and not fall victim to child marriage. The guide is supported by videos to assist teachers discuss the causes and impacts of being married as a child while giving guidance on what must be done to end the practice.