Early marriages threaten lives of girls




By Rutendo Mambume

Early marriages are robbing girls of their childhood experience and threatening their health.

The Provincial Marketing and Communication Officer of Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council (ZNFPC), Herbert Chikosi said that cultural and religious beliefs were the main drivers of early marriages which affected girl children. 

He noted that some apostolic sects like Johanne Marange supported the marriage of young girls soon after the initiation ceremony, much to the detriment of the girl child.

“In some communities we are also seeing some forced marriages of young people due to poverty, hence limiting the potential of girl child in education.

“As an organization, we highlight dangers associated with early marriages and provide life skills. We have collaborated with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary schools to make sure that young girls receive equal education with the boys so as to avoid early child marriages,” he said.

Masvingo has a high prevalence rate of early child marriages, Chikosi said, adding that child marriages must be prevented because they risked the lives of both the girl child and the baby.

A COVID-19 pandemic that broke out from 2020 to 2021, resulted in a sharp increase in child marriages due to school closures. Young girls were negatively affected and some of them were forced into marriages.

In May 2022, the President of Zimbabwe, His Excellency Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa signed into the law The Marriage Act that prohibits the marriage of minors under the age of 18.

Under Zimbabwe’s constitution, girls have the same rights with boys. They have a right to education, right to work and right to be protected from violence but these rights are still violated in some marginalized areas due to some cultural and religious beliefs.

Tawanda Chitsiku, the director of Girls are Important Network Trust (GAIN TRUST) that champions the rights of adolescent girls and young women, said that church leaders, chief leaders and some old women must be engaged in order to stop early marriages.

These should provide counselling to the girls in communities.

In 2016, the United Nations sustainable Development Goals in partnership with UNICEF called for global action to end this human right violation by 2030. Empowering younger girls at the risk of marriage or in marriage program has reached most of the people including the influencers.


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