Today as we prepare to celebrate the first-ever Day of the Girl Child on the 11th of October, we give focus to what we as communities and individuals need to do to make the lives of girls worth living. The United Nations have given attention to ending child marriage for this year’s commemoration and have launched numerous communication campaigns in different countries to share messages on the theme ‘My Life, My Right, End Child Marriage’.
Child marriage is a deadly vice that robs girls of their childhood and destroys their prospects of individual development. Girls who are married young are forced out of school, subject to domestic abuse and teenage pregnancy, all of which are against global development goals as outlined in the Millennium Development Goals. This is the reason why it has been brought to the fore in this year’s commemoration of the Day of the Girl Child, as one the single most significant causes of underdevelopment in young women.
From a Zimbabwean perspective, one may be tempted to ask if child marriage is really happening in our country, and if it’s a problem worth caring about. Shockingly, 30.7% of women aged between 20 and 49 years were married by age 18 and the median age for first marriage for women is 19.9 years. Additionally, 21.7% of women aged 15 and 19 years are currently married and 3% of young women aged 15-19 years were married by age 15. These statistics sadly correlate with the high rates of teenage pregnancy and domestic violence in the country as 47.8% of 19 year olds have started child-bearing and 48.6% of married adolescent girls aged 15-19 years have experienced physical and/or sexual violence perpetrated by their spouse[i].
Child marriage is taking place in Zimbabwe and is contributing to the global figure of 25 000 girls who are robbed of their childhood everyday. This means that thousands of girls in Zimbabwe find themselves in marital unions with partners who are significantly older than them, and are forced to realign their aspirations to the roles they play as child-brides. Dreams of finishing school, finding decent employment and ending the vicious cycle of poverty in their families, are abandoned for an uncertain future that they have little control over. As they give birth in their teens, they and their babies are at risk of dying, whilst the babies that survive are prone to health complications that stunt their growth and reduce their productivity in the field of work.
Child-marriage will continue to erode the development gains that have been experienced in empowering the girl-child, unless communities and key decision makers take action to fight against it. We must work to create an enabling legal, social and economic environment that allow girls to secure a bright future for themselves by enabling their uninterrupted access to good education, healthcare and sound economic opportunities.
Families need to realign their perspective of the girl-child, from viewing them as economic assets to be sold off to the highest bidder as child-brides, to seeing them as partners for development who need to be invested in to transform their families and communities. Society must bear in mind that each girl has one childhood to experience, a sacred time to form an identity, set life goals and build a dream of the future they want to see for themselves and their families. That time can never be replaced, and hence it needs to be safeguarded by all, as we give girls the chance to live through and enjoy their childhood.
Traditional, political and religious leaders need to take a bold stance against child marriage and counter existing cultural and religious justifications for this destructive vice. The country’s Marriage Act must be enforced, and the customary law which allows for marriage at age 16 must be adjusted to a minimum marriageable age of 18 years, in line with the Marriage Act.
Young men and women, as well as parents and other members of the community, must take the lead in advocacy to promote girls’ rights and repel the practice of child marriage. They need to support girls to complete their schooling at secondary and tertiary level, and to take up gainful employment when they make the decision to become economically active. Additionally, girls and young women need comprehensive sexuality education, and access to family planning services to secure a healthy and well-planned future for them.
Protecting the welfare of the girl-child is everyone’s responsibility, and ending child marriage is a cause for all to act upon. Let us prevent new child marriages and work to regenerate educational and economic opportunities for those already in union. We have the power the change the norms in our societies, and the 25 000 girls who are robbed of their childhood everyday are counting on us to put a stop to their swelling numbers.
[i] Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey (ZDHS) 2010-2011
Youth Family Planning Ambassadors 