By
Shellin Mugoma
Child marriage is a human rights abuse. It constitutes a grave threat to young girls’ lives, health
and future prospects. It is a deadly vice that robs girls of their
childhood and destroys their prospects as of individual development. Girls who
are married young are forced out of school
, subject to domestic abuse, teenage pregnancy , all of which are against
global development goals as outlined in the Millennium Development Goals.
According to IPPF, Ending Child Marriage: A
guide for Policy Action (2007), Child marriage, also known as early marriage,
is defined as “Any marriage carried
out below the age of 18
years, before the
girl is physically,
physiologically, and psychologically ready
to shoulder the responsibilities of marriage and childbearing”
Every year, an estimated 14
million girls across the world become child brides. Expected to assume the role
of wife and mother at an early age, these girls rarely feel ready for marriage
because these are girl children not brides . Reaching puberty should mark the
beginning of a gradual transition to a healthy
and productive adulthood. Instead, for many girls, puberty marks an
accelerating trajectory into inequality.
Child marriage is a primary source of
this, curtailing a critical period for growth, learning, identity formation and
experimentation: each of which is essential if maturation into fully rounded
human beings is to be unhindered. Archbishop Tutu described child
marriage as “a practice that robs millions of girls of their childhood,
their rights and their dignity.
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. Shocking 30.7 % of women aged between 20 and 49 years were married by
age 18. Child marriage is taking place in Zimbabwe and is contributing to the
global figure of 25000 girls who are robed of their childhood every day. This
means 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 leaving 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.
In cases were child brides
become mothers we have often heard people commenting “mwana
ane mwana wake” ( A child has its own child).This is a reality which needs
intervention as we cannot fold our hands and have children made wives against
their will. They are girl children not brides.
Zero tolerance towards
child marriage is the goal. However, until that aspiration becomes a reality,
millions of girls will become child brides with irreparable harm to their
lives, their well-being, and their future life prospects. These girls occupy a difficult and oft
neglected space within society,
receiving scant, if any, attention from social protection programmes.
While they are still children in all respects—developmentally, biologically,
physically, psychologically and emotionally—their marital status signals an end to their
childhood—however premature and unwelcome—and renders them women in the eyes of
society.
In
Zimbabwe Child Marriages are prevalent among the Johanne Marange Apostolic
sect. This is a church commonly
known as ‘vapostori’
that is believed
to constitute approximately
1.2 million members in the
country. Regardless of the large following of this church, it carries astonishing
weaknesses which are not of concern to its adherents due to their lack of
education. The lack
of education often
disempowers them, they do not
question certain harmful practices in the church.
Child marriage
is not only
common among the
‘vapostori’; it is
also common in
secular groupings too. What reasons can be attributed to the
perpetuation of this harmful practice in Zimbabwe? Are the laws that govern
marriages in Zimbabwe inadequate and if so how? Do we have an enforcement
problem in this country since the police appear to turn a blind eye to such
activities?
Why is indulgence in sex
with a 12 year old girl referred to statutory rape and yet when a girl the same
age is married off to an older man the state is not equally horrified even
though that girl will be exposed to ‘marital rape’? Paradoxes and legal contradictions are rife
in the institution of child marriage. While consensual sex with girls below a
minimum age constitutes statutory rape, the same act with a similar aged girl
goes unsanctioned by the
protective mantle of
“marriage ”. The synergy between human
rights norms, constitutional principles of equality, and
antidiscrimination norms and domestic laws on freedom of marriage combine to
militate against child marriage. It is of paramount importance that we note
these girls are just girl children not brides.
Despite national laws and
international agreements, child marriage remains a real and present threat to
the human rights, lives and health of children, especially girls, in more than
a hundred countries. Understanding the dynamics of child marriage within
countries will also enable policymakers and programmers to target their efforts
most effectively to curb this harmful practice.
It is all too apparent that
the world is no longer short of declarations and treaties that recognize human
rights. What the world, and not least the African region, is woefully short of,
though, is the realization of
human rights. The
challenge now is
to secure not
just the respect
and protection, but the fulfilment of human right guarantees. Unless
rights are fulfilled, they remain rhetoric at best. Writing about international
human rights law in Africa, Frans Viljoen has said that “the ultimate test of
international human rights law is the extent to which it takes root at the
national level, and its ability to flourish in the soil of states and to bear
fruit in the lives of people”
In African society, as in
many cultures around the world, children are a gift and a means for parents to
secure their own futures. In traditional African societies, children are to be
protected and supported, and assisted to reach their full potential. However,
child marriages point to a different set of values that are robbing children of
their future and committing them to a life sentence of misery and suffering.
Girl children not brides ,
families need to align their perspective of the girl-child, from viewing them
as economic asserts to be sold off to the highest bidder as child brides but to
see them as partners for development who need to be invested into to transform
their families, community and nation. While the saying is that “children are
the future”, it is clear that children are also the “present”. The future
depends on their healthy development today.
They are the most vulnerable and the most resilient, as well as the most
precious in society. Child marriages are
caused by various reasons and clearly have serious consequences on the rights
and well-being of the girl child. The advocacy strategies will inevitably face
resistance from the custodians of culture and religious groups who believe in
the practice. However, changing attitudes and people’s perceptions takes time
and patience and in the long run the results will be visible and there will be
a decrease in the numbers of people who will continue to view it as a valid
cultural practice.
No society can afford the
lost opportunity, waste of talent, or personal exploitation that child marriage
causes. Respect for girls’ human rights requires that we prevent and end child
marriage and demands that we actively support girls who are already married.
Human rights realized for girls is simply the fulfilment of our duty to them.
It is the only course by which we can avert what otherwise is the human tragedy
of child marriage.
Child marriages will
continue to erode the development against 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.
Investing in girls,
developing their social and economic assets, ensuring they have access to
education and health services, and ensuring that they can postpone marriage
until they are ready; all this means greater dignity for women. It also means
healthier families and higher levels of gender equality. This in turn makes for
stronger societies and more vibrant economies. Investment in later marriage for
girls is investment in development for everyone.
It is urgent therefore that
social norms that serve to legitimate child marriage change. These can and do
start to change, once parents and communities understand the harm that child
marriage does and once they are able to identify alternatives that discourage
and eventually will end the practice. Promising strategies for change are in
evidence but they need more investment. Ending child marriage will help
Zimbabwe reach the Millennium Development Goals, and should be a high priority
in the post-2015 development agenda.
There is need to support
awareness raising and public education programmes about the negative effects of
child marriage, and related human rights of girls and women, to help
change attitudes, and
strengthen duties of
parents, guardians and
the community to protect vulnerable girls.
The government has to be
encouraged through advocacy work to adopt a clear and unambiguous position
on child and
forced marriages and
rectify the legislative
loopholes between religious, customary and civil marriages. However,
above and beyond taking the liberal approach, an advocacy campaign is needed to
effectively deal with the attitudes and beliefs of the people who practice
child marriages for whatever reason.
There is need for NGOs to
engage in
nternal discourse and Cross Cultural Dialogue i.e NGOs can also support the
rights of children
and women who
are involved in
the practice by
encouraging them to challenge the prevailing status quo or
perceptions whilst at the same time avoiding overt interference because this
will undermine the credibility of internal actors. This is a strategy that can
be used to deal with the Johanne Marange Apostolic sects because they are a
very closed group that doesn’t take kindly to external interference especially
when these challenge their beliefs. It might be possible to find members of the
sect who do not particularly agree with this practice and they can themselves
challenge the prevailing perceptions.
Litigation, Law reform has
the potential to review local traditions and customs in light of international
standards. Article 2(f) and 5(a) of CEDAW are premised on the notion that where
cultural constraints on gender hinder the achievement of women’s equality, it
is the cultural practice that must give way.
In conclusion girl children
should be seen as girl children not brides .Families need to align their
perspective of the girl-child, from viewing them as economic asserts to be sold
off to the highest bidder as child brides but to see them as partners for development
who need to be invested into to transform their families, community and nation.
There is need for an advocacy campaign to end child marriages in Zimbabwe
involving the different organisations working on children rights as well as the
relevant government officials and the police force. The aim of the campaign
will be to end child marriage in Zimbabwe by showing that it is detrimental to
the health and wellbeing of the girl child.
