In countries where child marriage remains widespread, concerted efforts are underway to. Plan international has been working with communities to educate traditional leaders, media and national governments about the dangers of child marriage. No studies have been conducted yet on the number of child marriages in zimbabwe, but the u. These dangerous effects of early marriages are not only in pakistan but in all the. Nov 11, 2016 this is a very interesting change, and it may be hypothesised that it represents a reaction by child brides to their marriage. Families in poverty usually feel they have no alternative to child marriage. Article information, pdf download for correlates of child marriage in zimbabwe.
The gaps in the law, extreme poverty, poor access to education, and harmful religious beliefs and social norms fuel child marriage in zimbabwe, human rights watch found. Over the years religion has been cited as one of the biggest causes of child marriages with the apostolic sect being touted as the major driver of the scourge. Child marriage unfpa united nations population fund. Early marriages, adolescent and young pregnancies report by the secretariat 1. The causes, consequences and solutions to forced child marriage. This media brief on ending child marriages in zimbabwe is a product of panos institute southern. If the present trend continues, 100 million girls will marry over the next decade. Child prostitution in zimbabwe and the tragedy of the.
Asia child marriage initiative, was commissioned by plan international and ukbased research firm coram international. Daughters are sometimes married off to reduce their perceived economic burden, with their bride price lobola used by families as a means of survival. Child marriage essay introduction causes impact solution slogan speech quotes child marriage essay introduction child marriage is one of the biggest human rights violations in the world. The objectives of this article was to understand the causes, effects and measures to reduce child marriages in rural zimbabwe. Child marriages have been a huge challenge in zimbabwe, and government pledged to eliminate them by 2030 in line with target 5. Recent legal responses to child marriage in southern. Of all the reasons and hence the different categories of child prostitutes, the one underlying cause is poverty in zimbabwe, as is the case globally. Digging up the roots of child marriage helps us replant the future for millions of girls around the world. Culture of zimbabwe history, people, traditions, women, beliefs, food, customs, family, social toz. This paper examines the causes and effects of rural girl child dropouts in zimbabwean secondary schools, using the chadzamira secondary school of gutu rural district as a case study. There are quite a number of reasons why children engage in child prostitution. Dotted line represents approximately the line of control in jammu and kashmir agreed upon by india and pakistan. Culture of zimbabwe history, people, traditions, women. In my village, a 14yearold girl was forced into marriage by her parents due to poverty, she said.
Proportion of women aged 2024 in union by age 18 this map does not reflect a position by unicef on the legal status of any country or territory or the delimitation of any frontiers. A 2015 human rights watch report stated that in zimbabwe, onethird of. Zimbabwe is adjudged one of the 41 countries in the world with an unacceptable rate of child marriages where girls enter into marriage below the age of 18. Dec 09, 2018 child rights activist nyari mashayamombe said the issue of child marriages in zimbabwe was an elephant in the room.
As a result, the girl child is socialized to become a mother, soft, emotionally sensitive, and to have all motherhood features. Due to these beliefs child marriages take place in several communities. Strategy to end child marriages in zimbabwe the chronicle. Children in ghana face a number of obstacles that prevent their full participation in society. The the causes, consequences and solutions to causes, consequences and solutions tocauses, consequences and solutions to forced forced forced child marriage child marriage child marriage in the developing worldin the developing world testimony submitted to u. The effects of early girlchild marriage in mutasa district. Zimbabwes customary marriages act sets no minimum age for marriage, while the marriage act, which. In many developing countries, child marriage is attributed to poverty, gender. Correlates of child marriage in zimbabwe takudzwa s. Despite laws against it, the practice remains widespread.
Zimbabwe and the governmental and nongovernmental partners that provided. Child marriage continues to be a reality for many of the worlds girls because of a variety of factors. Examining the framework in which child marriage exists, including the causes and effects of the practice is important in assisting countries to institute and enforce. As we learn what leads people to marry their daughters and sons as children, we can address those causes to stop child marriage. A case of mashonaland province in zimbabwe div increasing concerns on the welfare of a girl child world wide is observed and yet there are. Causes and categories of child prostitution in zimbabwe. Great zimbabwe university department of educational foundations, zimbabwe. Zimbabwe has committed to eliminate child, early and forced marriage by. The case of seke district in zimbabwe submitted by vincent. Gender and community development and plan international, other causes of child marriage especially in binga, include long.
Article information, pdf download for correlates of child marriage in. The man had been a successful cotton farmer, but two successive years of poor harvest and low cotton prices drove him off to mozambique, leaving the pregnant child in the hands of her parents. Undisputable fact is that 14 000 people in subsaharan africa are being infected daily with hiv and 11 000 are dying every day due to hivaids related illnesses. According to survey, one of the main reasons for child labour, unemployment, low literacy rate and poor health standards in pakistan is the early marriage early marriages in pakistan. Zimbabwe joined the au campaign to end child marriages in mid2015. The face of child marriages in mashonaland west girls voices on child marriages in zimbabwe girls indaba, zvimba informed by 10 focus group discussions with 333 girls from 4 schools in mashonaland west province in zimbabwe, this document explores the causes and effects of child marriages. Is hivaids epidemic outcome of poverty in subsaharan africa. Aug 04, 2014 girls in child marriages also have a greater risk of contracting hiv because they often marry older, richer men who have had more sexual partners. Based on thousands of surveys and interviews with parents, community leaders, and children in communities in all 3 countries, the report details the underlying causes of child marriage alongside a suite of recommendations for countering the endurance of. Protecting young girls from the dangers and horrors of child marriage is important but complicated to address because of the motivating economic factors.
What are the major causes of early child marriages in mutasa district. Following several studies and reports, there was a realization that early marriages, unwanted teenage pregnancies and failure of the girlchild to appreciate the importance of education were amongst the major challenges faced by adolescent girls and young women in zimbabwe and that applies to zvimba district. Child marriage occurs when one of the parties is below the age of 18 years. In zimbabwe, south africa and malawi research has shown that most child marriages are linked to harmful practices that are embedded in culture. These include poverty, lack of education and job opportunities, insecurity in the face of war and conflict. She said there was lack of political will considering the high prevalence rate of child marriages, particularly in rural areas.
What are the reasons to get married at a very early age. Based on thousands of surveys and interviews with parents, community leaders, and children in communities in all 3 countries, the report details the underlying causes of child marriage alongside a suite of recommendations for countering. Churches critical in ending child marriages the zimbabwean. Now, she is in hospital due to pregnancy complications, kaseke lamented. Child marriage essay introduction causes impact imp days. While some countries like mozambique, zambia, uganda and ghana, among others, have come up with strategies and policies to curb child marriages, zimbabwe has none, save for the january 20, 2016 constitutional court ruling.
One of our key priorities is to learn what causes child marriage. Early marriages research essay essays and articles. Jan 21, 2016 plan international has been working with communities to educate traditional leaders, media and national governments about the dangers of child marriage. Law passed to end child marriage in zimbabwe plan international. Child marriages have serious social, economic, health and political implications on young girls and their communities. If the trend continues, there will be 140 million underage girls entering marriage between the years of 2011 and 2020 who.
Many child marriages in zimbabwe are ending in tragic circumstances and cause grave health risks from early childbearing. Causes of child marriages include poverty, bride price, dowry, cultural. Causes of child marriage child marriage has many causes. Girls in child marriages also have a greater risk of contracting hiv because they often marry older, richer men who have had more sexual partners. With reference to the prohibition against child marriage in the maputo. Customary marriages are potentially polygynous and legal for black zimbabweans only and usually are dissolved only by death divorce is rare.
Child marriage is not uniformly prevalent in zimbabwe. Zimbabwes customary marriages act sets no minimum age for marriage, while the marriage act, which governs monogamous marriages, states that girls under. A minor in a child marriage can be a girl or a boy, but the large majority of child marriages are between a girl and a man, and are rooted in gender inequality. In january 2012, the executive board at its th session considered an earlier version of this report. Child marriage is a marriage or similar union, formal or informal, between an adult and a child. In countries where child marriage remains widespread, concerted. Globally, one in every five girls is married, or in union, before reaching age 18. In many cases, a mixture of these causes results in the imprisonment of children in marriages without their consent. A case of mashonaland province in zimbabwe cynthia dzimiri1, plaxedes chikunda2. Yet, girl child dropout is a serious problem that affects the national development of zimbabwe specifically and africa in general. Law reform to end child marriage, therefore, is a difficult task.
With the law now in place, government and other private players should join hands in addressing the specific drivers of child marriages in the country. An assessment of the effects of child marriages on adolescent girls. Traditional customs often result in girls being dropped out of school at an early age to help manage the household. Extraordinary session in kigali, rwanda in 2014, the african commission adopted a resolution on the need to conduct a study on child marriage in africa. To establish the effects of early girlchild marriage in samanga a ward. This research interrogates and critically analyzes the issue of child marriages in two major apostolic sects in zimbabwe, namely, johanne marange and johanne masowe, the major objective being to unearth the root causes of these marriages, the types, the effects and the possible solutions. Background besides, the presence of national law, the country has to set up its own midterm and long term goals to bring about a significant reduction in child marriages in ethiopia. They may lack the resources to educate their daughters and their society may not offer incentives to protect girls from child marriage. In the least developed countries, that number doubles 40 per cent of girls are married before age 18, and 12 per cent of girls are married before age 15. Why ruling against child marriages cant be ignored tendai biti the standard zimbabwes constitutional court outlaws child marriage voice of america zimbabwe activists call for tougher action against child marriages yahoo. New evidence on child marriage causes and solutions plan. A on the 20th of january 2016, zimbabwes deputy chief justice luke malaba and eight other constitutional court judges outlaawed child marriages, and struck off section 221 of the marriage act, which, for decades, had allowed children under the age of 18 years to formally get married. House of representatives human rights commissions human rights commission.
The uneven distribution of national wealth has left some communities underdeveloped, thereby exacerbating the poverty cycle. According to the constitution of zimbabwe a child is a boy or girl under the age of 18 years and this means a girl child under the age of 18 cannot be married. Child marriages in shamva district of zimbabwe global journal of. Pdf div increasing concerns on the welfare of a girl child world wide is observed and yet there are significant matters still to be discussed. My testimony will show how and why forced child marriage is a pervasive. The number one reason for divorce newsday zimbabwe. Poor families sell their children into marriage either to settle debts or to make some money and escape the cycle of poverty. Parents are being blamed for the increase in child marriages because of poor parenting styles which include grooming and counselling of children gwesela, 20. It may sound terrifying, but at the times when most of the countries try to keep up with the rest of the world by improving the wellbeing of their residents and provide better conditions early marriages are still popular in remote areas. The causes, consequences and solutions to forced child. This indicates that poverty is often the cause of child marriage and that the government must make more efforts towards poverty eradication. Global trends of early adolescent girls marriage have been escalating worldwide and mostly.
Young girls are also robbed of their locally and inter. Protecting young girls from the dangers and horrors of child marriage is important but complicated to. To identify factors leading to increased early girlchild marriages in samanga a ward of honde valley, in manicaland. Child rights activist nyari mashayamombe said the issue of child marriages in zimbabwe was an elephant in the room. As you plan for the new year i would like to encourage you to seriously pay attention to the number one reason for divorce and plan to avoid it. Child marriage is a marriage or similar union, formal or informal, between an adult and a child or another child under age eighteen. Despite all the campaigns done in zimbabwe through different platforms such as girl child network, gender policies, child line, unicef and even the constitution of zimbabwe on girl child empowerment, child marriage is still on the increase in zimbabwe masinire, 2015. An assessment of the effects of child marriages on adolescent girls in zimbabwe. Objectives of the study the study was guided by the following objectives. Protocol and consistent with its campaign to combat child marriage, during the 16. Based on cycle 6 2002 of the national survey of family growth pdf. The above prevalence rate in mashonaland province triggered the investigation on the causes of child marriage which is also known as early marriage by the current researchers since zimbabwe s overall child marriage rate stands at 30% while global rate is at 29% mashangwa, 2016. In most of the countries the minimum legal age for the child marriage is 18 years.
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