A recent United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) survey had startling revelations that 31% of Zimbabwean girls under the age of 18 are in forced marriages, with 15% of them getting married by the age of 15.
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The chilling statistics, which were disclosed in a joint communiqué issued by the Women’s Affairs ministry, Zimbabwe National Chiefs’ Council and Plan International, demand urgent action from the government by acting against this depravity at the earliest.
What is depressing is the fact that early and forced marriages contribute immensely in driving young girls into a cycle of perpetual poverty and powerlessness at a time all progressive countries are fighting for the rights of women.
In forced relationships, girls will very likely experience violence, abuse and forced sexual relations or are more likely to be physically assaulted while believing their husbands are justified in doing so.
Besides, young women in marriages almost always experience poor sexual and reproductive health and are at greater risk of contracting HIV than their unmarried counterparts because of their greater sexual exposure often with older husbands who by virtue of their age are likely to be HIV positive.
The majority of the girls are pushed into early marriages by poverty, cultural norms and other social, economic and religious practices.
Zimbabwe is a signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) which, among other things, entails that women should not get into marriage unions before the age of 18.
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The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that marriage should be “entered only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses”. This means that where one of the parties getting married is under 18, consent cannot always be assumed to be “free and full”.
According to our laws, any man who has sexual intercourse with any girl under the age of 16 has committed an offence and must be arrested and prosecuted for statutory rape.
It is hoped that traditional leaders, as custodians of communities’ cultural heritage and values, will play a leading role in educating their communities to desist from the practice.
Global statistics for forced marriages are terrifying; one girl is forced into marriage every two seconds. This cannot be allowed to continue.
Sub-Saharan Africa has the second highest rate of early and forced marriage with 14,3 million girls in the region, including Zimbabwe, becoming child brides.
It is important that Zimbabwe implements and enforces human rights instruments at its disposal such as CEDAW, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
It is unfortunate that countries that are signatories to such conventions do not always ensure that commitments are implemented and enforced at national level, leading to the unfortunate incidences of forced child marriages.
