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Economic collapse spikes child marriages

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CHILD rights groups have blamed the current economic meltdown for causing a spike in child marriages, domestic violence and high school dropouts among the country’s teenage girls.

CHILD rights groups have blamed the current economic meltdown for causing a spike in child marriages, domestic violence and high school dropouts among the country’s teenage girls.

BY REJOICE CHINGWARU

Speaking at a discussion hosted by United Nations Population Fund (UNPFA) in collaboration with Students and Youths Working on Reproductive Health Action Team (SAYWHAT), a teenage girl cited the current economic situation as fuelling child marriages.

“Our parents are being retrenched at work, leaving them with no source of income to pay for our school fees, and this has contributed to most girls dropping out of school and resorting to prostitution, marriage, and in some cases parents actually force us to get married,” she said.

According to UNFPA, Zimbabwe has a 31% prevalence rate of child marriages with one in every 10 adolescent girls giving birth each year, while one in three women between the ages of 15 and 49 is said to have experienced some form of physical abuse.

In a statement, UNFPA also notes that every teenage girl has the right to a safe and successful transition into adulthood and the right to embrace the opportunities that the future holds for them.

“UNFPA, is committed to promoting and protecting girls rights and supporting them to determine their own destiny,” the statement reads.

UNFPA urged policy makers to create a conductive environment to enable young girls to enjoy rights to education, health and freedom from violence.

Child rights groups are currently running a campaign called “Amplifying the voices of young girls and women in governance” aimed at giving girls and young women a voice and a platform to speak out and be involved in decision making.

The discussion was also attended by traditional leaders, who promised to eradicate child marriages. Headman Patrick Kaswa of Basset Nyarapinda area, said child marriage remains a key factor in the disempowerment and abuse of women, leading to societal imbalances.

“How can girls be empowered while they are forced into marriages at a tender age, where they encounter abuse, gender-based violence and are not heard when they speak out on issues affecting them,” he asked rhetorically.