Govt urged to stop child marriages

Activists campaigning for the rights of children have urged the government to enact laws that can specifically deal with the problem of child marriages which is a form of abuse.

Non-governmental organisations and human rights activists who attended a 'stop children marriages campaign workshop' in Harare called on the government to examine issues such as denying young people their childhood, disrupting children's education and jeopardising their health.

The campaign workshop was held under the theme: 'Pachoto-Give Us Books Not Husbands'.

Senator Chief Enos Musarurwa said contrary to what some people believe, the Zimbabwean tradition does not support forced child marriages.

In her keynote address which was read on her behalf by the Deputy Director of Policy in the Gender Department, the Minister of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development, Oppah Muchinguri said some parents and guardians have also become part of the problem.

The convention on the rights of children defines child marriage as marriage of anyone below the age of 18.

Despite early forced child marriages also affecting boys, in Zimbabwe girls have been the most affected with most of them dropping out of school.