Opinion / Columnist
Fighting early child marriages in Zimbabwe: A call for a paradigm shift
14 Oct 2016 at 11:25hrs | Views
Standard Newspaper 25 September 2016 carried a story by Sofia Mapuranga, "Poverty stalks adolescent mothers." I read the story with heavy heart and reflections from the article have forced me to pen this opinion. What is crystal clear from the article is that poverty is at the centre of the scourge called early child marriages. But then what came to mind as a proactive and pro-development social worker is okay, poverty is at the epicentre of this inedible phenomena among us, so what? The writer religiously chronicled the narratives from the unfortunate women who succumbed to the early child marriages scourge. Great work from the writer who dedicated her time and resources to bring out the critical issues that are bedevilling our society but often ignored today. I am worried by the current situation we have in Zimbabwe in which almost everything published by both public and private media is politically tied. One wonders if the only pressing issues in Zimbabwe is politics? I think we have been politically obsessed much to the chagrin of critical issues, that is, social problems in our society.
Reflections on the article from the Standard Newspaper reveals an inescapable reality that confronts us in the 21st century. This inescapable reality is that poverty in all its dimensions is with us and signs of its disappearance is far from over. When talking about poverty, one thing that comes to mind is the definitions and theories by scholars. Think of the Seebohm Rowntree, Dudley Seers, Julius Nyerere etc. It is not the intention of this writer to reduce this paper to be scented with academic discourse. Academics have been there since time immemorial and they wrote immensely about poverty and approaches to reduce poverty but it is still with us and within our midst. What lacks is pragmatic approaches to arrest the genesis of poverty and its subsequent ramifications. It is against this backdrop that this paper seeks to unmask poverty in its most general sense is the lack of necessities. Lack of basic food, shelter, medical care and even safety. All these are at the centre of the challenges bedevilling the girl child thereby forcing her into early marriages.
It is common knowledge that when there are cases of early child marriages both the government and humanitarian agencies react to provide remedial assistance to the affected. More often than not, such remedial approach is characterised by the desire by the agencies to prop up their images. What lacks is a critical eye on the significance of the intervention especially on the quality of the service provided. More often than not, emphasis is on quantity. Majoring in the minors!
But the question is what should be done to nip the shoot from the bud? Where can we begin from to take the bull by its horns? Indeed early child marriages are an elephant in our midst. There is need for paradigm shift on how the scourge should be fought.
In this article, a number of proposals are put forward to stimulate our thinking in the area of child and family support and development.
1. Change of mindset of the girl child
From the Standard Newspaper, the writer managed to pick the genesis of the problem. The genesis of the problem is the mindset that in the face of poverty marriage is the salvation. Narrating their ordeal in the face of marauding poverty, the adolescent mothers chronicled how they ended up in marriages that have proven to be Chernobyl disaster. One adolescent mother is quoted saying, "Poverty drove me into this marriage. Now I realise that the minute one becomes a mother, it is a lifetime responsibility which you cannot shift to anyone." All the adolescent mothers pinpointed that they were forced into early marriages because of poverty and they were lured by their husbands under the guise that they would "elope" from poverty. Now this is the critical issue that all progressive minds should face without blinking. There is great need and dedication to raise awareness to the girl child that there is life before marriage and it does not make any economic, social and political sense to rush into marriages. Instead early marriages will keep them in a cycle of poverty and perpetuate their dependency. The mindset is retrogressive and will keep women in perpetual state of dependency. Girls should be taught to be resilient and take the bull by its horns. Paulo Freire argues in favour of emancipation through "conscientizacao"- which should be at the centre of stimulating people "submerged" in the culture of silence to emerge as conscious makers of their own culture. In short there is need to raise awareness to empower the girl child to know that marriage is not a means to an end to human survival.
2. Change of way of thinking of parents, guardians and the community at large
Our society especially in remote areas is also an albatross on the necks. The orientation that marriage is the source of comfort in the face of poverty is highly mischievous. It is the source of the problem. Parents, guardians and the community should be conscious that perseverance and self determination should be the guiding principles for human development. Parents and guardians in most cases are complicit in forcing the girl child into early marriages. They want to use the girl child as a source of wealth to take-off the family from poverty. Interventions in community work and development should be tailor-made to raise awareness on the effects of early child marriages on the girl child, the family, community and the nation at large. Communities should speak out against child marriages. A sense of self determination should be an guiding principle in community structures.
Agenda for Collective Action
The weakest link in most of the interventions in casework, group and community work is that interventions are more often than not piecemeal and cosmetic. Interventions are tailor-made to achieve short term benefits. It is not like remedial approaches are bad. They are not bad but what is bad is when the motivation is to achieve short term benefits always. Like earlier on alluded to, most organisations are preoccupied with interventions that are of insignificance at the expense of more significant projects. Remedial interventions should be a springboard for developmental approach. The writer does not negate remedial approach to community interventions. But he argues that while remedial assistance may be needed at some instances, the ultimate aim of all interventions should be aimed at enhancing self reliance and livelihood of the girl child, women and the entire communities. The problem is compounded by the inadequacy of the government approach to community development. The Ministry mandated to deal with women and gender issues is a pale shadow of itself. Its visibility is a cause for concern yet it is the one that should be at the forefront of championing the empowerment of the girl child, women and the community at large.
Towards Developmental approach to women and girl's development
The tragedy for our people and the community at large is that there is lack of development oriented approaches to empower them. As a result, the cycle of poverty continues unabated. Now what is important if the situation of the girl child is to be changed is to ensure that all interventions should be aimed at empowering the girl child, immediate families and the community at large. It is unfortunate that poverty reduction in communities is more of charity yet it has to be more than a moral obligation- it has to a legal obligation. Therefore, to empower the girl child from the early child marriage scourge it is important to engage the girl child as an important actor. It is important to address the root cause of the poverty in the community from the individual level, household level to the community level. This will ensure that there is a holistic approach to the issues affecting the people. Such an approach enhances sustainable development which is the panacea for the girl child emancipation.
Johanne Mhlanga is a social worker and he writes in his personal capacity. He can be contacted on johannemhlanga82@gmail.com or 0776308483
Reflections on the article from the Standard Newspaper reveals an inescapable reality that confronts us in the 21st century. This inescapable reality is that poverty in all its dimensions is with us and signs of its disappearance is far from over. When talking about poverty, one thing that comes to mind is the definitions and theories by scholars. Think of the Seebohm Rowntree, Dudley Seers, Julius Nyerere etc. It is not the intention of this writer to reduce this paper to be scented with academic discourse. Academics have been there since time immemorial and they wrote immensely about poverty and approaches to reduce poverty but it is still with us and within our midst. What lacks is pragmatic approaches to arrest the genesis of poverty and its subsequent ramifications. It is against this backdrop that this paper seeks to unmask poverty in its most general sense is the lack of necessities. Lack of basic food, shelter, medical care and even safety. All these are at the centre of the challenges bedevilling the girl child thereby forcing her into early marriages.
It is common knowledge that when there are cases of early child marriages both the government and humanitarian agencies react to provide remedial assistance to the affected. More often than not, such remedial approach is characterised by the desire by the agencies to prop up their images. What lacks is a critical eye on the significance of the intervention especially on the quality of the service provided. More often than not, emphasis is on quantity. Majoring in the minors!
In this article, a number of proposals are put forward to stimulate our thinking in the area of child and family support and development.
1. Change of mindset of the girl child
From the Standard Newspaper, the writer managed to pick the genesis of the problem. The genesis of the problem is the mindset that in the face of poverty marriage is the salvation. Narrating their ordeal in the face of marauding poverty, the adolescent mothers chronicled how they ended up in marriages that have proven to be Chernobyl disaster. One adolescent mother is quoted saying, "Poverty drove me into this marriage. Now I realise that the minute one becomes a mother, it is a lifetime responsibility which you cannot shift to anyone." All the adolescent mothers pinpointed that they were forced into early marriages because of poverty and they were lured by their husbands under the guise that they would "elope" from poverty. Now this is the critical issue that all progressive minds should face without blinking. There is great need and dedication to raise awareness to the girl child that there is life before marriage and it does not make any economic, social and political sense to rush into marriages. Instead early marriages will keep them in a cycle of poverty and perpetuate their dependency. The mindset is retrogressive and will keep women in perpetual state of dependency. Girls should be taught to be resilient and take the bull by its horns. Paulo Freire argues in favour of emancipation through "conscientizacao"- which should be at the centre of stimulating people "submerged" in the culture of silence to emerge as conscious makers of their own culture. In short there is need to raise awareness to empower the girl child to know that marriage is not a means to an end to human survival.
2. Change of way of thinking of parents, guardians and the community at large
Our society especially in remote areas is also an albatross on the necks. The orientation that marriage is the source of comfort in the face of poverty is highly mischievous. It is the source of the problem. Parents, guardians and the community should be conscious that perseverance and self determination should be the guiding principles for human development. Parents and guardians in most cases are complicit in forcing the girl child into early marriages. They want to use the girl child as a source of wealth to take-off the family from poverty. Interventions in community work and development should be tailor-made to raise awareness on the effects of early child marriages on the girl child, the family, community and the nation at large. Communities should speak out against child marriages. A sense of self determination should be an guiding principle in community structures.
Agenda for Collective Action
The weakest link in most of the interventions in casework, group and community work is that interventions are more often than not piecemeal and cosmetic. Interventions are tailor-made to achieve short term benefits. It is not like remedial approaches are bad. They are not bad but what is bad is when the motivation is to achieve short term benefits always. Like earlier on alluded to, most organisations are preoccupied with interventions that are of insignificance at the expense of more significant projects. Remedial interventions should be a springboard for developmental approach. The writer does not negate remedial approach to community interventions. But he argues that while remedial assistance may be needed at some instances, the ultimate aim of all interventions should be aimed at enhancing self reliance and livelihood of the girl child, women and the entire communities. The problem is compounded by the inadequacy of the government approach to community development. The Ministry mandated to deal with women and gender issues is a pale shadow of itself. Its visibility is a cause for concern yet it is the one that should be at the forefront of championing the empowerment of the girl child, women and the community at large.
Towards Developmental approach to women and girl's development
The tragedy for our people and the community at large is that there is lack of development oriented approaches to empower them. As a result, the cycle of poverty continues unabated. Now what is important if the situation of the girl child is to be changed is to ensure that all interventions should be aimed at empowering the girl child, immediate families and the community at large. It is unfortunate that poverty reduction in communities is more of charity yet it has to be more than a moral obligation- it has to a legal obligation. Therefore, to empower the girl child from the early child marriage scourge it is important to engage the girl child as an important actor. It is important to address the root cause of the poverty in the community from the individual level, household level to the community level. This will ensure that there is a holistic approach to the issues affecting the people. Such an approach enhances sustainable development which is the panacea for the girl child emancipation.
Johanne Mhlanga is a social worker and he writes in his personal capacity. He can be contacted on johannemhlanga82@gmail.com or 0776308483
Source - Johanne Mhlanga
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