ROOTS partners with chiefs to fight child marriage

ROOTS Director, Beatrice Savadye, told The Zimbabwean in a recent interview that they had launched a campaign to mobilise the local community to police itself and report cases of child marriages. She said traditional leaders, given their standing in the communities, would play a pivotal role in mobilising people against child marriage.

“So far, we have received a positive response from Chief Seke and Chief Nzvimbo. We held awareness campaigns in their areas and they made a commitment to fight child marriages as they are in violation of children’s rights.

“In Seke for example, the Chief told us that he was going to hold a meeting with men in his area to educate and warn them against child marriage. We very much appreciate the response from the chiefs because they are important opinion leaders,” said Savadye. She said that there was need for the government to complement efforts being made at grassroots level through enforcing and enacting laws that discourage child marriages.

“If we have gatekeepers and custodians of culture denouncing the practice, then that will be a great step forward but efforts at grassroots level need to be complemented by efforts at national level. So we are saying that we need to see the government playing its part as well,” said Savadye.

She said they would be seeking to partner as many traditional leaders as possible and blamed poverty for child marriage. Other factors include traditional and religious practices, but she said poverty was the main reason.

She also urged the authorities and parents to educate children on the dangers of child marriage as it came out during their outreach campaigns that one of the factors leading to the practice was lack of knowledge among youths. “During our outreach, some parents complained that the behaviour of some girls was unbecoming as some were engaging in sexual activity at an early age. So we realised that there is also a need to educate the children so that they are equipped with the necessary knowledge that will enable them to have a better life,” said Savadye.