Faced with abject poverty Mr Muneti pledged his daughter in marriage to a widower, Mr Choga, a local businessman who had married his sister. She died last year. Choga is HIV positive.
Fortunately, Samantha is aware of her rights and refused to marry Choga – but her father beat her up and forced her to marry or be thrown into the streets. Muneti believed that pledging his daughter to Choga would ease his woes and put food on the table.
Against her will the young girl was delivered to stay with Choga. A few days later she was raped. She made a police report, which led to the arrest of three men.
This is the theme of a short drama that sparked debate at a men’s symposium on ending child marriages in Seke organised by ROOTS and Seke Rural Home Based Care recently.
Dialogue
ROOTS is directed by Beatrice Savadye. Its mission is to promote economic and social justice for young people to realise their personal development and sexual reproductive health rights.
They are currently running a campaign to fight early marriages and other forms of child abuse through dialogue, sport and drama under the theme: “WANTED: Men who stand against child marriages”.
Chief Seke, Stanley Chimanikire, and his wifeAmai Mambo attended the meeting. Thandiwe Kaseke of Chamboko village said the drama mirrored what was actually happening on a regular basis in Seke.
Just two weeks ago, a grade seven girl of a local apostolic church was forced into marriage. In addition, prostitution is rife in the area. “Businessmen at Dema Growth Point are hiring commercial sex workers from Wedza. The ladies of the night parade the growth point skimpily dressed to lure the local men,” said Kaseke. “The hired girls are very young – aged between 14 and 20 years.”
She urged the chief to take action to stamp out the practise, saying “The neighbourhood watch police officers have also joined the spree. We need the real police officers to arrest the rot before our children are attracted into the oldest profession,” she said.
Dabson Muza, the Dema growth point village headman, admitted that commercial sex workers were being imported. “Yes the sex work is on the rise and business people are fanning it, but action is being taken to address the problem,” said Muza.
No respect
Kenneth Mazhindu, village headman in ward 2, said the community was increasingly becoming a hostile place for girls. “The elders don’t respect the children’s rights anymore. We are taking away their rights and imposing our will on them. We should engage with them on marriage issues. It is the role of the elders to teach children to abstain and delay marriage for them to realise full development physically, mentally, socially, economically and in every aspect of life,” he said.
Amai Mambo revealed that cases of failed marriages involving young women were dominating the chief’s court. “Three-quarters of cases at the chief’s court are involving young women who quit their marriages after realising the devastating effects of child marriage. The village heads should work extra hard to educate our people on the evil of domestic violence, child rights and early marriage,” she said.
According to the Ministry of Gender the incidence of early marriage in Zimbabwe remains unchanged over the last decade. Comparing 2009 and 2014 statistics suggests that the proportion of women aged 15 to 49 years married before the age of 15 years hovers around five percent while the proportion of women age 20 to 49 years married before the of age 18 years is about 33 percent.
The proportion of men age 15 to 49 years married before 15 years is only 0.3 percent while that of men age 20 to 49 years married before 18 years is only four percent.
Castrate them
Martha Nekati of New Apostolic Church, who is also the Seke Coordinator of Shamwari Yemwanasikana, said castration of child abusers was the answer to child abuse. “Errant church members driving child marriages and cases of rape should be castrated. The church does not teach or allow this so the perpetrators should be dealt with convincingly,” she said.
Chief Seke promised to take action against wayward subjects. “I will engage the business community on the issue of commercial sex workers and institute investigations with the assistance of the Zimbabwe Republic Police,” he said.
But he added that the lasting solution to early marriages and abuse lay in educating the target groups. “Our school curricula should be tailor-made to equip and empower the children to have full understanding of their rights and how to report and so on.
“Men also need education to realise that they can actually transform from perpetrators of violence and child abuse to protectors of girls and women, because it is men who abuse these children, marry them at young age and charge roora (bride price),” said the chief.
Post published in: Gender Equality