Buoyed by a slight decrease in child marriages last year, government has moved a gear up and is now engaging traditional leaders to speed up abolishment of the vice especially in rural communities.
Addressing the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC) workshop in the capital recently, health and child care minister Dr Obadiah Moyo said child marriages violates the fundamental human rights of girls below 18 years of age.
“In an effort to end child marriages, the government has been engaging traditional leaders to end the practice of child marriages.
“Child marriage violates the fundamental human rights of girls below 18 years of age,” said Moyo.
In an interview with 263Chat, Chief Chikwaka of Goromonzi highlighted that as chiefs, they are doing all they can to end child marriages.
“Personally l don’t tolerate child marriages. A child must get married when she now knows what it means. Such challenges are now common not only in rural areas, in urban areas too where there are effects of the economic meltdown,” said Chief Chikwaka.
African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child’s mission is to promote and protect the rights established by the ACRWC, to practice applying these rights, and to interpret the disposition of the ACRWC as required of party states, AU institutions, or all other institutions recognized by AU or by a member state.
