Chiefs lead campaign against early marriages

Chief Madzimawe

HER advice to young girls that they should not be lured into early marriages because men are liars sent the crowd into laughter as they listened to her story at Intercontinental Hotel recently.
Ennie Mwiinga (25) of Chibombo district shared a story of how after getting pregnant was enticed into getting married that left her with nothing but regrets.
She said marriage is the worst nightmare for young girls especially due to the physical and emotional abuse they are subjected to.
“My husband would beat and insult me. All this happened when I was doing my grade nine and I couldn’t concentrate in class because all I could was dwell my thoughts on the torture I was undergoing and on my child,” Ennie said.
Currently, Ennie is on a girl power project under the auspices of Plan Zambia which is empowering girls withdrawn from early marriages with life sustaining skills.
Over 700 million girls and women globally like Ennie have been married before the age of 18.
In Zambia, 45 percent of women aged 25-49 percent being married before the age of 18, one of the highest rates in the region.
The practice of child marriage defined as a formal marriages or an informal union before the age of 18 is a reality that continues to affect many children globally.
In response to the continued prevalence of the practice, the Zambian government has launched various campaigns against the vice and has signed various treaties to fight the scourge.
Early marriages in Africa normally carry the face of rural girls who are either married off by their parents or themselves due to poverty.
This is why some chiefs have fiercely come against the scourge with hope to completely wipe it out from both their chiefdoms and the nation at large.
One shining example of a traditional leader who has earnestly fought early marriages at its core is chief Madzimawe of the Ngoni speaking of Eastern Province.
With the province having one of the highest early marriages rate at 63 percent, the traditional ruler has taken the fight personal saying girls must at all cost get an education because they have potential to contribute to national development.
His recent score against the scourge was when he managed to withdraw 15 girls from marriages this year in February and ensured they get back into school.
His remarkable success has seen him open a ‘Madzimawe foundation’ that will open up safe houses for girls withdrawn from the marriages, draw up mentorship programmes, and raise awareness against the scourge.
“The Madzimawe foundation came after we trained 85 school girls in a mentorship programme and the response we got was overwhelming. Their head teachers gave us feedback that they noted some changes in the schoolgirls and for me that was motivation enough,” chief Madzimawe remarked.
Another way the passionate activist fights early marriages is having influential female figures that can act as role models talk to the girls and inspire them to aspire for greatness in life.
However, the fight does not always come without challenges, the traditional ruler was quick to point out that girls themselves are a hindrance to the fight as they are not willing to come out of the marriages despite the seen challenges they face.
Chief Madzimawe noted that there is need to change the mindset of the girls and sensitise them on the consequences of early marriages.
He said police fail to persecute such cases because girls themselves are hostile and do not want to provide information needed by the police.
“We also face financial challenges that make it hard for the girls to complete their education. When we withdraw the girls, it is hard for us to put them back into school because we have no resources and some of them end up either staying home or getting back into marriages,” he lamented.
Another gallant fighter of early marriages is chieftainess Mwenda of the Tonga people of Southern Province.
Chieftainess Mwenda who is also God’s follower said her strength and support to fight the scourge comes from her headmen who despite being men know the importance of sending girl children to school.
The traditional leader who is a nurse by profession and ambassador against early marriages in Southern Province said she is in herself a role model to the girls.
She said “a role model doesn’t have to be that educated but as long as they are in good standing with society, they are fit to be role models. I was modelled by my mother and grandmother.”
Chieftainess Mwenda last year managed to withdraw 300 girls from early marriages and helped enrol some at Chikankata Nursing School.
She also called on other chiefs involved in the fight against this scourge to always take the girls withdrawn from marriages to her chiefdom to be enrolled in various colleges dotted in the province.
And chief Macha of the Tonga speaking people of Southern province said he has come up with a law that penalises parents who marry off young girls in his chiefdom.
He penalises people in accordance with the provisions within the chief’s Act that gives the chief power to punish anyone found wanting.
The traditional leader said he is unpopular in his chiefdom because of this policy.
“I’m however appealing to Government to build schools which are within the reach of pupils. Pupils are subjected to long distances and it is obvious that along the way girls can be lured into relationships along the way either to school or home,” he said.
It is undoubted that the involvement of traditional leaders in the fight against early marriages has potential to wipe out the scourge. And it is hoped that other chiefs can come on board and together they can and must speak with one voice against the vice.