"Give us Books, Not Husbands" Child Marriage Abolition Campaign

My name is Constance Mugari the Founder and Executive Director for the Women Advocacy Project (WAP), a registered non-governmental, not for profit organization, created in 2012 by a group of women from different communities of Harare to focus more attention on the issues affecting women and girls. Our mission is to abolish child marriage, promote the rights of women and girls, and work towards women’s economic empowerment.

Child marriage remains a growing threat to the basic human rights and protection of children in Zimbabwe, and calls for appropriate measures to be taken to abolish traditional practices prejudicial to the health of children with reference to other children’s rights that are connected to child marriage, such as the right to freedom of expression and the right to protection from all forms of abuse. The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) prohibits child marriage and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) recognizes the right to free and full consent to marriage.

In the case of child or early marriage in Zimbabwe, at times parents consents on behalf of their children as they are considered to be too young to make their own decision for themselves. Both boys and girls are involved in child marriage; however, girls more often face adverse effects on their mental, physical and emotional growth. The issue of child marriage is widespread especially in areas where poverty is rampant and families lack access to alternate opportunities such as income-generating and educational programmes. In most cases, girls can be seen as an asset from which families can gain property and livestock from bride wealth exchanges. Other factors that lead to the ongoing practice of child marriage include ingrained gender bias, with a preference for sons; inadequate laws; and observance of traditional/cultural/religious practices and belief such as payment of a bride price. Early marriage has become a strategy for survival for many families across the country, whether it is relieving them of a burden or receiving a form of payment to support them.

Child marriage has a devastating impact on the health, safety, education, and lifelong ability of girls to realize a range of essential human rights. According to UNICEF, one third of all girls in Zimbabwe marry before the age of 18. Child marriage was outlawed in 2016, but it still continues because many girls lack a critical understanding of their sexual and reproductive health. Many families due to abject poverty in poor urban areas directly or indirectly force girls into early child marriage.

In response to the above situation, Women Advocacy Project implements “Give Us Books, Not Husbands” Child Marriage Abolition Campaigns aimed at speaking out on the elimination of child marriage in Zimbabwe, inform the community effects that child marriage has impacted in the victims live, raise awareness for girls ‘education support and ask the government to allow the rule of law on cases concerning child marriage.

This campaign has led to the creation of other initiatives including:

• Ambassadors Against Child Marriage, an innovative program that was launched in 2018 by WAP and has trained several tough-minded girls to serve as “Ambassadors Against Child Marriage.” The ambassadors lead several “Give Us Books, Not Husbands” girls’ clubs in impoverished communities where child marriage is common.

• “Stand Up, Speak Out” Training, a program that is being implemented by WAP in partnership with Girls Not Brides, a global partnership of more than 1400 CSOs. In Zimbabwe, the network is building on the momentum created by the 2016 Marriage Act to denounce Child Marriage.

• Story-telling through embroidery – the Zimbabwe Child Marriage Quilt: In 2019, several girls in Epworth and Chitungwiza described the problem of child marriage through embroidered panels, with help from McLane, a Peace Fellow from AP. The panels were then assembled into an advocacy quilt which was used by WAP to present at the ICPD25 international conference.

I am very pleased and proud to become a member of the World Pulse today. I do strongly believe that together as a community, we can accomplish as much as possible by empowering our girls and women through education.