Mangochi discusses child marriages
People of Namalaka Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Namabvi in Mangochi District say poverty, lack of parental guidance, parents’ cruelty and lack of role models are leading to early marriages in the area.
Speaking yesterday during a meeting with officials from More Than Brides Alliance, social welfare, health officials, police, youth department, among other stakeholders, group village head Namalaka said most girls in his area get married as early as the age of 13.
Commenting on the same, the area’s community-based educator John Francis said parents who marry-off their children or wards below the age of 18 are reported to Social Welfare or police.
“We advise parents to protect their children from early marriages because they breed a generation of poor families among our communities,” he said.
In his remarks, More Than Brides Alliance country coordinator Kasuzi Mbaluko warned parents and guardians against marrying off their children below the age of 18.
He said the prevalence of child marriages prompted the alliance to embark on a project called, Marriage: No Child’s Play, as one of the initiatives to end the malpractice.
More than Brides Alliance comprises YouthNet and Counselling, Girls Empowerment Network (Genet) and Save the Children.
The meeting was organised by Youth Net and Counselling. The alliance is being supported by Simavi of the Netherlands.
