{"id":13666,"date":"2016-01-25T05:49:59","date_gmt":"2016-01-25T05:49:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/?p=13666"},"modified":"2016-01-25T06:30:04","modified_gmt":"2016-01-25T06:30:04","slug":"child-marriage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/child-marriage","title":{"rendered":"Zimbabwe\u2019s Highest Court Outlaws Child Marriage"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"a6b39195b99473d6c9dd698db2668010\" data-index=\"1\" style=\"float: none; margin:2px 0 2px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<center>\r\n\r\n<script type='text\/javascript'>\r\nfunction ShorterThan(widthMax) {\r\n                if (screen.width < widthMax) {return true;}  \r\n                else {return false}\r\n    }\r\nvar LimitWidth = 728\r\nvar MobileZoneID = 348996\r\nvar DesktopZoneID = 348995   \r\n<!--\/\/<![CDATA[\r\n   document.MAX_ct0 ='';\r\n   var m3_u = (location.protocol=='https:'?'https:\/\/cas.criteo.com\/delivery\/ajs.php?':'https:\/\/cas.criteo.com\/delivery\/ajs.php?');\r\n   var m3_r = Math.floor(Math.random()*99999999999);\r\n   document.write (\"<scr\"+\"ipt type='text\/javascript' src='\"+m3_u);\r\n   if (ShorterThan(LimitWidth)) {document.write (\"zoneid=\"+MobileZoneID);} else {document.write (\"zoneid=\"+DesktopZoneID);}\r\n   document.write(\"&nodis=1\");\r\n   document.write ('&cb=' + m3_r);\r\n   if (document.MAX_used != ',') document.write (\"&exclude=\" + document.MAX_used);\r\n   document.write (document.charset ? '&charset='+document.charset : (document.characterSet ? '&charset='+document.characterSet : ''));\r\n   document.write (\"&loc=\" + escape(window.location));\r\n   if (document.referrer) document.write (\"&referer=\" + escape(document.referrer));\r\n   if (document.context) document.write (\"&context=\" + escape(document.context));\r\n   if ((typeof(document.MAX_ct0) != 'undefined') && (document.MAX_ct0.substring(0,4) == 'http')) {\r\n       document.write (\"&ct0=\" + escape(document.MAX_ct0));\r\n   }\r\n   if (document.mmm_fo) document.write (\"&mmm_fo=1\");\r\n   document.write (\"'><\/scr\"+\"ipt>\");\r\n\/\/]]>--><\/script>\r\n<\/center>\n<\/div>\n<p>Zimbabwe&#8217;s Constitutional Court banned child marriage and rose the legal marriage age to 18 for all genders. The court ordered:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cNo person, male or female, in Zimbabwe may enter into any marriage, including an unregistered customary law union or any other union, including one arising out of religion or a religious rite, before attaining the age of eighteen.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0Before, the legal ages had been 16 for females and 18 for males. This is a big step for gender equality in the country.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Former child brides challenged the law<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The nation had first taken steps against child marriage in 2013 in its <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.constituteproject.org\/constitution\/Zimbabwe_2013.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">constitution<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, which states that:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;no marriage is entered into without the free and full consent of the intending spouses\u201d and \u201cchildren are not pledged in marriage.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">But this did not eradicate the problem. Two women, who were married before they turned 18, appealed the court to officially raise the legal marriage age. In 2014, Loveness Mudzuru and Ruvimbo Tsopodzi challenged the sexist and discriminatory nature of the Marriage Act and the Customary Marriage Act, which set different rules for men and women. They argued that underage marriage is a form of child abuse and deprived women of education and opportunities. Mudzuru was married at 16 and had two children before she was 18. She said that her life as a young bride was hell.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Raising a child when you are a child yourself is hard. \u00a0I should be going to school,\u201d she said. &#8220;I really am happy that we have played an instrumental part in making Zimbabwe a safe place for girls.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13668\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13668\" style=\"width: 712px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-13668\" src=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/01\/chm79agwcaa3x2b.jpg\" alt=\"source\" width=\"712\" height=\"446\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/01\/chm79agwcaa3x2b.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/01\/chm79agwcaa3x2b-85x53.jpg 85w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 712px) 100vw, 712px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13668\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/CHm79aGWcAA3x2b.jpg\">source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>Cycle of poverty<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The court\u2019s ruling noted child marriage has &#8220;<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">horrific consequences<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u201d Some of those consequences are: exposing young women to domestic and sexual violence, cutting their education short, and trapping them in poverty. Furthermore, girls married before 18 have a higher risk of contracting HIV. And pregnancy is <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.icrw.org\/child-marriage-facts-and-figures\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">one of the leading causes<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> of death for girls ages 15-19 globally. Yet, almost a third of girls in the country marry before they are 18 and 4% marry before they turn 15. It remains a common practice mostly due to cultural and religious norms and poverty, particularly in rural areas. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>&#8220;Young girls who marry early and often in poor families are then forced to produce young children in a sea of poverty and the cycle begins again,\u201d Mudzuru said.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Many parents marry off their young daughters to lessen the burden on their household finances and to obtain dowry payments.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13669\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13669\" style=\"width: 704px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-13669\" src=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/01\/child-marriage-west-africa-632x316.jpg\" alt=\"source\" width=\"704\" height=\"352\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/01\/child-marriage-west-africa-632x316.jpg 632w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/01\/child-marriage-west-africa-632x316-600x300.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/01\/child-marriage-west-africa-632x316-85x43.jpg 85w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 704px) 100vw, 704px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13669\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/static2.blog.corriereobjects.it\/sociale\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/196\/files\/2016\/01\/child-marriage-west-africa-632x316.jpg?v=1453566057\">source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>The ruling is being praised<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The court is being praised globally for their ruling. A spokesperson for UNICEF in the country said that the organization welcomes the ruling. The spokesperson added:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>\u201cbeyond this ruling, we need to put in place measures that address the causes of child marriages. This will require the concerted efforts of all &#8211; families, communities, traditional and religious leaders, and state institutions.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) also welcomed the ruling. They released a statement saying &#8220;<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Child marriages pose a serious risk to the lives and future of children particularly girls, as well as to the developmental aspirations of a nation<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13670\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13670\" style=\"width: 700px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13670\" src=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/01\/cuq4gapweaarf94.jpg\" alt=\"source\" width=\"700\" height=\"385\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/01\/cuq4gapweaarf94.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/01\/cuq4gapweaarf94-600x330.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/01\/cuq4gapweaarf94-85x47.jpg 85w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13670\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/CUq4gapWEAARF94.jpg:large\">source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/conflict-zones\">SEE ALSO:\u00a024 Million Children Living In Conflict Zones Cannot Attend School.<\/a><\/p>\n<!--CusAds0-->\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Zimbabwe&#8217;s Constitutional Court banned child marriage and rose the legal marriage age to 18 for<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":13669,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[46],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Zimbabwe\u2019s Highest Court Outlaws Child 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