Imagine living the life of a normal child and getting ready for school one day, and the next, suddenly getting forced into a marriage with a person old enough to be your parent. This is exactly what happened to many girls in Zimbabwe. Up until its abolishment, child marriage was prominent in Zimbabwe and had devastating effects on the girls involved.

Child marriage happens in consequence of poverty and beliefs about it. In Zimbabwe, many people live in poverty, so they marry off the female child to fetch “a higher bride price”(“Patterns-and-circumstances-of-girl-child-marriages-in-Mount-Darwin-district-in-Zimbabwe” 3). Poor families also view young girls as economic burdens, thus marrying them off would have “one mouth less to feed”(“MARRIED TOO SOON: CHILD MARRIAGE IN ZIMBABWE” 14). Zimbabwe is considered a place with extreme poverty, so the people in these circumstances are forced to do whatever they can to live. The reason that young girls are used to earn or save money is that they are viewed as inferior to the male population. Furthermore, the cycle of child marriage accordingly creates a situation where there are fewer older women to marry off, thus why young girls are used. In addition, there is a belief that marrying off a virgin daughter “brings honor and morality to the family”(“Patterns-and-circumstances-of-girl-child-marriages-in-Mount-Darwin-district-in-Zimbabwe” 4). Parents and families also believe that marrying off their daughters would lessen the “high risk of harassment and physical or sexual assault”, which would make her safer (“Girls Not Brides-Why Does Child Marriage Happen?”). These are only some of the beliefs parents or families have when they marry off their younger daughters. Like any other place, the people of Zimbabwe have their own beliefs, religious or not. They tend to follow those beliefs because they were taught to do so from their childhood, and it had become the “normal” thing to do. This leads to the question: Why would anyone marry a person so young? Specifically for girls, the biggest reason why this happens is that older men view young girls as “easier to control”(“MARRIED TOO SOON: CHILD MARRIAGE IN ZIMBABWE” 15). Children are commonly more obedient than adults because they don’t have much of a word in matters. That obedience makes them easier to have control over. Moreover, as mentioned before, the female population is viewed as inferior to the male. The effect of this is that males tend to want to be able to control their wives to prove their dominance and showcase their masculinity..

The effects of child marriage in Zimbabwe on its victim are appalling. As Ruvimbo Tspodi, a victim of child marriage, speaks of her experience in child marriage, she reveals that “[she] was made to sleep outside when [she] was pregnant”, “[she] would sleep hungry”, she used to “eat one meal a day”, and she used to be “beaten up”(“SAfAIDS TV”). In addition, another victim of child marriage, Loveness Mudzuru, described her experience in child marriage as “hell”(“Daily Sabah-Zimbabwe bans marriage for under”). As these two women portray, the experience of a victim of child marriage is awful. There is a low chance that the older significant other would respect and care for their counterpart when even the child’s parents didn’t care enough. It is highly possible that the victims are viewed as a waste of space by their new family or husband and are only there to carry and give birth to a child, specifically in a girl's case. To add on, Dr. Betty Makoni has found that child marriage affects the “physical, mental, intellectual, and social development of the girl child and heightens her social isolation”(quoted from “Patterns-and-circumstances-of-girl-child-marriages-in-Mount-Darwin-district-in-Zimbabwe” 2). Childhood is a time in a person’s life with particular health and developmental needs and rights. Moreover, it’s a period of time to develop knowledge and skills, learn to manage emotions and relationships, and acquire qualities and abilities that will be needed for their future years. A child that is underdeveloped in these qualities will most likely experience a bad quality of life in their adulthood. For example, they may have health problems, they are likely to not get a good job and may be socially limited. Furthermore, Dr. Makoni also claims that in some cases, “girls who are forced into early marriage are vulnerable to illness or death”(quoted from “Patterns-and-circumstances-of-girl-child-marriages-in-Mount-Darwin-district-in-Zimbabwe” 2). Evidence from research suggests that girls who marry before they reach the adult age are more inclined to experience unwanted pregnancies, are more exposed to sexually transmitted diseases, and are at higher risk of sexual and reproductive problems and maternal mortality. They may also be malnourished and abused, which would also cause health problems. These are only some of the effects of child marriage on the girl victim.

Child marriage was finally made illegal in the Zimbabwe Constitutional Court in 2016. Loveness and Ruvimbo “ joined Roots in 2013 and Roots partnered with Veritas”, an organization that researched and had found that girls were being married before attaining 18 years(“SAfAIDS TV”). The organizations were looking for two girls who were willing to talk about their experiences with child marriage, and Ruvimbo and Loveness decided to fill the roles. Together, they bought a compelling argument to the court, which included their experience, other girl’s experience, and factual effects of child marriage. Loveness and Ruvimbo requested for child marriage to be proclaimed an act against the constitution of Zimbabwe, their argument being that it could be called child abuse since it resulted in girls getting trapped in a life of pain. They also asked for worse punishments for anyone who is guilty of marrying a minor. The Zimbabwe High Court ruled in their favor and wrote on section 78 of the Zimbabwe Constitution that “anyone who has attained the age of 18 has the right to found a family and that no one should be compelled to marry against their will”(“Zimbabwe: Scourge of Child Marriage: Human Rights Watch”). This essentially stopped child marriage as a whole because before this rule was made, girl brides were allowed to marry at 16, which made many child marriages legal. It also, in simple words, proclaimed that no one can be forced to marry another person, which also played in making child marriage illegal.

Child marriage was very common in Zimbabwe and had horrible effects on the victims up until its suppression. Professor of International law of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service (Bushell, 2002) declares that “It is not only unclear whether children are protected against marriage at any aged, but whether they were intended to be protected”(quoted from “The Practice of Child Marriage is a Basic Violation of Human Rights”). Getting a child married against their will is a violation of their right to freedom, life, and ability to develop into a successful person.

Work Cited

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