Sakala Reporters A concerned citizen who is a resident of Lusaka has advised parents, legal guardians and the girl children themselves t...
A concerned citizen who is a resident of Lusaka has advised parents, legal guardians and the girl children themselves to say no to any format of child marriage arrangements. In an interview with Sakala Reporters the man who refused to disclose his identity to the general public said enough is enough.
These child marriages have brought a lot of problems in our society both In the rural and urban areas. "We can't go on watching while the situation gets out of hand" he said. Parents must be responsible and ensure that they provide for their families as the number one cause of this unfortunate situation is poverty (hunger) we must fight poverty in the homes otherwise we will continue exposing the girl child to some temptations which thing is not good.
He said at times its the parents who have a tendency of pushing their daughters into some unreasonable marriage arrangements because they can not take their daughters to school or provide there needs while in some instances some parents opts to give their daughters who are below legal age and by law are not capable of giving valid legal consent to marriage and see. He gave an example of how some guardians want to resolve their debt by offering their daughters, nieces or grand daughters to the debtor they owe money there by destroying and disturbing the future and destiny of these young girls who are 13, 14 or 15 years of age and are not physically, emotionally and psychologically ready to handle child bearing, and other marital responsibilities.
Worse of all at times its the same girls who want to quit school to enter into some marriage arrangements and it's very devastating the consequences of such behaviour. The same man whose identify has been withheld at his request further said that there is need to senstise the general public on the disadvantages of early marriages at the same time educate them on the importance of girl child education and how it's beneficial to the girls them selves, their families and the community as a whole. He also noted that lack of recreation facilities have made our youths idle and as a result they are drawn to all kinds of temptations like pre marital sex, alcohol and drug abuse just to keep busy. He further made an appeal to the government to come up with stiffer punitive measures that will help to deal with this matter decisively. But the Sakala reporters after listening to the same man who is a global ambassador and a visionary man asked him what he thought about the story that has been in the news for some time, the unfortunate story of young Agnes 8 who has been turned into a sex slave by her uncle and grand father defiling her by having unlawful carnal knowledge of the said minor and when the defile her uncle was arrested and later leased. That concerned citizen became emotional and sad saying "justice justice justice, where can you be found in this country? Are you only for the rich and powerful? And will not consider the tears, agony, anguish and molestation of Agnes?
He expressed disappointment in the police and the law enforcement agencies. He wondered if we still have the human rights commission in this country or they only are available to resolve disputes for the political party concerns like in the Sesheke incident. Last but not least he appealed to the people of this great nation to report all forms of child marriages to the police because it illegal and it's a crime. He then commended End Child Marriage and the #Ubuntu champions who have embarked on a serious campaign against child marriages and abuse against women and girls.
Sakala Reporters
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