MR.

MAPIKI:
Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. Firstly, I would like to thank Hon.
Maondera for raising this motion on child marriages. I am happy
because the year 2015 has reflected that both sides of the House
have decided to execute their mandate without much noise. They
have committed themselves as Members of Parliament so that there
is progress.
I think that this issue of child marriages that is being debated here,
we should also have looked at the issue of the male children who
are being forced into marriages and are getting married to elderly
women. I think it is an issue that we need to look into. If we talk of
certain issues, let us look at both sides. There were other problems
that happened with organisations that deal with such issues. They
end up inviting women Parliamentarians and leave out the male
Parliamentarians yet the latter are the ones who will be doing these
things. I am saying that such organisations should include the men
in such workshops so that all Parliamentarians can support each
other on such motions.
I realise that the issue of child marriages is being caused by poverty.
If you look at areas like Chikwarakwara, 30% of the children who are
undergoing child marriages are getting married because of poverty.
One is forced to marry out his child because of poverty. Some of
them are being forced to get married to their brothers-in-law after
the death of their aunts so that they can inherit their aunts or
sisters wealth. Therefore, the law should address these issues.
The other cause of child marriage is because of traditional healers
who have their ways of exorcising spirits. Fearing the traditional
healers, the parents end up giving up their children into early
marriages. I think all those who gather for a ceremony of marrying
out a child should be arrested. All people should know that the child
whom they wish to give out into marriage is under-age. Like what
happens when people are caught smoking marijuana, they all get
arrested, including those who will not be smoking but were amongst
the team of those smoking.
We did a research in areas such as Mutoko and Dendera where most
child marriages are rife. We also researched on the issue of abortion
and found out that some children are aborting because their bodies
are not yet mature enough to sustain a pregnancy. These children
are below the age of 16 years. Government needs to be more
serious in addressing these issues. A child loses a lot of blood during
child-birth and it normally happens in young children. These end up
dying. We have men who are into polygamous marriages and have
about 30 wives. Out of that number, 20 will be young children.
Journalists should also have a mandate of educating these people.

Look at what happened in Budiriro. What the journalists focused on

was on the way the police were beaten up but failed to look into the
issue of the number of children who were engaged in child
marriages. This means that even ourselves who will be enacting
such laws should do something about it. The main issue was the
beating up of police officers by the Apostolic Faith followers and not
the child marriage issue. Therefore, when it comes to such issues,
we need to be serious.
The law is not stern enough because if a man in a polygamous
marriage is left scot-free, it becomes a challenge. If we look at the
statistics coming from the hospitals in terms of maternal deaths, it is
mainly these young children. Some are losing a lot of blood; they
are young and are immature to carry a pregnancy. The law should
therefore be stern.
If we leave it to the traditional leaders, it becomes a problem
because even they also have children as wives. Some of the chiefs
whom we know have children as wives and they are about 4 or 5.
Stern measures should therefore be put in place.
When it comes to the religious sects, they are also engaging in child
marriages. There are so many churches and most of them say that
they are looking for money. The men end up taking children into
marriages. Children are lured into getting into such unions with
church leaders because they think it is heavenly, but that is not the
case. I want to thank you Mr. Speaker for the opportunity that you
have given me to say these words.