Mashonaland West representative Hon. Mutsa Murombedzi has expressed concern over the rising number of pr3gnancies among minors, calling for a national unity to combat early child marriages.
In a recent statement, Hon. Murombedzi said, “Thank you very much, yes we’ve read in the newspapers that we’ve got over 600 minors that fell pr3gnant in the past year.
This is quite a high statistic and very unacceptable. We need to work as a country to fight child marriage.
We need to work as a country to fight child pr3gnancy.”
The legislator emphasised the need for collective action to address the issue, stating, “It is not good to have girls that are being married at a very young age.
Those girls will be thrown directly into the cycle of poverty, so we need to fight that cycle as a country at village level, at district level, and at national level.”
Hon. Murombedzi’s concerns come amid reports of increasing cases of early child marriages and teenage pr3gnancies in Zimbabwe.
According to statistics, over 600 minors fell pr3gnant in the past year alone, highlighting the urgent need for action to address this issue.
Early child marriages are a significant problem in Zimbabwe, with many girls forced into marriage before the age of 18.
The practice is often driven by poverty, lack of education, and cultural and traditional practices.
The consequences of early child marriages are severe, with girls often facing increased risk of domestic viol3nce, s3xual exploitation, and limited access to education and economic opportunities.
Hon. Murombedzi’s call for national unity to combat early child marriages comes as the government has launched initiatives aimed at reducing the prevalence of early child marriages.
These initiatives include education and awareness campaigns, as well as programs aimed at providing support services to v!ctims of early child marriages.
SOURCE ; NEWSREPORTZIM.COM
