Constitutional Court Ruling on Child Marriages

The Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) applauds the Constitutional Court of Zimbabwe for handing down a progressive judgment today, the 20th of January 2016, in which marriage of children under the age of 18 years has been outlawed. The judgement will go a long way in preserving the sexual reproductive health and human rights of minors who are below the age of 18.
ZADHR has always campaigned for the abolition of early and forced child marriages, emphasizing that such marriages compromise the health, education and basic human rights of the child.
The Constitution of Zimbabwe in terms of section 81 guarantees that children under the age of 18 years have the right to health, the right to be protected from sexual exploitation or any other form of abuse, the right to education, and the right to be protected by the law. In abolishing child marriages the Constitutional Court of Zimbabwe has given life to section 81. However, there is need to realign any laws which are at variance with the constitution’s provisions and which are at variance with the judgement.
Early and forced child marriages are known to perpetuate the cycle of poverty. Every year, worldwide, it is estimated that 15 million girls, some as young as five years old are forced into marriage. Over 700 million women worldwide alive today were married as children and that 1 in every 3 girls in the developing world is married by the age of 18. Judging from such statistics it is clear that early marriages are inimical to development and predisposes young girls to health complications such as HIV/AIDS, cervical cancer, fistulas and stunted growth in children born of young mothers, factors which also lead to an increase in both maternal and child mortality.
In light of the foregoing, ZADHR will intensify its efforts in campaigning against early and forced child marriages. It has been observed that early marriages in Zimbabwe are most common in former commercial farming areas and amongst certain religious sects. The Constitutional Court judgement thus opens up space for civic education and empowerment of the girl child and communities through mass awareness of the girl child and women in general.