Zhombe: Beneath the golden glow of the African sun, a dark truth simmers in the rural district. Child marriages, a cruel theft of childhood, run rampant. Every week, an estimated five young girls trade their textbooks for bride prices, their futures sacrificed to a deeply rooted tradition fueled by poverty and parental desperation.

Member of Parliament Eddie Samambwa, his voice heavy with frustration, paints a grim picture. “Parents, the very people meant to protect these girls, become their jailers,” he laments. Blinded by the promise of meagre dowries, they surrender their daughters to the shackles of early marriage, extinguishing their dreams before they even flicker.

The consequences are stark. Schools become empty nests, echoing with the absence of girls stolen away in the bloom of youth. Education, the key to unlocking a brighter future, is cruelly ripped away, replaced by the harsh realities of domesticity and motherhood.

But Samambwa refuses to surrender. He calls for a united front, urging stakeholders – community leaders, traditional chiefs, and even the distant halls of government – to break the chains of this harmful practice. He yearns for a Zhombe where girls are not commodities, but cherished seeds of potential, ready to blossom if only given the chance.

This story is not just about statistics or blame. It’s about the stolen laughter, the silenced dreams, and the shattered innocence of countless girls. It’s a call to action, a plea to shift the narrative. To rewrite the tradition, not by erasing it, but by infusing it with the values of education, empowerment, and the fundamental right of every child – a childhood.

So, let us not forget the girls of Zhombe. Let their stolen futures ignite a fire within us, a fire that burns bright enough to illuminate a path towards a future where tradition and progress walk hand-in-hand, where girls are not brides, but builders of their own destinies.