HARARE, Zimbabwe \u2014\u00a0Chiedza Sobwe, 20, fell pregnant aged 15 while still in school. Still, her parents forced her into an abusive marriage with a 20-year-old man from Chitungwiza, 30 kilometers [18.6 miles] south of Harare, Zimbabwe\u2019s capital city.<\/p>\n
She sought help from a neighbor who introduced her to a local movement that advances the rights of young girls,\u00a0Shamwari YeMwanasikana<\/a>, who facilitated her return to her parents.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a painful experience since I was very young. But in our culture, it\u2019s a disgrace to the family to fall pregnant before marriage. My parents were so frustrated and humiliated that they married me off without considering that I was still a minor.\u201d<\/p>\n Not many minors in her situation are as fortunate.<\/p>\n Fourteen-year-old Anna Memory Machaya died on July 15 while giving birth at an indigenous apostolic church shrine in Marange, east of Zimbabwe.<\/p>\n Machaya\u2019s death attracted national and global attention, and an\u00a0online petition<\/a>\u00a0demanding justice for her has surpassed 94 000 signatures.<\/p>\n Machaya\u2019s parents and Momberume\u2014who is facing charges of rape and sleeping with a minor\u2014have since been arrested and remanded in custody, awaiting trial.<\/p>\n Zimbabwe has a maternal mortality ratio of 462 deaths per 100,000 live births, according to the World Health Organization\u2019s 2019\u00a0Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey<\/a>.<\/p>\n It also said pregnancy and childbirth complications are the leading cause of death among girls aged 15\u201319 years globally.<\/p>\n In 2020, the World Health Organization\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0that adolescent mothers (ages 10-19 years) face higher risks of eclampsia,\u00a0puerperal endometritis<\/a>, and systemic infections than women aged 20 to 24 years.<\/p>\n Babies of adolescent mothers face higher risks of low birth weight, preterm delivery, and severe neonatal conditions said the report.<\/p>\n A Zimbabwean Constitutional Court\u00a0ruled<\/a>\u00a0in 2016 that child marriages were unconstitutional and set 18 as the minimum age for marriage.<\/p>\n However, delays in realigning the\u00a02013 constitution<\/a>\u00a0with the\u00a0Guardianship of Minors Act,<\/a>\u00a0which gives parents and guardians power to consent to underage marriages, derail the fight against the practice.<\/p>\n Following Machaya\u2019s case, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi urged MPs to speedily pass the\u00a0Guardianship of Minors Amendment Bill, 2021,<\/a>\u00a0which seeks to bar parents from consenting to child marriages.<\/p>\n \u201cChild marriages are a topical issue,\u201d Ziyambi told Parliament on Aug. 24.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to barricade all the avenues of this practice. In the worrisome case of Anna Machaya, it is alleged that the deceased minor\u2019s marriage was consented to by the parents. The Constitution accords the right to find a family only to those who have reached the age of 18.\u201d<\/p>\n The Bill would delete Section 4 (1) (b) of the\u00a0Guardianship of Minors Act<\/a>\u00a0which states that:<\/p>\n \u201cIf it is proved that it would be in the interests of the minor to do so, [the high court can] grant to either parent the sole guardianship, which shall include the power to consent to a marriage\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Child marriages are prevalent in Zimbabwe, especially among the indigenous apostolic churches that command millions of followers and encourage polygamy.<\/p>\n