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Transcript/ScriptZimbabwe Child Marriage Law (TV)
HEADLINE: Rights Groups in Zimbabwe Hope New Law Will End Child Marriages
TEASER:
PUBLISHED AT: 05/0a/2022 at 4:17 pm
BYLINE: Columbus Mavhunga
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Mbire, Zimbabwe
VIDEOGRAPHER: Blessing Chigwenhembe
VIDEO EDITOR:
PRODUCER:
SCRIPT EDITORS: MAS, BR
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA Original, WhatsApp
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO _X_
TRT: 2:37
VID APPROVED BY: Holly Franko
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES:))
((INTRO))
[[Authorities in Zimbabwe say more than one third of girls in the country are married before the age of 18, and in some areas more than half are minors. Rights advocates are lauding a new law that criminalizes child marriage in Zimbabwe for that first time Columbus Mavhunga reports from Mbire, Zimbabwe.]]
((NARRATOR))
Nineteen-year-old Portia Nobhula is from the Mbire area near Zimbabwe’s border with Zambia and Mozambique.
She says she was raped at 15 on her way home from school, became pregnant and then was forced to marry her attacker.
((Portia Nobhula, Married at 15))
“Our marriage was never my will. I was forced by my parents. /// I was very brilliant at school and I was messed up by men.”
((NARRATOR))
Her case is not unusual, say children’s advocates.
((FOR RADIO: Chipo Jongoro is a volunteer with a charity organization Voluntary Service Overseas.))
((Chipo Jongoro, Voluntary Service Overseas))
“The major cause of child marriages here is that children walk long distances to school, some 12 or 13 kilometers each way. So, a child ends up leaving school and since there is nothing like training in woodwork or sewing, she ends up being married.”
((NARRATOR))
Advocates and nonprofit groups are working with the government to reduce child marriage in Mbire in Mashonaland central province – where more than half (52.1%) the girls get married before they turn 18.
((FOR RADIO: Machaira Mabhande is a youth development coordinator with Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Youths in Mbire. He says eight minors in this village have been married off so far this year.
((Machaira Mabhande, Zimbabwe Ministry of Youths)) “We are doing awareness campaigns at gatherings like these, as one way to reduce the problem of child marriages. We do these campaigns with parents and girls, as well as teach them about their sexual and reproductive rights.”
((NARRATOR))
Traditional leaders are accused of promoting the practice or turning a blind eye to it.
Chief Chitsungo – a traditional leader here – says he is punishing parents who marry off their children by fining them.
((Chief Chitsungo, Traditional Leader ))
“You take a child to hospital when the child falls sick. It’s the child’s right. So we meet regularly with parents and – also – there are non-governmental groups doing awareness campaigns.”
((NARRATOR))
Legal experts say a new law criminalizing child marriage should help combat the problem.
((FOR RADIO: Lorraine Mumba - a legal officer with Women and Law in Southern Africa Zimbabwe, hopes a new marriage law changes will change the fortunes of Zimbabwean girls.))
((Lorraine Mumba - Women and Law in Southern Africa)) ((Mandatory courtesy: WhatsApp))
“There were gaps and loopholes that existed in terms of when exactly a person would contract into a marriage legally.... However, there is need for the Criminal and Codification Reform Act to introduce a clear law that stipulates child marriage as an offense and also introduces sentencing guidelines for perpetrators of child marriages.”
((NARRATOR))
Portia Nobhula is hoping other girls will not have to endure what she has.
Those convicted under the new child marriage law face up to ten years in prison - though advocates for children’s rights are pushing for a harsher sentence.
((Columbus Mavhunga, for VOA News, Mbire, Zimbabwe))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline) Mbire, Zimbabwe
Embargo DateMay 1, 2022 18:26 EDT
Byline((Columbus Mavhunga, for VOA News, Mbire, Zimbabwe))
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
