Zimbabwe has taken a bold step in creating gender equality and ending extreme poverty as its nations Constitutional Court made a ruling which outlaws marriage for any person under the age of 18.
Child marriage is a human rights violation which is still widely practised in many parts of the world.
Despite the near universal commitment to end it, approximately one third of girls in developing countries, excluding China, are married early.
Zimbabwe currently has a high rate of this act, which is perceived to be a threat to the girls’ lives, health, as well as creates a major limitation to their future prospects.
Research has also attributed Child Marriage as a toxic product of poverty, because most of these girls are less educated and live in rural areas. Some of their parents who give them out in marriage believe that it will secure their future by ensuring that another family will be responsible for their care.
Across the African continent there are an estimated 14 million under-age girls married each year.
Child marriage is also a major obstacle to the development of the girls as some of them often become pregnant while still adolescents, increasing the risk of complications in pregnancy and childbirth.
This new rule is an important call in the wake of UNICEF predicting that without a change in laws and enforcement, child marriages on the continent will double by the year 2050.