In many cases young women are married to much older men while her parents and village elders support it. The young women are then forced to leave school and any hope for an education to become housewives and bearers of children. While technically illegal for minors to marry in Zimbabwe under the Domestic Violence Act, the problem continues to grow since members of the sect are complicit and secretive. Most marriages are arrange to be between older men and young underage girls and in some cases men even take on multiple wives that are all underage. The ongoing ordeal has forced Zimbabwean authorities to step up efforts to stop the practice that has forced thousands of girls in the Marange, Odzi and Buhera districts of Manicaland to drop out of school.
Archive for May, 2009
Poverty and religion behind early marriages in Zimbabwe
Friday, May 29th, 2009Saudi Arabia to control all girl marriages
Friday, May 22nd, 2009The government of Saudi Arabia has stepped in to control all marriages of young women after an incident where a local court refused to nullify a marriage between a 58 yr old male and a 8 yr old girl. The current laws allow a father to marry off his daughter as they see fit to keep their bloodlines the way they want them to be. This has also led the way to parents marrying off their daughters for financial or political gain. The new laws will oversee all marriages of young women to make sure that “”preserve the rights, fending off blights to end the negative aspects of underage girls’ marriage,” and will not actually ban underage marriages in the country.
Japan forces girl to chose between family and country
Friday, May 15th, 2009Niroko Calderon is only 13 years old and she has had to chose whether to stay in the country of her birth or be deported along with her parents back to the Philippines. Her parents came to Japan on illegal passports and have lived in Japan since before her birth. They have finally been caught and are being deported back to the Philippines. Niroko was given a choice to stay in Japan which is the only home she has ever known or go with her parents to a place she does not know and does not speak the language of. The poor girl chose to stay in Japan since life can be better for her in a place like Tokyo rather than the much poorer Philippines.
40% of children suffer from PTSD in rebel captivity
Friday, May 8th, 2009A study of over 1000 children that have been abducted in Uganda has shown that over 40% suffer from some form of Post Dramatic Stress Disorder. 40% of all children held by the rebel forces for over one month suffered from PSTD and 27% of those held less than one month were affected. Most of the children that were held captive were recruited to become fighters for their militias noting that children are fearless fighters that are disposable and easy to maintain. Once released children would not report what has happened to them for fear that they would be found again in their homes.
Australia bans man from circumcising his daughter
Friday, May 1st, 2009A family court in Australia has pulled the passport of a man and his daughter to prevent him from taking her to Africa for a “cutting”. The Australian man is of African decent and it is quite common for females to get “cut” or have their genitals mutilated when they become of age. The Female Circumcision is common practice in Africa but it is highly opposed by the World Health Organization and it has been against the law to do any such act in Australia since the early 1990s. The man failed to appear in court to hand in his passport so there is no word if the court order will actually prevent anything.