ConCourt outlaws child marriage!

Give them books, not husbands...

LISBON TAWANDA CHIGWENJERE

Last year, the Day of the African Child commemorations were held under the theme, “25 years after the adoption of the African Children’s Charter: Accelerating our Collective efforts to end Child Marriage in Africa.” Last year, the African Union also declared 2015 to be the year of women’s empowerment. This year, Zimbabwe has taken a giant step towards the empowerment of young people (especially young women) by outlawing child marriage and striking off the statutes in Section 22(1) of the Marriage Act, which, for decades, had allowed children under the age of 18 years to formally get married.

The ConCourt on Wednesday 20 January 2015 ruled that Section 22(1) of the Marriage Act was inconsistent with Section 78(1) of the new Constitution, which sets 18 years as the minimum age of marriage in Zimbabwe and, as such, should be outlawed. The ruling was put in motion by an application filed by two young Zimbabwean women, Loveness Mudzuru (19) and Ruvimbo Tsopodzi (18), who approached the court challenging the Customary Marriages Act. These two young history makers were forced into early marriages through the unregistered customary law union.

Mudzuru, a mother of two and Tsopodzi, who has one child, were both married at the age of 15 while they were still going to school. In their affidavits, they argued that the law in terms of sections 20 and 22 of the Marriage Act (chapter 5:11), provided for a girl between the age of 16 and 18 to be married with joined consent of her mother and father. While stating that in terms of the Customary Act (chapter 5:07), there is no specified marriage age for persons intending to contract a customary law marriage and that the legitimate age of marriage in Zimbabwe should be 18.

Two days ago, the court ruled: “With effect from January 20, 2016, no person, male or female, may enter into marriage, including an unregistered customary law union or any other union including the one arising out of religion or religious rite, before attaining the age of eighteen (18) years.”

This means that the environment has changed - "game rachinja, shiri yabvuta rekeni" (the game has changed - the bird now holds the catapult). Children have been empowered, and this is a commendable move. It will ensure that the rights of children are protected. However, it is not the end, but a means to an end.

Child marriage is one of the biggest causes of school drop outs among girls in Zimbabwe, especially those in the marginalized areas. Child marriage, according to UNICEF, is a formal marriage or informal union before age 18, a reality for both boys and girls, although girls are disproportionately the most affected. Cases of young girls in Zimbabwe whose education has been hindered by child marriages are numerous.

Zimbabwe is a signatory to the Declaration on the Rights and Welfare of the African Child known as the African Charter on the Rights of Children. There is a provision within the Charter which requires that state parties should do everything possible to prevent child marriages.

The government should put in place more programmes to end this practice, so that young girls can have access to education and employment. This will help in reducing poverty and hunger in Africa.


Lisbon Tawanda Chigwenjere is a student of Politics and Public Management at the Midlands State University, in Zimbabwe. He is a former intern at the Youth Empowerment and Transformation Trust (YETT)

The National Youth Policy: A brutum fulmen?

TARIRO SENDERAYI

When the Roman phrase ‘brutum fulmen’ comes to mind a variety of metaphors begin to grace my mind. ‘Toothless bulldog’ some would say, others would prefer a ‘thunderless lightning bolt’ or better still, some would allude it to ‘a gun devoid of bullets’. This phrase is usually found in the archaic legal jargon that was Roman Dutch and simply means something that has no legal power or force to explore or achieve its mandate.

The National Youth Policy has been the document that the Minister of Youth at the time in 2013 endorsed as representing the needs of all young people in Zimbabwe. The Policy seeks to ensure that all young women and men are given meaningful opportunities to reach their full potential, both as individuals and as active participants in society. Furthermore, it addresses the concerns and issues critical to young people and gives direction to youth programmes and services provided by government and non-government organisations. All in all, young people and the greater Zimbabwe stand to benefit so much once this document has been given the wheels that are implementation.
Of paramount importance is that I touch on some interesting obligations that our President and the then Minister of Youth promised to undertake under this document.

Firstly, it is said that if the policy does not capture the needs of its clientele and is driven by such needs, it will fail to fulfill its purpose. This point piques my interest because in as much as this document is in existence it is failing to meet the needs of the youth of Zimbabwe. In fact, the document (as good as it is) is being dragged through the mud that is nonexistence.

The National Youth Policy is said to reflect the commitment by Government to meeting the needs and aspirations of young people as expressed by the youth themselves. Suffice to say this commitment is paper light and is still yet to roar into life at the implementation stage. This is in reference to the fact that our Governments’ commitment to young people herein is seen only as lip service because it would appear as though Government's commitments lay elsewhere. Their commitment to the young people of Zimbabwe is a question that begs an answer.

Upon close scrutiny of the guiding principles in the document, it dawns on me that we have a beautiful document before us, one if properly implemented guarantees that young people’s aspirations will be respected in the democracy that is Zimbabwe. Proper implementation will further guarantee our place as young people in the decision making processes of the nation in a transparent and just manner.

One such principle is the one that promulgates that the Government has a mandate to ensure that the overall well-being of young people is the highest priority over all else. Well this is a tricky one because it would appear as though we have to stand in line behind ‘more pressing matters’. Yet as we stand by, our generation is fast becoming one marred by alarming levels of moral decay as young people attempt to survive in an economy that has left them in either thuggery or prostitution. The economy has left them squeezing into an already flooded informal sector. Instead of receiving the “highest priority”, young people have been tossed to the sidewalk as our elders buzz through the tarmac that is devoid of any potholes. We don’t ask for much but for a way to sustain ourselves in a decent manner like our fathers did.

Secondly, the government promised to mainstream youth issues in terms of ensuring that the needs, opportunities and challenges faced by young men and women are the concern of the whole society. Right, with this principle it is only fair that I dial direct to the pertinent issues. Our needs can be narrowed to one…JOBS. We need jobs and an opportunity to sustain ourselves. It is not as if we want to be spoon fed but we want our university qualifications to afford us with reasonable jobs and opportunities in a thriving economy. Another need is of quality and accessible education. With the hike of tuition fees at our state universities, we cannot help but wonder if this does not defeat or impede the purpose of the NYP document.

In terms of opportunities, there is no opportunity that comes as a result of pure merit nowadays. Instead, it is all centered on whom you know and are affiliated with. An opportunity comes under the guise of being one, yet there are so many strings attached to it that end up turning that opportunity into a sad puppet show.

As for challenges faced, I can only highlight one that most of us come across almost on a day-to-day basis. In a bid to irk a living young people have turned to vending and in so doing have to bear with the brunt of council authorities constantly unleashing untold terror on them. That terror is either in the form of violence inflicted upon them physically or the destruction of their wares. Ultimately, their wares are stolen all in the name of putting the house in order. This challenge is one I think should be addressed immediately because young people have fast become the most disgruntled and have lost all hope for their generation. This is not a good look for the future of Zimbabwe.

Another eyebrow raising guiding principle is that of our Government promising that transparency and accessibility shall lace institutions and programmes whose objective is catapulting youth development. It is my opinion that transparency was not exercised when young people were allocated loans to spearhead various projects in previous years. The rumor mill is grinding out allegations that some of the beneficiaries of that programme fell outside the bracket of youth in terms of age. What does makes things worse is that we are on the verge of the LEAF (Localized Empowerment Accelerated Fund) of USD $10 million being disbursed and chances of history repeating itself are very high.

A transparency mechanism that needs to be put in place is one that publicizes the names of the so-called beneficiaries, their age, their constituencies, the projects they are undertaking and the amount of money they will be allocated. Better yet a data base should be created even online where those wishing to be motivated by previous beneficiaries can actually see what projects they undertook and progress therein. This information should not be a secret but should be easily accessible at any given time. Those who fail to repay the loans should have their names published so that they can bow their heads in shame and be brought to book. This is an accountability mechanism so that future beneficiaries know the repercussions that come as a result of failure to meet the promised obligation.

One such guiding principle that touches base with me as a young person in Zimbabwe is the one about prioritizing youth participation in national development, democratic and civic decision making processes. We strive for that open dialogue between young people and decision makers so as to incorporate the needs of young people in overall governance of the nation. In as much as we may lobby for that open dialogue, I think it is time to shift the focus and lobby instead for equal representation of youth in Parliament.

The status quo has us making a lot of noise whilst locked out of a giant iron door. Therefore, change shall be guaranteed once we have secured a significant number of seats in Parliament, instead of the current situation whereby ninety percent of our Members of Parliament are grey haired if not white haired already. Our days of being locked out of decision making processes shall be a thing of the distant past when we have almost fifty percent of youthful blood flowing through the veins of Parliament.

That being said, I urge all young people to take time out of their schedules and read the National Youth Policy and be informed on what exactly the document embodies. Having done so, for the National Youth Policy to achieve its mandate, we call on young people from all spheres and walks of life to come together with legal young minds to draft a legislative instrument we see fit to jump start the policy to life. Upon drafting it we keep in mind the ideologies found in the document. The end result shall be submitted to the Ministry of Youth and we shall not give them the chance to sit on it but will not rest until it has reached implementation.


Tariro Senderayi is a former law student at the Midlands State University, in Zimbabwe. She is currently availing her expertise at a youth-led organization called the Organizing for Zimbabwe Trust (O4Z)

Child beggars… parents to blame?

Let children be children

TARIRO SENDERAYI

When the word "child" comes to mind, it is usually associated with a lot of play, fun, school and laughter. These are the activities that children indulge in as part of their growth process. However, we have seen a breed of children in the streets of Harare or any other urban city of our country, taking to work through begging. Who is to blame for this predicament?

The Constitution defines a child as “any boy or girl who is below the age of 18”. A child as a minor is incapable of making any decision that affects his or her life, hence the need for a major - through a parent or guardian above the age of majority - to stand as its custodian. In exercising their representative capacity for the child, the parent or guardian is expected to safeguard the best interests of that child over and above all things. This provision is enshrined in the Constitution. Is it in the child’s best interest to be deprived of education, play or fun by parents who use their children as modes of survival through begging?

A child is entitled to play and learning as part of the socialization process and growth. But it would appear as though there is an increased number of children who beg for a living, or beg after school hours, in the process being deprived of both and much more. A stolen childhood is the end result.

What pulls at your heartstrings even the more is that these innocent children, most barely in their teens, are roped into this lifestyle by their own parents who are supposed to be their custodians. A child of the streets who has been born to a begging parent is being used as a front to manipulate generous givers. The parent has seen that the only way the general populace can be over generous or nudged to be generous is if they are ensnared by the pitiful faces of these children who will be asking for donations especially in the form of money.

Most of these children have not reached teenage hood. Their parents rely on the notion that the younger the begging child is, the more generous the loot. These parents actually sit in the peripheries or out of plain sight whilst monitoring the movements of their begging children. Those who beg after school hours are given a target of how much to bring home after “a day’s work”. Failure to do so has some dire consequences such as the deprivation of food.

What I greatly doubt is how much they benefit directly from whatever they would have acquired in a day’s work. Or maybe their “employers” just take the spoils without reimbursing the ones who worked for them?

Surely, who is to blame? Has the economic dwindle failed our children and influenced them to turn to begging as a way of survival, yet in turn robbing them of the childhood they deserve? Or have their own parents failed them much more by being the force behind the begging children? Some parents, upon being quizzed, actually say that they have no choice but to use their children as means of sustaining the family. I believe that in as much as the situation might be dire, as a custodian of that child and the major in that situation, you have a choice. You have a choice to let your child be a child. Let that child enjoy his or her childhood without interference from anything or anyone. Show love to your child by working hard and doing the begging yourself, in order to sustain your family.

Let children be children!


Tariro Senderayi is a former law student at the Midlands State University, in Zimbabwe. She is currently availing her expertise at a youth-led organization called the Organizing for Zimbabwe Trust (O4Z)

Madalas, prepare ye room for the youth!

Youth do not have a seat on the political bus...Politicians just take them anywhere they want

LISBON TAWANDA CHIGWENJERE

There is a voice in Zimbabwe crying, prepare ye room for the youth. The youth want to lead. The youth want to occupy the corridors of power.

The youth want to cause changes in Zimbabwe, but the old madalas are occupying the rooms. When I was born, they were in the room. When I went to kindergarten, they were in the room. When I went to primary school, they were in the room. When I went to high school, they were in the room. When I went to university, they were in the room.

Now I want to get into the room, and they are still in the room! When will they leave the rooms they occupied since 1980? There is a voice in Zimbabwe crying, prepare ye room for the youth!

Yesterday, I visited the Parliament of Zimbabwe. I saw the lawmakers seated on their benches, debating on a motion. I looked around for young people, but I couldn’t find them. There was no young person in the room. I could only see the hoary head and the face of the old man.

Our National Assembly consists of 252 members, yet the youth constitute less than a quarter of that number! This means that all the laws that have been enacted in Zimbabwe are anti-youth. How can a group that constitutes more than 60% of the Zimbabwean population constitute less than 25% of the House of Assembly?

Our parliamentarians should not represent constituencies only, but social groups also. That’s why there is a quota for women representation in our parliament, but where is the quota for youth representation? Where are the seats for young people? I could not find them, and then I cried, “Prepare ye room for the youth!”

Yesterday, I also visited the Zanu PF headquarters, the MDC headquarters, as well as the offices of smaller political parties in Zimbabwe. I toured their premises, looking around for young people, but I couldn’t find them. There was no room for them in political parties.

If ever there was any young person in the room, they were just helpless people. They were not given the opportunity to run as candidates in elections. And if they were given that opportunity, the elderly majority did not vote for them. They were despised. They were kept as ordinary card-holding members. Their situation looked familiar to me. They were like touts holding on to the outside rear of a moving bus, and the elders were the passengers, directing the bus wherever they wanted it to go.

The youth just hung helplessly outside the bus. They did not have a say on their destination. As I looked into the bus, I could see only a few young people. These ones had been baptized by the elders into a muddy ideological river. They had become conservatives, just like their patriarchs. They had the bodies of the youth, but their souls were those of the ancients. They had voices, but the words they spoke were not theirs. And then I cried, “Prepare ye room for the youth!”

Yesterday, I also visited the villages and wards in our country. I looked into the Village Development Committee, and into the Ward Development Committee, but I could not see any young person therein. The older guys, especially the headman in the villages, did not want to include young people in their committees. They regarded them as rowdy and undisciplined. They viewed them as drunkards and troublemakers.

But then, I remembered a Shona proverb which goes like, “Ane benzi ndiye ane rake, kudzana unopururudza” which is translated to say “When a lunatic child dances, the mother applauds”. This means no matter how foolish your child may seem; he remains your child. What the parent should do is to train up that child in the way that he should go, rather than marginalize him.

So when I saw this marginalization of young people in Zimbabwe, I felt sorry for our country. The reason why I felt sorry for our country is because the greatest resource that any country has is its youth, and failure to invest in this resource is failure to invest in the country’s future.

There is a voice in Zimbabwe crying, prepare ye room for the youth. The youth want to lead. The youth want to occupy the corridors of power. The youth want to cause changes in Zimbabwe, but the old madalas are occupying the rooms.


Lisbon Tawanda Chigwenjere is a student of Politics and Public Management at the Midlands State University, in Zimbabwe. He is a former intern at the Youth Empowerment and Transformation Trust (YETT)

Changing Africa

LISBON TAWANDA CHIGWENJERE

There is hope for Africa

For a long time, the African continent has been described as the permanent residence of poverty and underdevelopment. For a long time, it has been described as the home of conflict, corruption, and mismanagement. For a long time, the African continent has been labelled the “Third World”.

We have been associated with backwardness and eternal stagnation. We have been labelled slothful and barbaric. But the question is, “is this what we really are?” The answer is unequivocally NO!

The problem in Africa is the problem of ignorance and apathy, especially among the youth. Young people in Africa are not political enough. They do not seek truth, liberty, or justice. They do not bring their leaders to account. They ignore the challenges bedeviling their communities. They hear about conflict and war, but it does not move them.

They hear about epidemics and pandemics, but it does not move them. They hear about famine and hunger, but it does not move them. They hear about all of these things, but none of them moves them! They do not ask themselves, “What can I do to solve these problems?” They are not stirred to take action, so the problems grow bigger.

However, no matter how big our continental problems have become, we will be able to surmount them. I know of a little boy called David, who killed a giant with just a sling and a stone. This means that even a small person in Africa can be able to solve the challenges that we are facing today - even if their proposed solution seems too small and insignificant.

It also shows us that we do not need much in order to change our continent, but that which is available - “a sling and a stone”. I also know of a young man called Joseph, who saved Egypt and the whole world from famine. This means that even a young person in Africa can be able to end hunger in all its forms everywhere.

I know of a young woman called Esther, who saved the Israelites from annihilation. This means that even a young woman in Africa can be able to promote peace on the continent. There are young people in our time, who are changing the world with amazing solutions and witty inventions, but time would fail me to tell of their exploits.

I have profound conviction that today’s young Africans are the ones who will set in motion the rise of our continent. They are the generation that will end poverty in all its forms everywhere. They are the generation that will promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth. They are the generation that will promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation. They will promote peace in Africa.

Our young people should not respect the status quo. They should renew their minds in order to transform their lives and societies. They should educate themselves. They should decolonize their minds. They should rise from their mental wheelchairs. They should rise from their financial wheelchairs.

They should rise from their material wheelchairs. The reason why our continent is destroyed is because of lack of knowledge. Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

Education is our solution. However, in our bid to transform our continent (and the world at large) we should not forget that big things start small. An African proverb says, “Many small people, in many small places, doing many small things, can alter the face of the world.”

Let us start by solving the smallest challenges next to us. Let us feed a hungry soul. Let us clean a single street. Let us clothe a single child. Let us provide a single textbook to a single learner. Let us stop a small fight. Let us heal a small wound.

If we are faithful in little things, we will be faithful in much. That is how we will change Africa!


Lisbon Tawanda Chigwenjere is a student of Politics and Public Management at the Midlands State University, in Zimbabwe. He is a former intern at the Youth Empowerment and Transformation Trust (YETT)