Police retrieve eight girls from forced marriages

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Mabumba High day school,
Many children live a long way from school and prefer to rent accommodation nearby. Grade 12 pupil Dorcas, 17, stopped attending the Mabumba High day school, about 20km east of provincial capital Mansa, after becoming pregnant. She said: “We were staying the three of us [girls], then we started sharing the house with three guys and that is how we paired ourselves. We just wanted some form of emotional support; life is really tough out there. So, the whole of last year we were living together with the guys and would have [unprotected] sex almost every night but everything was OK.” ~ Dorcas. Photo Credit - Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN)

All the eight girls who were reportedly married-off at Nachupo Primary School in Mpulungu District have gone back to school.

This was after a combined team of officers from Police and the Department of Social Welfare intervened in the matter on Wednesday last week.

 

ZANIS reports that school authorities at Nachupo Primary however say that three (3) of the eight (8) girls had even passed to grade 8 but could not proceed because the parents opted to marry them off instead of letting them continue with their education.

School Head Teacher Gryton Ngandu says the rest of the girls who were also in their matrimonial homes had been withdrawn and taken back school.

 

Mr. N’gandu said parents and guardians to the girls showed willingness to withdraw their children a few days after the issue was reported in the media.

Recently, Education authorities in Mpulungu district reported the case of child marriages at Nachupo Primary school to the Police and other organisations promoting girl child education seeking their intervention in the matter.

 

And Police in the area have vowed to cramp down the practice in order to protect the rights of  the girl  children to education.

Police say it was unlawful for parents to marry off their girl children below the age of 16 according to section 138 CAP 87 of the Laws of Zambia.

5 COMMENTS

  1. Dear Editor, kindly acknowledge pictures whenever you download them off the internet. I took this picture in 2010 at Mabumba High School in Mansa, and I would have been grateful for you to credit the media organisation that bought the copyright from me – Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN).

    • Thank you so much Editors, that’s a mark of true professionalism; and keep up the good work you are doing.

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