Zim, SA artists launch campaign against early child marriages

Lazarus Sauti

A Zimbabwean Afro-soul artist and South African poet as well as motivational writer have joined the fight to end early child marriages which continue to affect the girl child in Zimbabwe and Southern Africa by collaborating through music and poetry and use it as a platform to create social cohesion.

Taderera Mabvudzi, better known as Shamie of the Shame and Nathan fame and Haroldene Tshienda recently toured five schools in Kambuzuma high density suburb in Zimbabwe to raise awareness through music and poetry in a bid to end early child marriages.

“We toured Wadzanai, Kurai and Rukudzo Primary Schools as well as Kambuzuma 1& 2 High Schools to promote human rights, create social cohesion and eliminate early child marriages through education.

“We started with Zimbabwe because it is one of the countries with the highest rates of child marriages on the African continent.

“An estimated 30 percent of girls are married off before turning 18 and another four percent before they turned 15 in this country alone,” said the Port Elizabeth born Tshienda.

The author of ‘Never Give Up: Healing Words from a Poet’, added: “Child marriage deprives girls of education and opportunities. It also puts them at risk of death if they have children before their bodies are ready.

“As such, we are using the power of music and the spoken word to enlighten children that they can be safe and achieve a lot in life if they shun early marriages and remain in school.”

Shamie, who is now based in Cape Town, South Africa and plays with the AfricentiQ Band, says early child marriages were a social determinant of health and seriously need to be eliminated.

He added that the collaboration is simply to use music, poetry and motivational speaking to encourage children to stay in school.

“Children’s rights need to be respected. Therefore, our campaign against early child marriages is all about protecting and promoting the dignity of the girl child,” he said.

Shamie added that eliminating early child marriages does not require one to wait until the abuse has happened, but to be pro-active.

“The pro-active approach to fight and end early child marriages is to acknowledge and prevent it, especially by imparting information and knowledge about how best to deal with the scourge that is destroying families, violating children rights and stalling social and economic development not only in Zimbabwe, but in other African countries,” he said.

Shamie said they started with a school in Kambuzuma because he was born and raised there, but plans are underway to tour other areas and engage parents to respect their children through promoting their rights.

Peter Mushumba, the headmaster for Wadzanai Primary School, emphasises the importance of using music and poet to end early child marriages.

“To borrow from Victor-Marie Hugo, who was a French poet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights campaigner, and perhaps the most influential exponent of the Romantic movement in France, music and poetry express that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent.

“Accordingly, I want to thank Shamie and Haroldene for using music and poetry to fight one of the cancers affecting our society today,” he said, urging other artists to use their influence to deal with early child marriages and other practices that hinder the growth of children.

Health and Child Care Minister David Parirenyatwa, recently condemned early child marriages in Mahusekwa during the US$680 million health development fund launch, while the Department for International Development (DFID) head of mission Annabel Gerry told journalists at the same function that they were working particularly with adolescent girls to end early child marriages.

Gerry said: “We are funding secondary school education up to O Level so that the most vulnerable girls from the poorest families complete their studies.

“We are also providing adolescent girls with a source of micro-finance and advice to help them start small businesses so that they have a choice and are not forced out of school straight into marriages that they are not ready for.”