Zimbabwe to ban child marriages

Zimbabwe will make it an offence for parents to reach a customary marriage arrangement on behalf of children below the age of 18 years, Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said, the state-owned Herald newspaper reports. Parents would also be banned from agreeing to a bride price before their children turn 18, he added. The government would […]

Zimbabwe will make it an offence for parents to reach a customary marriage arrangement on behalf of children below the age of 18 years, Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said, the state-owned Herald newspaper reports.
Parents would also be banned from agreeing to a bride price before their children turn 18, he added.
The government would not wait for a Constitutional Court ruling outlawing child marriages, and had already identified legislation which needed to be changed, Mr Mnangagwa is quoted as saying.  A clause in the Marriage Act, allowing for the marriage of minors with the consent of their guardians or a court, would be repealed, he said. The Customary Act, which was silent on child marriages, would be amended to include a clause prohibiting it, the vice-president added.