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Chief Fortune Charumbira

Walter Mswazie Masvingo Correspondent
ZIMBABWEAN culture does not condone child marriages and those who abuse underage girls in the name of tradition are sexual perverts, Chiefs Council President, Chief Fortune Charumbira has said.

Speaking to The Chronicle on the sidelines of a Judicial Service Commission (JSC) open day on Saturday, Chief Charumbira said it was wrong for people to hide behind culture for purposes of marrying underage girls.

The chief urged the police to arrest all those who engage in sexual relationships with minors.

He said the courts should treat such relationships as rape and deterrent custodial sentences should be imposed on perpetrators.

“I want to put it clear, as chiefs we’re against child marriages. We don’t expect 12 year-old girls to be sexually active. This is a very young age and those who marry girls of this age shouldn’t hide behind culture. There’s no culture across the country which encourages such abuse. I’ve heard some saying young girls are taken for wives due to cultural beliefs, there’s no such thing,” said Chief Charumbira.

He said our culture is known for preserving the girl child’s purity and that is the practice which should be followed by every citizen.

“Zimbabwean culture is one of the best cultures throughout the continent given its bias towards nurturing a girl child into a full woman. It’s in Zimbabwe, where we always expect girls to be married when they’re ripe for marriage. In the past no girl was married before reaching the age of 21 and beyond,” he said.

“No girl below that age was expected to date as elderly women would punish you. Most of our mothers were married when they were above 21 years because for a girl to marry, she had to appreciate the challenges of marriage and thus they weren’t expected to date (early).”

He said for the country to prosper, people should not adopt foreign cultures whose challenges are countless.

Recently, President Mugabe said child marriages cause irreparable damage to girls and deny them the right to personal development. He said the government was in the process of realigning the country’s marriage laws to forbid the marriage of young people under the age of 18.