The causes and effects of child marriages in Zambia and it's impact on the girl child education: a case study for Chitulika and Chansa villages of Mpika district

The causes and effects of child marriages in Zambia and it's impact on the girl child education: a case study for Chitulika and Chansa villages of Mpika district

Master of Education (Religious Studies)

The principal focus of the study is to generate both quantitative and qualitative information on the current practice of child marriage in Zambia and to critically analyze the causes, consequences of the practice and the impact on the education of the girl child. At present, Zambia is ranked 16th amongst countries with the highest rate of child marriage in the world and although the Marriage Act establishes a legal age for marriage, and the Penal Code makes sex with a girl under 16 an offence in Zambia, these provisions rarely apply in customary law. Under statutory marriage however, child marriages are illegal, and considered a form of child abuse. The legal age for marriage under statutory law is 18 for females and 21 for males. On the other hand, under traditional law, marriage can take place at puberty, and it is common for girls to be married or have sexual relations under the age of 16.

In this study a case study of Mpika District will be used because of its ability to collect data from large population by using structured interview guide and its emphasis on fact finding that allows the researcher to generalize data. The methods used to get sample area which covered two (2) chiefdoms of Mpika District which are Chikwanda and Kopa included cluster sampling. Simple random sampling was used to get 100 respondents who were female and male parents, girls involved in early marriages, Village Headmen /women and Chiefs in the selected two (2)Chiefdoms. Moreover purposive sampling was also used to get answers from District Education Board Secretary office staff (DEBS), Zambia Police, School Managers, and Hospitals/clinics from the respective chiefdoms under the sampled area.

Research instruments used to collect data were questionnaires, interview guides and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) whereby girls, Police officers, women group, District council Officers and Village headmen/women were contacted to get the reality.

Then causes and effects of early child marriages revealed to be; Inadequate sex education, Peer pressure, Conformity, Influence of mass media, Lack of social amenities, Shame, Traditional milestone, Unemployment and Globalization, HIV transmission, unsafe abortions and consequently death, school dropout and absenteeism, high mortality and maternity death.

It is recommended that Government through the Ministry of health (MOH) and social welfare(SW),the Ministry of Community Development Gender and Children Affairs (MCDGC) in liaison with the Ministry of Chiefs and Traditional Affairs (MoCTA) may conduct programmes in both rural and urban areas concerning early marriage and HIV/AIDS infections especially by addressing the factors which contribute to early marriages and also involving teenagers in decision making that can change community mind set to abandon that practice.

Friday Suwilanji Simukoko

Submitted to Justo Mwale University

2018

Supervisor: Dr. Edwin Silavwe

All Right Reserved. Justo Mwale University

Physical Medium.

English

The causes and effects of child marriages in Zambia and it's impact on the girl child education