A Malawian woman chieftain has recently introduced a new law preventing child marriage and has canceled about 850 weddings across the country to date.
Her name is Theresa Kachindamoto, and she is the head of the Dedza district of Malawi. She said that her decision to take a position came from her anger to see 12-year-old girls walking around carrying babies.
As a survey by the United Nations in 2012 reports, over half of Malawi’s girls marry before the age of 18. Besides, the country ranks eighth among the 20 states believed to have the world's highest child marriage rates.
Chieftain Kachindamoto tries to change that by taking one step at a time and has started canceling over 850 child marriages by sending hundreds of young girls back to school to continue their education. Kachindamoto is taking stunning steps to abolish cleaning ceremonies which require girls to go to the campsite of sexual initiation.
She said that she had taken action by making at least 50 subcommittees signing an agreement to end the child marriage in her area of authority.
Well done, Theresa Kachindamoto! -> Female Chief Breaks up 850 Child Marriages https://t.co/cNBH9169zs pic.twitter.com/hTTjTW5lpX
— brainwise ☕💭🖖🤘🏼🦇 (@brainwise) April 7, 2016
Kachindamoto also instructed the leaders to cancel any marriages of minors and re-send all the girls to school.
"I told them, whether you like it or not, I want these weddings to end," she said.
"I do not want new weddings. They have to go to school. No child should be forced to stay at home or doing homework during school time", she added.
COMMENTS