EARLY Child marriages is still rampant in Moyo Chiefdom of Pemba District of Southern Province despite various interventions put in place by the traditional leader working with the Government and various stakeholders to stop the scourge.
Chief Moyo of the Tonga people said from January this year to date, more than 30 girls aged between 14 and 18 had been retrieved from early child marriages and sent back to school through the retry policy being implemented by the ministry of general education.
The traditional leader attributed high poverty levels in his chiefdom as one of the major challenges that had compounded the situation as most parents were selling off their children to older men in a bid to improve their living standards.
Chief Moyo disclosed in an interview through his representative Freckson Sinyonwa recently that three perpetrators of early child marriages had so far been arrested to serve as a deterrent to other would be offenders.
“This year we have retrieved about 38 girls from early child marriages and successful managed to send them back to school,as you know child marriages is one form of Gender Based Violence that has continued affecting a number of girls not only in this chiefdom but across in the country,” he said.
The traditional leader said child marriages also sidelined a lot of girls from attending school; a thing he said jeopardized their future.
He said apart from senstising the pepole in his chiefdom on the dangers of early marriages, his chiefdom was coming up with stiffer punishment for perpetrators to stop the scourge.
Chief Moyo said the chiefdom had also formed special committees to fight child marriages through sensitisation and submission of reports to the chief for further determination.
“As a way of strengthening the measures, the chiefdom will work with Government, other line ministries and stakeholders that are championing the fight against early marriage,” he said.
And Brenda Simwiinga a parent of Moyo chiefdom adviced her fellow parents to desist from forcing their children into forced marriages.
Ms Simwinga said coming up with stiffer punishment for perpetrators was a step in the right direction as education was very cardinal because it determined the future of a girl child.