Namibian gov't, UNICEF urge war against child marriage

The Namibian government, in collaboration with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and other partners, is calling for the acceleration of efforts to end child marriage.

The practice affects millions of children on the African continent and about 5.4 percent of females aged between 15 and 19 years in Namibia.

This call was made in Groot Aub, about 60 km south of the capital Windhoek on Tuesday as Namibia joined other African countries in commemorating the Day of the African Child.

This year's commemoration coincided with the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC), which is an important continental instrument for advancing children's rights.

Child marriage remains one of the critical child rights violations addressed by the ACRWC, affecting 38 percent of all children across Eastern and Southern Africa.

"We have made great strides in reducing child marriages in Namibia, but without more intensive and sustained action from all parts of society, many girls can be physically and emotionally harmed as they are forced into a life of poor prospects, with increased risk of violence, abuse, ill health or death," Minister of Gender Equality and Child Welfare Doreen Sioka told the gathering in Groot Aub.

Propagated through entrenched social norms, religious beliefs or strained economic situations, child marriage excludes young girls from school and exposes them to social and medical vulnerabilities.

Child brides are often unable to effectively negotiate safer sex, leaving them vulnerable to sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, along with early pregnancy.

Complications in pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of death for girls aged 15 to 19 years in developing countries while infant deaths are 50 percent higher among babies born to mothers under 20 than among those born to women in their twenties.

"The practice of child marriage is deeply rooted in gender discrimination, a direct violation of the main principles of human rights and child rights," said UNICEF Representative to Namibia Micaela Marques de Sousa. "It is a direct form of discrimination against the child, often deprived of her basic rights to health, education, protection, development, and equality."

Child marriage in Namibia remains a common occurrence despite a conducive legal and policy environment for the protection of children and criminalization of the practice.

These marriages are carried out under traditional arrangements without proper documentation and little reportage of the offense is done.

The Namibian government together with its partners such as UNICEF has adopted a number of strategies to address the causes and consequences of child marriage and teenage pregnancy.

These include economic empowerment of families, the promotion of access to social protection, maternal and child health, inclusive education and sexual and reproductive services for vulnerable girls.

Schools are now forced to readmit young mothers back to school.

The government is also promoting the enforcement of laws and policies which criminalize child marriage and ensuring that these are known by a greater section of the population.

The Day of the African Child commemorates the 1976 march in Soweto when thousands of African school children took to the streets to protest the inferior quality of their education and to demand their right to be taught in their own language. In the two weeks of protest that followed, more than a hundred people were killed and more than 1,000 injured.

The day also draws attention to the lives of African children today. Endi