A SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD grade eight school girl has threatened to commit suicide if her school head teacher continues preventing her from getting into an arranged early marriage.
The girl’s parents have also threatened to kill themselves should school authorities and Government officials stop their daughter’s marriage.
The girl, who has since stopped reporting for classes, says she has nothing to do with education, but only interested in getting married.
This was disclosed by North-Western Province child development co-ordinator Peter Kabaso in Solwezi yesterday.
Mr Kabaso said the pupil of Chovwe Basic School has defied the school authorities, insisting that she does not want to be educated but just to get married.
“The child has threatened that she will kill herself if anyone attempts to stop her from her pending marriage. The girl, who is said to be bright at school, is one of the many girls that have fallen out of school for early marriages,” he said.
He said according to investigations by the Child Development Department in Solwezi, the girl’s parents are in the forefront arranging and forcing the girl to get married.
Mr Kabaso said when the parents were summoned by the department and the school administration, they threatened to kill themselves in the head teacher’s office if he insisted that the girl should not get married.
Mr Kabaso said the head teacher is involved in preventing this marriage because the practice is now common at his school.
He said girls are being withdrawn from school and married off by their parents.
Mr Kabaso urged chiefs and other stakeholders to help fight early marriages.
He said Government has intensified the fight against early marriages, mostly in rural areas.
Mr Kabaso said his department is facing a number of challenges, including parents influencing girls to get married instead of going to school.
[Zambia Daily Mail]
Let the girl marry.You can not force a horse to drink water!
Well not to attack but just want to know at what age was Charity married if at all she is married. The girl wants to get married mybe due to ignorance. There is need for awareness. So i beg Charity not to mislead this family.
USELESS PARENTS..THEY HAVE MISLEAD THE LITTLE GIRL…AND FO.OLISH HUSBAND TO BE
This is the ugry side of poverty.It causes people to do all forms of crazy stuff and decisions.Ok just like one has said “let the poor girl get married”.Looks like she is convinced marriage is her only call in life.
:x is difficult to force a person who has not seen the benefit of it. But life will teach her that had made a big mistake because this man who want her to stop school to marry after children he will not have same passion as has now then he will dump her and her parents will remember that the head teacher was right. i hope the story is true because is like lot of information
I thought the role of teachers in such matters was to offer counselling and the client may take or refute the advice given.Teachers are not there to force decisions on their pupils. This headteacher had gone too far than his profession could allow. If the laws of the country allow a 17 yr old girl to marry,then let her marry but if its against the law..the headteacher can only help by reporting the case to the police for judicial processes to begin.
THIS GIRL WILL THINK OF SCHOOL AFTER SHE’S BEEN ABUSED BY THE HUSBAND WITH 5 CHILDREN. IT WILL BE TOO LATE GIRL.Â
Ala, at 17, she is fit for human consumption.Let her go ahead and get married more so that she has willingly accepted. Why give a dem to someone who is not interested in education??
To bad to hear, about the poor girl! to let the girl get married is not the solution but to take the husband to task so that he can either wait or stop. i think government through our powerless parliament should enact a law that should protect girls from being married off to these stupid and unproductive men.the law should be there to punish the men by giving them stiff punishment so that we stop abusing these girls.let RB and DOLLAR stop insulting catholics and follow these chaps who want marry young girls before finishing school. to be realistic both the man and the parents of the girl should be given a good sentence so that they serve in prison and will teach other people about this.
It’s sad that the girl has refused to continue with her education in preference for marriage. Since she has willingly accepted, allow her to get married and start procreation early in life. By the time she will be 30 yrs, she is going to have not less than 6 children. At some point, she will realise the importance of school. I have a sister whom i had advised strongly against getting married but to continue with school. She got pregnant and rushed to the man’s house. This time she has three children and suffering. She is doing her night school trying to go back to school. Its too late!!!!!!!!!
apya uyu.she is sexually active already.just marry her off.
i thought these people are seeing the development MMD is bringing on their door steps. what has changed?
@17 in grade eight, she has probably ****ed as many times as one would not say, she is too old to be doing grade 8, let her marry
Too bad. She will regret later on. I hope she is aware of the hardships and dangers of teenage pregnances
I am just watching Michelle Obama at Oxford University talking to girls Elizabeth Garret Anderson school and while she has talked about hard work, self belief, honesty and envisioning ourselves big, I think the most important thing she has said today is that those students from EGA who have made it should go back and talk to the pupils at the school, to inspire and support each other. Some of us who were once herdsboys but are now professionals, driving big cars and doing big in life should visit our Villages and talk to the kids there about where we came from and why we are where we are. That might be a bigger life changing effort than just pointing a finger at the govt of the day or the village parents. It is not easy to visualise big.
ana invesesesa ya mukulu
WELL SAID NO 14.GOOD ONE!
I am very saddened by this story.To arrange a marriage in a village has something to do with poverty and this is why these people are threatening to kill themselves because someone else’s fortune has already been consumed.Where are all the NGO”s that want to say they are talking for the girl child in Lusaka where there is enough information follow at the expense of the rural girl child? Is Zambia only in Lusaka?Â
#17.
Zemama
No no.. marriage is not associated with poverty. will you be poor when you marry or are you living in poverty because you are married. The only thing that can be done is to respect her decision to marry. This head teacher is just afraid of going without a job once more pupils choose to marry. :d
Mulekeni. Mwana wenu?
#14 – Who is going to service your car and clean your mansion if we all made it big in the world? You ought to understand that everyone has a place in the world and we are all important, no matter our position in life.
Ultimately what we all seek in life is happiness and contentment and we all find it in different things, motherhood, money, etc.
The parents and would be husband should be jailed. This is pathetic
There is no sin in this, let her marry.
Surely, this is an outcome of poverty. So let the girl marry. I do not think the parents are forcing the girl. She is also keen. It is useless to buy and force a diamond ring on someone who does not know the value of a diamond, Inshiku shilabwesha, One day she will come back to her senses and this world will judge her.
We cant blame the girl,,,someone dropped college to be first lady. Can u blame her? She has all the respect the country gives her, she has all the money. The girl has seen potential in the man, immediately she marries him she will steal from him and when the ka man realises he will devorce but the girl wud have made her life
Mwana akalila bonzo, mupaseni. Tubatwalile abene bakayonawile sense tubatwalile bene oooh tubatwalile abene bakayonawile ululululu alalala wiiiiyuuuwwiiyuuuu. When the man marries her and stays with her for 2 years, he will chase her then she will want to do shibukeni…
Nubian Princes.
I appreciate your line of thought which is really different from what I was putting across in my posting. Mine being that even as a village girl you must visualise yourself as making it big in life. By the way it might be as a mechanic or a hotel maid if your equip yourself with the right know how and have the right dreams. I don’t see how a 17 year grade 8 drop out who rushes into marriage will aspire that big mechanic. Destiny being what it is I am not saying she will not be happy in life because of what she has chosen engage in today. But then happiness wasn’t my line of thought.
very smart ba Herdsman.type of pipo we nid in zed
\:d/\:d/
Thandiwe left school for RB whats the fuss?????
KAPOCHE for your own information THANDIWE is a qualified teacher she was working
Let her marry, welcome to shipikisha club gal no matter how bad it will be dont leave your husband but for sure this gal will regret for making this decision.and toma parents nato they marrying there daughter will make them rich mwailasha.
Ubupuba weka weka in this story.. I feel sorry for the girl and her silly parents indeed… this line up of girls ne fyola mumpapa is a sorry sight too…. what happened to girl child education????
Ok, hahahahahahaha, Nkani yalula. Poor girl you have the possiblity to drive a BMW one day buti ufuna chikwati. Lord Jesus protect this child.
The parents can go ahead and kill them selves, blitering *****s. Ensure you leave a legal will for dependants to inherit your property and savings. A child should marry after leaving a house and finding their own dwellings. This is parental evil manipulation and by the girl too. We shall read about you clowns in ten years. This child is young cannot thing any better. I shall pray for these lost my goodness next.
I support the head teacher 100%! So yes, let them kill them themselves. Zambia will forever be poorest country because of people like these!
Abafyashi fiwelewele. Where is girl education mwebantu?????????
Maybe this Teacher is after the Girl. Nowadays Teachers impregnant School girls, i know of a Girl in Chingola who was impregnanted by her Teacher and later dumped.
#34 i support you. The teacher may have interest in the girl and the parents know it. Hence them wanting to kill themslves….you never know these thing. Why would the teacher fight SOOOOOOOOOOOOO HAAAAAAAAARD. He has personal interest!!!!.
The solution in this situation here may not lie in entirely stopping the girl from getting married, but counselling the would be “couple” with regard to the beauty and benefits of good education. After all people get married and still go to school, though there are more challengez then.Â
Stupid *****ic girl together with your parents you are the ones who are bringing poverty in Zambia, if i was in Zambia i was gonna visit you and give you a dead slap together with your dirt husband to be
They have no role models to motivate them , more over the goverment shold note overlook the issue of poverty as under laying factor in this issue
most of you guys have not imagined their stand point no body does something with an aim to fail its misinformation that gives rise to wrong priorities. You are prevaraged thats why you are able to make informed decisions
When you educate one girl, you educate the entire community. Pursuading someone to take up education is different from forcing him or her. It it good for our nation to have a higher percentage of educated women and men alike to overcome ignorance and achieve MDG’s. While the girl and her parents have every right to choose what they want they are equally a threat to society through their ignorance. In case of death of one partner in marriage they will encounter endless problems which may even be inherited by the children
She grown out from the poor familly and both parents they don’t know the importancy of education,so how worthy are the teacher’s encoragements from her school.let her continue with the relationship and take ignorancy in that marrage.Days are coming when she will regrate.
It is surprising to learn that upto now there are still people that do not know the importance of education. To make the matters worse it is in North Western Province. It is terrible to my dear cousins that they can’t think beynd their nose. Those need to be arrested.
She doesn’t need a phD to be a housewife. Lett her get married!