A 14-year-old girl has been retrieved from an early marriage in Chipata District of Eastern Province.
The girl who had eloped with his 22-year-old boyfriend, was about two months pregnant before suffering a miscarriage.
Speaking to the media in an interview, she indicated that before eloping, she dropped out of school, while in grade four.
“ I left my mother’s place to go and stay with my boyfriend not because I was ill treated by my mother but I just wanted to go and stay with my boyfriend,” she explained.
She instead said her real problem was with her older brother who used to beat her.
“My brother used to beat me up for no reason, he would shout at me and never wanted my friends to visit me at home,” she added.
The survivor disclosed that she used to be called names like “a prostitute” which used to hurt me.
Meanwhile, Eastern Province Gender Officer, Warren Maimbolwa expressed concern that early marriages and teen pregnancies had continued to rise in the region.
Mr Maimbolwa said some of the cases were being influenced by certain cultural norms and beliefs that some communities have continued to practice.
“Some people have continued to initiate under-age children in a practice locally known as chinamwali, where a girl who reaches puberty is told how to care for themselves and perform certain duties, information that only those in marriage should be previewed,” he expressed concern.
Meanwhile, Olipa Banda, a Psycho-social Counsellor, said it was important for children who underwent abuse or were victims of Gender-Based-Violence like early marriages, to access counselling services.
She said counseling of children who are retrieved from early marriages takes at least three months, so that they can realise their vulnerability and consequences of being found in such situations.
Ms Banda said some children had managed to go back to school and they have finished grade 12 without going back to their marriages.
She hoped this will be the case with the recently retrieved 14-year-old girl.
What is a Gender Officer? In which department or ministry do they work?