Photo: UNFPA/Zambia/Zandonda
Zambia
Working Together
to Place Child
Marriage on the
African
Development
Agenda
Professor Nkandu Luo
Minister of Chiefs and
Traditional Affairs
13 June 2013
Child Marriage
• A gross violation of human rights that robs millions of girls of their
childhood and futures, while undermining development efforts
• Affects poorest, least educated girls and those living in rural areas
• 1 out of 3 girls in developing countries (excluding China) were married as
children (67 million girls in 2010).
• If present trends continue, 142 million girls will be married by their 18th
birthday in this decade (by 2020).
Life of a Child Bride
• Limited education attainment, no schooling options, limited future
prospects
• Violent and abrupt initiation into sexual relations
• Large age gaps with husbands
• Increased risk of domestic violence
• Intense pressure to become pregnant
• High risk of maternal death/disabilities
• Social isolation and restricted social mobility
• Little access to modern media (TV, radio, newspapers)
A Worldwide Phenomenon
Child Marriage in Zambia
 Defined as marriage of a child younger than 18 years - in accordance with
Article 1 of the Convention on the Right of the Child and with Zambian
legislation
 2 out of 5 girls in Zambia were married before their 18th birthday in 2007
representing 42% of girls.
 Affects poorest, least educated girls and those living in rural areas
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Child Marriage in Zambia Cont…
 65% of girls with no education and 58% with primary education are
married by age 18; compared to only 17% of girls with secondary
education or higher.
 Girls from the poorest 20% of the households are 5 times more likely to be
married before age 18 than girls from the richest 20% of the households
 Once married, only 28.1% of them use contraception in spite of their
needs to space their childbearing time.
 Prevalence at provincial level are highest in Eastern Province (60%),
Luapula Province (50%), and Northern Province (48%)
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Country Interventions
Photo: UNFPA/HQ
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• Awareness raising: Zambia launched a national campaign
to end child marriage in April 2013 – engaging the
traditional leaders to redress the causes and harmful
consequences of child marriage
• National legislation: Advocacy for statutory and
customary law to be aligned has resulted in the draft
national constitution raising minimum age of marriage to
21 years
• Investment in data analysis for advocacy and targeted
efforts: The 2007 ZDHS sub-analysis has helped to
identify ‘hot spots’ of vulnerability for girls to implement
targeted programmes. A detailed situation analysis is
underway
• Comprehensive, integrated programmes : Ministry of
Chiefs has engaged cross-cutting stakeholders and
cooperating partners in planning for national
interventions. A national strategy on child marriage is
underway
Photo: UNICEF/Zambia/Nalungwe
The dummies depicting
child marriage were burnt
to symbolize action
against child marriage
during the national launch
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National Partnerships
Interventions Worth Investment
at Sub-Regional Level
• Empower girls by building their skills and assets: multi-sectoral
approaches that provide life skills training, opportunities for
literacy/numeracy, safe spaces for social support, and access to
information and health services
• Improve girls’ access to quality formal education: establish girl-friendly
schools, train up and build a cadre of qualified teachers, improve
safety/security for girls, experiment with financial incentives
• Mobilize communities to transform detrimental social norms: work with
parents, elders, religious leaders to see benefits of delayed marriage
• Address the economic drivers of child marriage: consider incentivebased programmes to keep girls in schools, build girls’ financial/livelihood
skills, etc. to reduce pressures to marry girls young
• Specifically reach married girls: target married girls with MH/FP services,
promote access to non-formal education and peer support
Photo: UNICEF/Zambia/Inzy
Interventions Worth Investment
at Sub-Regional Level
• Invest in data analysis for advocacy and targeted efforts: Use
disaggregated data to identify ‘hot spots’ of vulnerability for girls to
implement targeted programmes
• Promote girls’ human rights and girls’ education especially the transition
from primary to secondary levels
• Advocate for laws (official and customary) to be aligned with international
rights instruments, raise the minimum age of marriage as needed
• Raise awareness of the causes and harmful consequences of child
marriage
• Promote comprehensive, integrated programmes to end child marriage
and mitigate the impact on married girls
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THANK YOU