HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) – In Zimbabwe, where girls as young as ten are forced to marry due to poverty or traditional and religious practices, a teenage taekwondo enthusiast uses the sport to give girls in an impoverished community the chance to fight for life.
“Not many people do taekwondo here, so it’s fascinating for girls, married and single. I use it to get their attention, ”said Natsiraishe Maritsa, a 17-year-old martial arts fan who has been using taekwondo for 5 years now to bring young people and mothers together and fight child marriage.
Children as young as four and some of Natsiraishe’s former schoolmates who are now married line up in the small, dusty courtyard outside their parents’ home in the poor Epworth settlement, about 15 miles away ( 9 miles) southeast of the capital, Harare.
They enthusiastically follow his instructions for stretching, kicking, hitting, punching and sparing. After class, they talk about the dangers of child marriage. Supporting their babies, the newlyweds took the initiative.
One after another, they narrated how their marriages have become slavery, including verbal and physical abuse, marital rape, pregnancy-related health complications, and hunger.
“We are not prepared for what is called marriage. We’re too young for that, ”Maritsa told The Associated Press after the session, which she said is“ a safe space ”for girls to share ideas.
“The role of teenage mothers is often ignored when people campaign against child marriage. Here, I use their voices, their challenges, to discourage those unmarried girls from staying out of early sexual activity and marriage, ”said Maritsa.
Neither boys nor girls can legally marry up to the age of 18, according to Zimbabwe law enacted after the Constitutional Court in 2016 passed earlier legislation allowing girls to marry at the age of 16.
However, the practice continues to spread to the economically troubled South African nation, where an estimated 30% of girls are married before the age of 18, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund. . Child marriage is common across Africa and rising poverty amid the COVID-19 pandemic has increased pressure on families to marry his young daughters.
For some poor Zimbabwean families, marrying a young daughter means less burden, and the price of the bride the husband pays is usually “used by families as a means of survival,” according to Girls Not Brides, a organization that campaigns to end child marriages.
Some religious sects encourage girls as young as ten to marry much older men for “spiritual guidance,” while some families, to avoid “shame,” force girls who have premarital sex to marry. -with her boyfriends, according to the organization.
Maritsa, through her association called Vulnerable Underaged People Auditorium, hopes to increase the confidence of married and unmarried girls through martial arts lessons and the discussions that follow.
Zimbabwe’s ban on public meetings imposed as part of strict blockade measures last week to try to curb an unprecedented rise in new COVID-19 infections has forced Maritsa to suspend sessions, but hopes to resume it as soon as possible. lift the lock.
“If they are desperate, young mothers feel empowered … being able to use their stories to deter other girls from falling into the same trap,” said Maritsa, who said she started the project in 2018 after seeing her friends leave school to get married.
Some, such as her best friend, 21-year-old Pruzmay Mandaza, now plan to return to school, although her husband forced her to step down as vice president of the association and prevented her from participating in the school. taekwondo training.
Inside the house decorated and decorated with medals and photographs of Maritsa, her parents prepare fruit juice and cookies for the girls, her sacrifice to help her daughter’s efforts.
“I can only take 15 people per session because the only support I receive is from my parents,” Maritsa said. “My dad is a small farmer, my mom is a full-time housewife, but they sacrifice how little they have for what I want to achieve,” she said. “He’s my jogging companion,” he added, referring to his father.
Taekwondo is not very popular in Zimbabwe, a crazy footballer, but there are professional training schools and gardens.
Despite her limited resources, Maritsa is committed to her mission.
Early marriages could increase as COVID-19 keeps children away from school and deepens poverty, women’s groups warn.
Even some of those attending the sessions at Maritsa’s house seem to have different priorities.
“We need to know how to make our husbands happy, that’s what’s important,” said Privilege Chimombe, a 17-year-old mother of 17 who had her first child at age 13 and whose husband abandoned her, say after a recent session.
“These are the perceptions we have to fight,” Maritsa replied. “It’s hard, but it has to be done.”