CHILDREN rights’ stakeholders have called for joint efforts to end child marriage in the country, by ensuring effective empowerment of children and provision of their basic needs, access to education being among them.
Speaking during the official launch of the Binti Day Campaign yesterday in Dar es Salaam, the United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator in Tanzania, Mr Zlatan Millisic urged the parents and communities to collaborate in opposing child marriage to enable the children realise their dreams.
“The Binti campaign is a call to action, urging parents and communities to stop marriage for their daughters who are younger than 18 and encourage them to complete education and acquire knowledge and skills that will equip them for a prosperous future,” Mr Millisic,” said.
In a related development, Mr Millisic underlined the need for amendment of the Marriage Act, 1971 that allows girls to marry at 14 with court consent and at 15 with parental consent.
“I hope the amendment of the Marriage Act, 1971 will happen soon, as child marriage hinders girls’ empowerment.”Mr Millisic emphasised.
In the course, he committed that the UN will continue to work together to support Tanzania to achieve its development priorities, in line with the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
For her part, Binti from Youth of United Nations Association, Ms Agnes Ntabaye said the campaign aims at aggregating voices, triggering conversations, and prompts people to take a simple but powerful action – to take a pledge to not participate in the marriage of a child under 18.
“That is why we are here today. As we all know that child marriage must end, and it’s time we all came together to help push the issue across the finishing line,” she added.
According to her, child marriage impacts millions of girls and women in Tanzania adding that Tanzania ranks 11th highest on the list of countries in terms of the total number of child brides worldwide whilst current estimates show about 3 in 10 women in Tanzania got married as children.
“If we look around this room, you can imagine if 30 per cent of the women in here were child brides…It’s an astonishingly sad reality for so many girls in the country,” Ntabayesaid.
On behalf of the Tanzania Editors Forum (TEF), Ms Lilian Timbuka advised the stakeholders to extend the campaign and focus more on rural areas, since they largely face the challenge of child marriage.