Posted on 05/15/2006 6:34:54 PM PDT by vikingd00d
MUTARE - Tariro Muchina was barely in her teens late last year when her father "sold" her off into an arranged marriage in the small-scale farming district of Nyamajura about 250 kilometres east of Harare.
Twelve months down the line, the 14-year old Muchina, who was literally dragged screaming all the way into "marriage", appears to have come to terms with her fate.
"I had to leave school to marry this man despite his age .. My father insisted that I do it to save my younger brothers and sisters from hunger," Muchina says, opening up to ZimOnline only after a lot of persuasion.
Muchina is married to a balding and pot-bellied 65-yerar old man, who has some teeth missing but owns a grocery shop - an immensely important factor in this hunger and poverty-stricken community.
Showing surprisingly little bitterness for someone robbed of her youth in so cruel a manner, Muchina sums up her story in just a few sentences.
She said: "I would have preferred to continue with school. But we are poor and there was no money for food or anything at home. Although it (the marriage) was arranged for me, I had to agree to it. That is the only way my family could survive. In turn, my husband provides food for them."
Faced with starvation after six years of poor harvests, Zimbabweans are resorting to centuries-old traditions of "forced marriages" known in the local Shona language as "kuzvarira" for survival.
The practice that involves a father giving away his usually under-age daughter (without her consent) to a richer man in return for food and other economic support had died over the past 100 years.
But some hungry families from rural communities, far removed from the glare of human rights groups and the Press, are reviving the old custom out of desperation to survive an unprecedented economic and food crisis, critics blame as much on poor weather as on mismanagement by President Robert Mugabe's government.
Zimbabwe is in its sixth year of a punishing economic recession described by the World Bank as unseen in a country not at war. Food is in short supply while the little that is available in shops is priced beyond the reach of the poor due to a rampant inflation now beyond 1 000 percent according to figurers released last week.
With the economy seen worsening over Mugabe's controversial policies that started with the arbitrary seizure in 2000 of white-owned commercial farms, observers and social scientists say the old scourges: child labour, child prostitution - and forced marriages will rise.
"We are seeing an increase in forced and illegal marriages of poor young girls to rich old men over the past few years. This is a centuries old tradition, which we had long forgotten," former University of Zimbabwe vice-chancellor and a leading social scientist, Gordon Chavhunduka said.
He added: "Such traditions where poor families marry off their under-age daughters to rich old men were rife before colonialism hundreds of years back. They died after colonialism. But they have now been revived in the battle for survival."
A village elder in Nyamajura, Kennias Mutuni says cases like that of Muchina are being reported with increasing frequency in the area because of poverty. But in a very worrying sign the village elder sees little wrong with the old custom as long as the bride price is paid!
"As long as the bride price is paid, that is fine with us. People want to survive and daughters, especially young and well-behaved ones can be an avenue out of starvation," said Mutuni.
And rather cynically he added: "It is a legitimate way of forging relations between the rich and the poor so that they can take care of each other. It's better than losing the girls to prostitution."
But the effects of forced marriages are already being felt with Zimbabwe Progressive Teachers' Union secretary general Raymond Majongwe saying there has been an increase especially in rural areas in the number of under-age girls dropping out of school after being forced to marry.
"Girls are getting married at 13, because of coercion by desperate family members in a bid to escape poverty. This government owes the nation an explanation on this lost generation. Our children no longer have a future," said Majongwe.
Although there are efforts including by the government to stop forced marriages, Eunice Chipfatsura, a pastor with a local Pentecostal church in Nyamajura, said there would be no easy solutions to the problem not least because community leaders, who are invariably men, still believe the males have a right to determine the future of female members of a family.
Chipfatsura said: "It is difficult to make any headway. When we try to talk to the community leaders or even the children, they don't understand us. We were chased away in one village after encouraging the girl children to report such cases to the police.
"We have an uphill task because as the economy gets worse, the abuse of young girls sold like commodities will get worse as well. We need to get the message to the children, that it is abuse of their rights and they can report it."
But for Muchina and probably many like her, the concern is not about human rights and dignity. It is as the overused cliché goes, about bread and butter issues.
"If I report to the police, will that bring food to my family?" she asks, when told about the church pastor's advice that young girls like her should not accept being forced to marry men old enough to be their fathers but should instead inform the police. - ZimOnline
None would trade their citizenship for a one-way ticket back to Africa.
Leave them alone and let the chips fall where they may.
Liberal economic policies, and foreign policies have turned Africa into a basket case.
I wonder what would happen if a large group of American ex-pats, gave up their American citizenship, invaded an African country, took it over, and turned it around in less than a decade through good government.
The U.N. would probably mount a "police action", even if the locals in that country insist they like the new regime.
We should send troops in to give humanitarian aid.
The next step in African Marxism will be widespread cannibalism. Sadly, I'm not kidding.
Oh my. This is so sad.
"It is a legitimate way of forging relations between the rich and the poor so that they can take care of each other. It's better than losing the girls to prostitution."
In fact, it IS better than having them become prostitutes.
And the human rights, unfortunately, don't matter a great deal to people who have died from starvation.
Blame Mugabe and liberal idiots.
I predict a "girl shortage" among many of these Third World countries. The poor or rural girls are being killed or exploited; the wealthier, educated ones might eventually leave that society once they begin to question its values and their treatment. The poorer men, especially, will be affected, as the woman's "scarcity value" rises.
China is already getting a taste of this sociological timebomb thanks to female infanticide. Already there is an uneven ratio of men to women and "woman-trafficking" going on because a number of rural men can't find wives.
I feel sorry for the girls, but not these cultures. My feeling is sort of shared with the poster above, of "letting the chips fall where they may." Unless these societies wake up in time & start protecting their weaker members, they're all going to go bye-bye.
On the other hand if this ever happens in Sweden, I will stop shopping and marry.
Don't tell me it can't happen, if Sweden expelled all theier white fishermen and farmers, they would have similar results.
Yup, Africa is so much better off without colonialism. < sarcasm/>Africa was better off with colonialism? Don't be an ass.
Not for your benefit, but for the rest, your post mixes cause and effect and credits wrong effect to wrong cause. Whatever Africa might be without colonialism is no indication of what Africa is following it. Mugabe is a product of colonialism.
Yes but if Sweden expelled all their white fishermen and farmers would you still want to marry what's left?
I would ease world suffering by accepting many female brides. Otherwise they would be suffering in refugee camps, breeding grounds of terrorist organizations like LCSWSAP. (Large Chested Swedish Widows of Socialist Agendas and Pogrom) Commonly known as "Licks Wasup!"
Free Rebublic should have a breathalyzer.....
They're sure to love the idea of "kuzvarira."
They have found President Mugabe particularly inspiring. In fact, Zimbabe Law and the very ideas of President Mugabe himself inspired their monumental Eminent Domain Decision.
These "Justices" just cannot admire him enough.
Somebody send 'em a copy of this article. They'll get a kick out of it.
She said: "I would have preferred to continue with school. But we are poor and there was no money for food or anything at home. Although it (the marriage) was arranged for me, I had to agree to it. That is the only way my family could survive. In turn, my husband provides food for them."
Surprisingly mature attitude for one so young. How sad to have to be resigned to this kind of life at so young an age. A 65 year old semi-toothless old man? Ugh! Maybe she's hoping he doesn't live so long. Poor thing.
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