Senate debates tougher penalties for child marriage as poverty, orphanhood and weak enforcement blamed
By staff writer, Parliamentary watch
HARARE, June 9, 2026 — Zimbabwe’s Senate has heard renewed calls for tougher penalties and stronger enforcement against child marriages, with lawmakers warning that poverty, parental absence and exploitation are pushing girls into early pregnancy and school drop-out while perpetrators face minimal consequences.
Speaking during debate on a motion on early child marriages and teenage pregnancies, Hon. Sen. Tongogara said the issue has been discussed for years but “we have not seen any progress.” She said poverty is a major driver, describing how girls from poorer households can be lured by older men (“sugar daddies”) offering food and small luxuries.
She also cited cases where parents leave the country for work, leaving children unsupervised and vulnerable, and linked rising vulnerability to orphanhood following deaths related to HIV and AIDS and COVID-19. Tongogara described how early pregnancy can cause severe health complications, including fistula, saying some children end up unable to control their bladders.
She criticised weak follow-through on existing laws, pointing to the Child Marriage Act [Chapter 5:7] and arguing that protection is failing in practice because cases are not being taken to court and sentences are not “deterrent enough.” She urged longer sentences to prevent repeat offending.
Tongogara also raised concerns about abuse of religious authority, alleging instances where church leaders claim spiritual justification to take young girls as wives. She called for broader education in schools, emphasising that preventing teenage pregnancy and child marriage requires teaching boys as well as girls: “It takes two to tango.”
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