MRS.

MATIBENGA:
Thank you Mr. Speaker. I have also stood up to add a few words
concerning the motion that is under debate. I want to thank the
mover of the motion, Hon. Maondera and the seconder Hon.
Majome.
What we applauded in this country when we got our independence
was that there was the issue of betrothing a child. To me, that is
another method of marriage. We applauded and appreciated the law
that said, betrothing a child to appease spirits using a girl child was
a law that was repealed. It really affected us during the liberation
war and we were really looking forward to independence so we
could address this issue. I want to say that this law was highly
celebrated in this nation. Probably, we then relaxed because before
we knew, we then realised that we had regressed and this issue was
becoming worse than what was happening with the betrothal issue.
I want to look at the issue again. I want this House to know that we
are not talking of our lives from nowhere but we have a background.
Our traditional background did not have such problems, so it makes
us remember and look back say how did this come about? How did it
come that people want to feed on the seed? Why is it that people
see the girl child as a wife? Our traditional background does not
allow this.
Then it means that there are some people who have come in with
unbecoming behaviour. We have accepted this and made it part of
our culture. If you are a parent, what is your role? This child did not
request to come into this world. You met your spouse out there and
you had a child. You even named one of the children Chipo. Now
this is the same blessing that you leave at such a tender age to go
and start a family.
Ask yourself at what age you started a home. I know that long back,
there were some girls who took long to get married and yet they
had come of age but they would then get married later on. But now,
the issue that a child who is 16 years old is in form four or form
three - you still ask that child if they have done their homework and
polished their shoes because that is what we call parenting. You are
the one who should nurture this child as a parent. We are busy
running around to try and get resources to send our children to
school.
Long back our parents used to ask us what we wanted to be when
we grow up. I wonder if that question is still being asked today. I
remember no one said he or she wanted to get married. Children
always say I want to be a teacher, nurse, soldier, pilot and some
other things. Does it not pain you that children have such

aspirations? When I look at the situation now, I say to myself; at that

age, if we are still assisting a child at 16 to build his or her life, why
then should we say a child should get married and yet there is much
more involved in running a home than just to wash her uniform,
polishing her shoes and to see that all her school belongings are in
place.
We expect that child to bear children. When these children bear
children, they need to fend for them. This child has to be bathed and
fed. You expect that child to bring up that baby and yet she is failing
to look after herself. We now expect those children to run homes
and to see what should be eaten at home each and every day.
As we sit here, our major question should be; why should we say
that at 16 or below, a child should be able to run a home. At 17 and
18, a child is still in lower or upper six from 19 to 21, a child is at
the university. But here we are also saying in the Constitution that
we want equal opportunities. How can these opportunities be equal
when others are deprived of their education when they are taken at
a tender age and forced to drop out of school.
A good future is through education. Let me say that as parents, we
have a task to make sure that the children that we have are cared
for and should be mature enough to make informed decisions and
also to speak without fear or favour.
The other question is what if the parent is insane; it means that the
Government has to come in. I think the Government should come in
because the rights of a child are being violated. A child born in this
country needs documentation. It is our duty to ensure that the
childs birth is registered and not that it should be unknown that a
child was born. When we see a child whose rights are being violated,
we should intervene as Government.
On awarenesses, the legislation should allow whistle blowing that if
anyone within my community is violating the rights of the child, I
should be able to go and report this person. I am saying as a
woman, the issue of this Gender Commission we are going to use
this particular commission to report such issues. We know how we
are going to report this to ensure that it becomes what is required
by the Gender Commission - because there should be a way that a
whistle blower can report.
With the advent of diseases such as HIV and AIDS if the orphans
are not taken care of, who then should do that? The Government
should intervene. We are the Government and we are an
independent country and we should be dealing with such issues that
children should enjoy their basic human rights.

We are also worried about the fact that a boy child is allowed to
start a marriage at 18 but a girl child at 16. There is that law that
you have slept with a minor. Once the man goes and pays lobola,
already you are married. We need to realign our laws and say that
the Act says this but the Constitution says this. We should also avoid
complexities of having conflicting laws. We need to do this to ensure
that we do not have conflicting laws and know that this is right or
wrong. We need to have laws that talk of age limits for different
issues. This means that if this happens, there are others who have
different interests.
Lastly, Mr. Speaker, let me say that there are also religious sects and
cultures that encourage such acts. What surprises me is that they
are now coming over to talk to us and they are calling us to put on
their garments so that we cannot expose their behaviour. Such
religious sects should be dealt with. Let us talk about them and let
us not support them. We will support them in terms of spreading the
gospel of God but we should also expose what is evil so that our
children are protected. I thank you Mr. Speaker.