Chimanimani district in Manicaland province is battling a rise in teenage pregnancies and child marriages amid revelations the male culprits are fleeing to Mozambique where they have created a no go area for relatives of victims who may want to pursue them.
BRENNA MATENDERE
The mountainous district is located near Mozambique and locals do not need passports but simple permits to cross the border which makes it easy to flee Zimbabwe.
There are also other exit points which are illegal that can be used along the border lines.
In an interview with The Newshawks, Priscila Mac Isaac, the Chimanimani District Aids Coordinator (DAC) for the National Aids Council said there are fears that there are high numbers of under age girls that are been impregnated or married off away from the eyes of authorities.
“Young girls under the age of 19 who presented themselves at health facilities as of 2020 were 1 185. We had eight children under the age of 14 who went to our health facilities to register pregnancies. A single girl below the age of 14 who is impregnated is already a big problem but it becomes worse when we have eight of them,” she said.
Isaac added that in 2021, the numbers increased.
“From 1 185 girls the following year we recorded 1 238 girls under the age of 19 and 13 girls below 14 up from eight. The reality is that when we have girls out of school there are high risks that they may contract HIV.”
“We could be having more numbers of children under 14 who are being impregnated but not reporting to health facilities so the trend is worrying,” she said.
Isaac revealed that just outside the Zimbabwean border in Mozambique, some men from Chimanimani had created an area they gave the name Musanditevere (Don’t follow me) where they stay as fugitives.
“The men know that it’s a crime to sleep with a girl under the age of 14 or just minors and so they flee to Mozambique and stay forever at an area they now call Musanditevere. So at that area relatives of victims of child marriages are barred from entering the place to engage the culprits. There is need for authorities to act on the matter to keep young girls safe from HIV,” she said.
As a way of trying to curb the problem, Isaac said NAC plans to meet traditional chiefs and other community leaders to find lasting solutions.
Zimbabwe has set a target of ending AIDS by 2030.
One of the ways that NAC has come up with to achieve the target is to end new infections.
However, child marriages and teen pregnancies make the target difficult to achieve.
In December 2021, the constitutional court made landmark ruling that declared that any law, custom, and practice, which authorized child marriage was unconstitutional.
