The First Lady, Gertrude Mutharika, Thursday called on Malawians to join hands in combating child marriages which continue to worsen the country’s preventable maternal mortality rates
Mutharika made these remarks yesterday at Kammwamba Ground in Neno where World Vision Malawi was launching ‘It takes Malawi to end Child Marriages’ campaign.
“Every child who has been married-off should go back to school. Some people have questions like whose duty is it to take the girl-child from the marriage? Well, it is everyone’s duty; the parents, teachers, politicians, musicians, among others,” Mutharika said.
World Vision started conducting awareness campaigns in Neno on Friday last week after a survey revealed that 600 children are married off in the district and that Malawi has one of the highest rates of child marriages in the world with approximately one in two girls married by the age of 18.
World Vision, National Director, Hazel Nyathi, said the aim of their organisation was to empower communities take charge of their development agenda.
Leave a Reply