By Brenna Matendere in Marange
A 75 passenger Zupco bus emblazoned with the image of a young innocent girl with plaited hair twisted into an immaculate looking style swerves into the right side of a dusty Bocha road in the heart of Marange.
Big words inscribed on the bus that catches the eye reads: “My marriage my choice . . . Eliminating Child marriages.”
The words best describe the motive behind the moving billboard.
It’s a cry to end the phenomenon of child brides in Marange which was facilitated by AIDS Healthcare Foundation Zimbabwe (AHF) and the Zimbabwe Gender Commission in April.
Several phone numbers that are toll free are conspicuous on the billboard.
Girls along the road in Marange who spoke to this publication said the bus during the first days of plying the Harare-Marange road attracted attention of both the young and the old. They said the initiative had instant impact that it is still being felt across the area.
Voices from Marange
“People would line up the road because it was a first of its kind. What it therefore means is that the message was widely spread and understood by all and sundry. Right now majority of schooll children have all the tool free numbers in their small books ready to report any violations,” said 21 year old Merryline Makoni.
Another teenager who spoke to this publication in Marange said even traditional leaders are beginning to sweat over the issue of child marriages because they don’t know who will report them on toll free numbers.
“It used to be the traditional norm here that a 46 year old man from Marange Apostolic church would marry eight or so girls under the age of 16. That is why at one time a girl died giving birth. But the intervention of the moving billboard now scares people that have been perpetuating that habit of child marriages to think twice,” said Nyambirai Makarau.
Makomborero Murumani urged AHF and its partners to double up and place more billboards on other buses and private vehicles plying the route.
Why a moving billboard
During the launch of the project, AHF Programme Manager, Clever Taderera explained why the billboard had to be a moving one.
“Usually messages are on stationary billboards, walls, paper, on the radio or television. We wanted an attention drawing message, a mobile billboard on a moving bus. We partnered the Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (ZUPCO aiming to sensitise the local community about the dangers of child marriages. As the bus leaves Harare, it raises awareness along the way too, Marondera, Macheke, Rusape, Mutare all the way to Bocha, Marange,” he said.
Taderera said the endgame is to educate the Marange community about the risks associated with child marriages.
“The billboard will inspire community members to take concrete steps towards ending child marriages,” he said.
“As a solution to those who do not like visiting police stations, the billboard has the Zimbabwe Gender Commission toll-free number. People seeking information or assistance related to child marriages or abuse are welcome to call,” said Taderera.
He said the billboard will ignite conversations.
In effect, the initiative is a collaborative effort between the AIDS Healthcare Foundation Zimbabwe (AHF) and the Zimbabwe Gender Commission.
The initiative’s primary objectives border around raising awareness about the risks associated with child marriages.
The mobile message encourages community members to take concrete steps towards ending the practice. The community must endeavour to provide support to individuals seeking information or assistance.
Why AHF is pushing back on child brides
Once married, there are a number of factors that can make child brides vulnerable to HIV which AHF as a foundation is therefore making interventions to eliminate the marriages.
In many contexts, early sexual debut – including that which takes place within child marriages – is associated with increased lifetime risk of HIV infection.
Child brides are exposed to frequent unprotected sexual activity, in part because there is pressure on them to prove their fertility.
Child brides have little say in how they practice their sexuality, because of their young age and limited power in the relationship, leaving them unable to negotiate safer sex or refuse sex.
They are also more vulnerable to intimate partner violence, a factor that has been shown to increase the likelihood of contracting HIV.
Girls married before the age of 18 tend to have lower levels of education than their unmarried peers, which further increases their risk of contracting HIV.
In April, the then Zimbabwe Gender Commission Acting Chairperson, Commissioner Obert Matshalaga, who unveiled the billboard at AHF Offices in Harare commended AHF for their efforts in preventing child marriages, particularly in Manicaland and Bocha Marange, where the vice is prevalent.
The 2022 National Child Marriage Inquiry revealed alarming realities faced by young girls in Marange and underscored the urgent need for collective action to protect children, enforce legal frameworks, and strengthen advocacy.
Study research flags religion
A journal titled Religion, Women, and Girls’ Rights in Zimbabwe: the Case of Zimbabwe’s Johanne Marange Apostolic Church shows that religion is at the centre of the vice but the effort by AHF is paying off in pushing back the scourge.
Part of the journal written by Cornelius Dudzai, Kwashirai Zvokuomba and Tarisai Gracious Mboko reads:
“Engaging in this study came out of the realization that women and girls’ rights are compromised in religious settings and the issue goes on unreported.
“Deploying a qualitative research methodology framework buttressed by the gendered human rights–based theoretical approach, the study collected empirical evidence through semi-structured in-depth interviews as well as participant observation.
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty participants — fifteen young women and five males. All the twenty participants were members of the Johanne Marange Apostolic Church.
“Snowball sampling was used in selecting the participants. It was established that the church doctrine within the Johanne Marange Apostolic Church provides a conducive environment for the abuse of women and the girl child under the guise of ‘sacredness’ of the religious sect.
This has been and is still going on unchecked. The study concluded that abuse cases through forced and teen marriages to older men are facilitated by both adult men and women and is highly safeguarded within religious cultism.”
According to the National Aids Council, ( NAC) 13,353 teenagers were impregnated in 2024, with 55 learners dropping out of school, including three primary school students in Manicaland Province and therefore the moving billboard by AHF and the Gender Commission cannot have come at a more appropriate time.
The statistics reveal a slight drop from 14,027 cases in 2023, but the problem persists.
Again, it is worth noting that the Manicaland province has historically high teenage pregnancy rates, with a prevalence of 27% in 2018, exceeding the national average of 20%.
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