1 of 3 “At the age of 12 I was sold to my husband for R$40” Photo: YOUSEF ELDIN/BBC “At the age of 12 I was sold to my husband for R$40” Photo: YOUSEF ELDIN/ BBC
It is estimated that one in five girls worldwide is married before the age of 18. Even countries that have laws against child marriage sometimes do not enforce them.
But in Malawi, in southeast Africa, the first signs of change are visible.
Tamara (not her real name) was one of the many girls who fell victim to child marriage in the country.
When she was nine months pregnant, the 13yearold girl was abandoned by her husband, a man in his 20s.
He fled after social services were sent to rescue Tamara from an illegal marriage.
The man left before social workers arrived, leaving the girl alone to sleep on the floor of her aunt's small hut for several months.
A lot has changed in Tamara's life in the last few years.
Her family was born in a rural farming community in Neno district in southern Malawi and, like 65% of the people in the region, lived below the poverty line.
The invasion of Ukraine, a trading ally of Malawi, has increased economic pressure on the country by disrupting supplies of wheat and fertilizer and driving up prices.
When Tamara's parents fell ill and died within a very short time, their only daughter was taken in by her grandmother.
But one day, when Tamara came home from school after a month, her grandmother shared the news.
“She told me I had to get married,” says Tamara. “She had already received money from a man.”
A man Tamara had never met paid 15,000 Malawian kwachas for her about R$43.
Tamara's grandmother had already spent the money on corn for the family and the husband was impatient. He wanted the girl he had paid for his “wife” to leave school and live with him.
Child marriage has been illegal in Malawi since 2017, but is culturally accepted and still occurs in rural communities like Tamara, where around 85% of the country's population lives.
According to the NGO Girls Not Brides, more than 40% of girls in the country are married under the age of 18.
“Life was difficult because the man was older,” says Tamara. “He physically abused me and bit me every time I did something wrong.”
She lived with him for three months until someone alerted social services.
As they were a few weeks preparing for Tamara to go back to school, she noticed something: her period was a few months late.
Tamara was 12 years old and expecting a child.
Nearly 100 kilometers from Tamara's aunt's hut, a short drive from the border with Mozambique, Malawian pop music plays in a small, bright green building. It is the office of Radio Mzati, a local radio station.
A group of glamorous twentysomethings gather in a radio studio, adjusting their microphones and laughing as they prepare for the broadcast.
“Hello! Hello! Welcome to another edition of Ticheze Atsikana,” says host Chikondi Kuphata, “a show that serves as a platform for us beautiful girls to discuss issues that concern us!”
Kuphata and cohost Lucy Morris switch between English and Chichewa the show's name means “let's talk” in the local language.
It is a weekly show sponsored by AGE Africa, an NGO that advocates for access to education for girls in vulnerable situations, reaching more than 4 million listeners across Malawi.
The majority of the audience are women from rural communities like Tamaras.
2 of 3 Lucy Morris says if girls know their rights they can avoid child marriage Photo: YOUSEF ELDIN/BBC Lucy Morris says if girls know their rights they can avoid child marriage Photo: YOUSEF ELDIN/BBC
The theme of the program on the day of our visit is child marriage.
“The main reason here is poverty,” Morris says.
“Since most of the families we come from are poor, our parents are unable to provide for their children. Therefore, the best solution is to send girls to marriage. They marry men who are much older than them and who can take it.”
The women encourage their listeners to send comments via WhatsApp before playing a song called Come Back. The lyrics say:
Now you need school for everything!
You better go back to school!
Early marriage is not good!
“When girls receive an education and know their rights, they know they can get help to end child marriage. That's part of our mission, to get them talking, sharing their stories and knowing that there are other ways,” she tells Morris.
There is a listening club for Ticheze Atsikan women in Lucy Morris' Gulumba village at the foot of Mount Mulanje.
The local mayor, Benson Kwelani, is a fan of the show, although he was never invited into the listening group.
He says he encourages girls to stay in school and does not give his blessing for marriage if the girl is under 18.
- According to the UN children's fund Unicef, around 650 million women today married before the age of 18.
- South Asia has the highest number of child brides at more than 40% of the global total, followed by subSaharan Africa at 18%.
- According to the humanitarian organization World Vision, around 21% of girls worldwide are married as children
- According to the NGO Girls Not Brides, child marriage rates have declined in Asia and Africa over the past decade, but there has been no progress in Latin America and the Caribbean for 25 years.
Two weeks ago, President Lazarus Chakwera announced increased funding for the national strategy against child marriage following a visit to Malawi by former first lady Michelle Obama, human rights lawyer Amal Clooney and philanthropist Melinda French Gates.
The three influential activists are also active in the country and support local organizations that fight against child marriage.
For example, Michelle Obama's Girls Opportunity Alliance supports AGE Africa, while Amal Clooney's Waging Justice for Women initiative supports the Malawi Women Lawyers Association to educate rural girls about their legal rights.
French Gates funds projects that improve health care for women, including girls who give birth in their early teens.
NGOs say it is still unusual for social services to become involved in child marriage cases, but local leaders' approach appears to be changing.
At the initiative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in 2020, more than 100 of Malawi's traditional chiefs about a quarter of all committed to combating traditional marriage in their communities.
But they say they may have little to do if families themselves hand over their girls to much older men.
3 of 3 Tamara continued to work in the fields when she was nine months pregnant Photo: YOUSEF ELDIN / BBC Tamara continued to work in the fields when she was nine months pregnant Photo: YOUSEF ELDIN / BBC
Two chiefs in Neno district, where Tamara lives, said they could not be sure child marriages were not taking place clandestinely in their communities.
“Some parents come to us, but we discourage them and reject these marriages,” said John Juwa, leader of a community of more than 2,000 people.
“Sometimes parents insist that their daughters are marriageable, but we consult medical records to confirm the age.”
George Mphonda, head of over a thousand people, says: “We're not saying child marriage doesn't happen, but if it does, it's kept secret.”
But who is responsible for preventing secret child marriages?
After a long pause, Juwa says: “It is our responsibility as chiefs, with the support of the family.”
Tamara gave birth to a healthy boy. A small Malawian NGO based in the city of Blantyre called People Serving Girls At Risk paid a man with a bicycle to take her to the local health clinic when she went into labor.
They are also in regular contact with her and her aunt.
Luckily, Tamara's birth was easy. Pregnancy and childbirth complications are the leading cause of death among young women and adolescents, according to the WHO, so there has been great concern.
“Tamara is back home and doing well with her son. Her family is very happy with her arrival,” said Caleb Ng’ombo, executive director of People Serving Girls At Risk.
“She has the support of the community and her aunt, but the real work begins now. It would be best if she went back to school, but she also needs to support her son. We’re not sure what’s going to happen now.”
Tamara tells the BBC her biggest hope for her son Prince is that he can finish school.
Tamara's aunt runs a fruit and vegetable stand that makes less than US$50 (R$250) a month. It's just a few steps away from their cabin.
Tamara helps out whenever she can and meets her friends. Several girls come to the tent to get supplies for their families.
The last time the BBC report visited the site, at least two pregnant teenagers greeted Tamara with arms full of vegetables.
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