United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
Three organisations have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to end child marriages in Tanzania.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Graça Machel Trust and Children’s Dignity Forum (CDF) will strengthen national dynamics for realization of the rights of adolescent girls. They will achieve this through ensuring that rights holders participate and duty bearers are held accountable for ending child marriage, as well as any other interventions aimed at realizing the human rights of adolescent girls.
Among other things, the three organisations will undertake studies in target regions with the aim of better understanding of economic factors, traditional practices as well as cultural and religious beliefs which underline the perpetuation of child marriage.
They will also identify and map key players within communities to engage and build a common understanding of reasons why child marriage is detrimental to girls and women’s rights and social development at large.
The three organisations will empower girls and women to claim their rights using community-based approaches, disseminating legal and constitutional rights, building the capacity to understand and apply protection instruments to prevent child marriage.
Child marriage is a global problem that impedes the attainment of the key Millennium Development Goals in particular poverty, gender equality, child health, maternal health and HIV and AIDS.
Political commitment is vital for creating the environment to end child marriages.
“It is crucial to invest in girls,” said Mariam Khan, UNFPA Representative, adding “…longer schooling, later marriage makes for a healthier and wealthier family. A girl who marries later is also more empowered to choose when she wants to have children and how many children she wants to have.”
In Africa alone over 42 percent of girls are married before they reach 18 years of age, with millions of girls given away to marriage before they reach puberty.
A total of 31 out 41 countries in the world where prevalence rates of child marriage are more than 30 percent are in Africa.
Notably, Tanzania has one of the highest child marriage prevalence rates in the world and on average, two among five girls will be married before their 18th birthday.
“The vision of an economically prosperous Tanzania can only be achieved if there is investment in girls and young women to enable them grow up healthy, well-educated, well-nourished and protected from violence, FGM and Child Marriage.
“The choice made now in terms of protecting and developing girls and young women is the future investment in our families, communities and national at large,” said KoshumaMtengeti, the CDF Executive Director.
Commenting during the signing ceremony, a representative of the Graça Machel Trust said: “With political will, appropriate investments and programs tailored to local settings, together with robust legal and judiciary frameworks, we can bring an end to child marriage within a generation."
The MoU between UNFPA, Graça Machel Trust and Children Dignity Forum is a two- year agreement which commences with immediate effect.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
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