“Walk to Protect Child Marriage Survivors (CMS)” Sibbuku Genius Musokotwane prods Gender Minister Elizabeth Phiri
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Friday 10th August, 2018
A renowned nonprofit organization in the fight against early child marriage in Zambia, Musokotwane Compassion Mission Zambia (MCMZ) has challenged the newly appointed Minister of Gender to walk the directive by her appointing authority, President Edgar Chagwa Lungu to end child marriage.
“Walk to Protect Child Marriage Survivors (CMS)” Sibbuku Genius Musokotwane prods Gender Minister Elizabeth Phiri
Speaking at a press briefing held in Choma, Southern Province, Musokotwane Compassion Mission Zambia (MCMZ) Executive Director, Sibbuku Genious Musokotwane congratulated Honourable Elizabeth Phiri on her well deserved appointment, and urged her to walk the directive to end child marriage beyond pronouncements.
Mr. Musokotwane says it is worrying for us as a country to continue making pronouncements on ending child marriage when government has not put in place a budget allocation that meets the educational and basic needs of child marriage survivors.
“We congratulate Hon. Phiri on her well deserved appointment as Gender Minister, and want to urge the new minister to secure funding directed at operations to end child marriage and addressing the plight of child marriage survivors in order to materialise the President’s pronouncements to end child marriage countrywide. If one or hundreds of girls willing walked out of marriage today, there is no government funds to meet their basic needs, safe shelter, and education.” Says Mr. Musokotwane
The seasoned anti-child marriage activist states that it is high time the country starts walking the talk on ending child marriage, and materialize pronouncements into being the reality on the ground as the opposite is the prevailing situation in the rural communuties.
President Edgar Chagwa Lungu (right) Congratulates Gender Minister and Kanyama Member of Parliament Elizabeth Phiri during the Swearing in Ceremony at State House in Lusaka on Wednesday,August 8,2018. PICTURE BY SALIM HENRY/STATE HOUSE ©2018
Mr. Musokotwane further appealed for the decentralization of the Gender Ministry across all districts in the country adding that such a move would yield immediate grassroot government impact in the fight against child marriage.
Mr. Musokotwane adds that the decentralization of the Gender Ministry will further give the country a first hand picture of the state of child marriage, and it will also help with accurate and consistent statistics on children retrieved from child marriage country wide.
He further commended President Lungu who is also African Union Ambassador on ending child marriage, for making a strong directive for the newly appointed minister to end child marriage.
He urged the Head of State to make the end child marriage directive across all government ministries and departments as the fight against child demands for a collective approach and sense of ownership to end child marriage by all of us.
