Malawi Celebrates Day for African Child: We are Ending Child Marriages- Kaliati

Hon Patricia Kaliati 

Malawi Government says positive strides are being made in ending early child marriages which are helping young girls to stay at school.

Gender, Children and Disability Social Welfare Minister said this as the country prepares  for the commemoration for the Day for African Child on 30th June in Ngabu, Chikwawa district.

The Day for African Child is commemorated every 16th of June annually but Malawi will commemorate the day on 30th June, under the theme "Accelerate Our Efforts to  End Child Marriages" 

Minister of Gender, Children and Social Welfare, Patricia Kaliati says government finds this year's theme more fit in Malawi agenda to end early child marriages particulary among young girls. She said there are now positive indicators that Malawi is on the right track to achieve end of various forms of child abuse and child marriages particularly among girls who are the prime victims.

She said Malawi has enacted a number of legislations that criminalise marriage before child attain the age of 18 such as Marriage Divorce and Family Relations Act and Trafficking in Persons Act that were passed and assented recently.

She said such legislations are helping government protecting young girls from becoming young brides, "We have number of legislations which we have in the country of protecting the girl child and leave the girl child in school up to time she finishes school and also getting married at the age of 18”

Hon Kaliati

She said together with number of partners, efforts are being made in mobilising resources for child protection and securing future for girls among other interventions and activities. Kaliati mentioned  number of child protection programes such as school feeding programme, cash transfer programmes, re-admission of girls at school, and construction of girl hostels are helping Malawi children to stay at school.

The Minister added that some interventions that encourages reporting of child abuse cases as well as community bylaws that criminalise early marriages have helped to reduce cases of child abuses and other forms of harrasment among girls 

Kaliati also hailed the media for well coverage of issues of child related violence which is helping the Ministry to identify cases and act upon them. She called for collaborated efforts among chiefs, police, judiciary and parents and guardians in ending practices that encourages early marriages and report such cases to police and relevant authorities.

At Ngabu, the Plan of Action for Vulnerable Children which will run from 2015 to 2019 containing a situation analysis of 2013 will be launched. According to the Gender Minister, the report finds that there are 1.8 million Malawi vulnerable children.