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A 12 year-old girl contracted HIV virus in a polygamous marriage
Padare/Enkundleni/Men's Forum on Gender
May 19, 2010

Padare /Enkundleni Men's Forum on Gender notes with great dismay the sexual abuse especially on girls and women rampant in some religious circles .Padare/Enkundleni has learnt with great shock in the article of The Herald Monday 17th May 2010 that a certain father (whose identity is being withheld to protect the identity of the girl) forced his 12 year-old daughter into a polygamous marriage that resulted in her contracting the HIV virus.

The girl was married to Simbarashe Mabvudzi of Magonya Village under Chief Zvimba in the Mashonaland West Province who had four other wives. This case shows the rampant disregard of the sanctity of life, the sexual assault and rape of minor, forced marriage and deliberate infecting a child (The Sexual Offenses Act under the Criminal Codification Act) and abusing the child as contrary to the Domestic Violence and Protection Act. It represents the typical scenario of the tip of an iceberg as such cases of sexual abuse go unreported due to the indoctrination of the members of these religious sectors which take a subversive interpretation of the Bible. Padare/Enkundleni believes that this is an insult to the young girl concerned as it is a serious infringement on her democratic right to freedom of choice thus being a serious sexual harassment act.

It is very unfortunate that such sad stories come to light at a time when the country is commemorating the International Day of Families, wherein every family member should feel valued, protected and respected. However, such an assumption struggles with the reality as most families have proven to be the haven of violence and gender inequalities, a situation which has witnessed women and children being on the receiving end.

Whatever level of irresponsible fatherhood exhibited by this man it cannot be tolerated or excused. There are lots of perpetrators who are going scot-free as most cases end up dying a natural death because they are not being reported or perpetrators are treated with impunity. However, Padare/Enkundleni would like to thank the mother of the child for taking a brave stance to report the case to the police. This is the first step in ensuring that children are protected from the varied forms of abuse. Most women and children suffer silently and stay put in abusive marriages because they fear the social pressure that may come from the relatives of the husband.

It is high time that women should gather enough courage to call a spade is a spade and be assertive in protecting their welfare and that of their children. The law, on the other hand, should take up its course and set up stringent measures that would reduce the rate of such cases happening in the country. We call upon the imposition of deterrent penalties on the father of the child and the husband so that such cases are dealt with effectively to the full protection of children.

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