The Chief Who Answered “Yes” To A Call To End Child Marriages In Malawi

Inkosi Theresa Kachindamonto

“Marriage  can wait  until these young girls finish school,” says the chief of Malawi who  seems to have  answered  with a “yes “ to a call to end child marriages  in her  country. Sharing her experiences in her journey  to fight child marriages  at the Southern Africa region launch of the global campaign “It takes the world to end violence against children recently,  Inkosi Theresa Kachindamonto revealed how she defied all odds and spent six months going from village to village sensitising communities  about the problem.

“I would get threats like do you want to die chief?” she said. That however did not stop her from her mission to stop early marriages and ensuring that children are in school.  Working with women groups as well as law enforcement agencies, if a girl got pregnant she would ensure that she was allowed to go through ante-natal clinic and when the baby is born, she would breast feed for six months.

“Afterwards, we would call the parents to come and fetch the baby, so that the young girl can go to school,” adds the chief who at first felt challenged by the task but rose to the occasion when she realised it was possible.

Her dedication to ending child marriages, saw her break up 2, 549 marriages from which 2000 were girls and 549 were boys.

The chief of Malawi is an example of a few women in Africa who bravely stand up against child marriage and she takes it upon herself to ensure that education for children is her priority. She inspires others showing that the hard to break cultural practices are indeed breakable.

Prevalent forms of violence against children in the region, as well as the rest of the continent, include child labour, child marriage, sexual and physical violence, female genital mutilation and vulnerability caused by internal displacement.

World Vision’s campaign, It takes a world to end violence against children, aims to catalyse a global movement of people committed to keeping children safe from harm. Its name reflects the fact that no one person, group or organisation can solve this problem alone; but collective action is needed.

World Vision’s Southern Africa regional launch follows a continental launch held in February 2017 at the African Union (AU) summit in Addis Ababa. This was followed by a global launch in March and several others around the world.