In Zimbabwe, one in three girls is married off before they reach the age of 18. Most of the causes of child marriages are preventable and are caused by a myriad of interlinked factors. In Zimbabwe, there are three main drivers of child marriage: cultural and (forced) marriage practices, religion and poverty. The national prevalence for child marriage is 32.6%. Child marriages have negative effects on girls, especially girls with disabilities in poor communities who are impacted by the intersection of disability, gender, poverty, and age.
The case study is part of the Regional SRHR Fund’s documentation of case studies aimed at supporting cross learning and knowledge sharing to enable organizations conceptualize, design and coordinate adolescent SRHR advocacy. This initiative has been made possible with support from Sida through the Regional SRHR Fund.
