A culture of impunity? the conceptualisation of child marriages by different social actors in the new constitutional dispensation in Zimbabwe

Muchemwa, Muchaneta

A culture of impunity? the conceptualisation of child marriages by different social actors in the new constitutional dispensation in Zimbabwe

Thesis / Dissertation

2026

Publisher

University of Cape Town

Department

Department of Sociology

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Abstract

This thesis examines the practice of child marriages in sub-Saharan Africa, with a specific interest in Zimbabwe. The ‘vulnerable girl child' is at the centre stage as a subject of this practice. The literature suggests that diverse factors lead to child marriages. Still, the main driver continues to be the abuse of cultural and religious norms worsened by the inconsistency in domestic legislation and what feminists describe as ‘outright callous patriarchy.' In addition, poverty, climate catastrophe, environmental crises and unemployment have been contributory factors as parents and guardians marry off girl children for economic benefits that consolidate social relations and enable survival. Victims are often betrayed by those meant to protect them. In 2016, the Zimbabwean Constitutional Court upheld a landmark ruling in Mudzuru and Another v Minister of Justice and Another, establishing 18 years as the minimum age to enter into marriage in Zimbabwe. Put differently, child marriage was explicitly abolished because of its inconsistency with international human rights obligations and Zimbabwe's Constitution. This dissertation examines how key actors opposed to child marriages in the Zimbabwean context understand the causes and effects of child marriage on the child and her family's well-being.