Mozambique: Early marriages, pregnancies challenge equality for women

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Mozambique: Early marriages, pregnancies challenge equality for women

7:23 CAT | 07 Apr 2024

FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: O Pais]

Mozambique’s President Filipe Nyusi on Sunday pointed to early pregnancies and premature unions as some of the main challenges on the “road” to gender equality in the country, on a day when Mozambique celebrates Women’s Day.

“It is crucial to recognise that challenges persist on the path towards full gender equality (…) In the area of health, challenges still persist due to the predominance of multiple structural, normative, social and economic factors, which occur at all stages of women’s and girls’ lives, hindering their development, including early pregnancy and premature unions” said Filipe Nyusi, in a statement to the nation on Women’s Day.

In addition to early pregnancies and premature marriages, the Mozambican head of state said that maternal mortality and gender-based violence are other challenges facing Mozambican women, although he highlighted “remarkable progress” in recent years.

“In the area of education, we have invested in girls’ education and, as a result, the net enrolment rate of girls in primary education increased from 93.3% in 2020 to 98.3% in 2023, contributing to the achievement of gender parity in primary education,” declared Filipe Nyusi, also highlighting that, between 2020 and 2023, the percentage of women enrolled in higher education rose from 46% to 48%.

“We assume that we can only achieve sustainable development with the emancipation of women, prioritising equal opportunities for women and men,” he emphasised.

Mozambique continues to register one of the highest prevalence rates of early unions, with around 48% of girls getting married before reaching the age of 18, according to the most recent official data.

Marriages are usually negotiated by families and used as a strategy to escape poverty, especially in rural areas.

In October 2019, the president promulgated and ordered the publication of the Law for the Prevention and Combat of Premature Unions, which had been approved by parliament in July of the same year.

The law eliminates marital unions involving people under the age of 18, punishing adults who marry a child with a sentence of up to 12 years and a fine of up to two years.

The penalty also applies to adults who take part in the engagement preparations and to any adult who agrees to live in a union arranged by other people when they know that their partner is under 18.

Sanctions are also envisaged for civil servants, religious leaders and traditional leaders who celebrate marriages involving children under 18, in which case the civil servant will be sentenced to up to eight years in jail.

April 7 in Mozambique is the holiday marking the death in 1971 of Josina Machel, the first wife of Samora Machel, Mozambique’s first president.

Josina Machel, a Mozambican heroine, played an important role in women’s involvement in the struggle against the Portuguese colonial regime. She was one of the founders of the Women’s Detachment of the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo) and served as head of the Social Affairs Section and the Women’s Section in the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Source: Lusa