21st December, 2017

In a bid to tighten the fight against early child marriages and violence against children, a Zambian nongovernmental organization, Musokotwane Compassion Mission Zambia (MCMZ) has called on government through the Ministry of Chiefs and Traditional Affairs to abolish traditional practices that violates children’s proper development.

Speaking yesterday, Wednesday, 20th December, 2017 on the Choma Maano Radio Station’s Child Protection Program, Musokotwane Compassion Mission Zambia (MCMZ) Executive Director, Mr. Sibbuku Genious Musokotwane has appealed to government and traditional leaders to abolish traditional practices that have no respect for children’s proper development charging that children must be left to be children and enable them to grow with a day rightful maturation process.

The MCMZ leader adds that some practices associated with ceremonies such as #Nkolola contains age inappropriate sexual content not suitable for age groups below the age of 18years.

Mr. Musokotwane explained that these practices have contributed to children especially the girl child who tend to think they are mature enough take on any man or walk in a marriage when in fact not but just misled by ceremony initiators with no regard for the child’s proper development.

He added that the fierce animal of early child marriages and schools teen pregnancies is riding on these ceremonies and the sooner the abolishment path is considered the better.

Mr. Musokotwane warns the usage of ill cultural and traditional practices as detrimental to the country’s realization of a sustainable and prosperous middle income country status by the year 2030 adding that the kind of children we raise and the values we inculcate in them today are a key component to that status.

Mr. Musokotwane also appealed on the general public to uphold their obligation to children’s growth and refrain from being allergic to change.