SHAMVA,
Zimbabwe
(AP)
—
Inside
a
white
tent
with
a
wooden
fireplace
in
the
middle,
about
two
dozen
African
girls
slipped
off
their
shoes,
sat
on
mattresses
and
prepared
to
pour
their
hearts
out.
They
held
hands
and
their
chants
of
“it’s
so
nice
to
be
here”
echoed
through
the
tent
before
they
set
about
discussing
sexuality,
child
marriage,
teen
pregnancy,
gender
bias,
education,
economic
empowerment
and
the
law.
Nothing
was
off
limits.
The
girls’
hangout
in
rural
northeastern Zimbabwe is
a
revival
of
Nhanga,
the
local
term
for
“girls’
bedroom,”
an
ancient
traditional
space
once
used
to
prepare
adolescent
girls
for
marriage.
Across
rural
Zimbabwe,
girls
are
now
reinventing
the
centuries-old
practice
as
a
peer-led
movement
to
resist
child
marriage,
which
is
rife
in
the
southern
African
nation.
“This
is
a
safe
space,
every
girl
feels
free,”
said
18-year-old
Anita
Razo,
who
joined
at
14
and
now
mentors
younger
girls.
Ancient
tradition,
new
purpose
In
traditional
homesteads,
a
round
thatched
hut
served
as
Nhanga,
a
female-only
room
where
girls
were
taught
obedience,
how
to
please
husbands
and
moral
education.
It
reinforced
patriarchal
expectations.
Today,
the
practice
is
being
flipped.
“The
new
Nhanga
is
a
cultural
innovation
dealing
with
modern
problems,”
and
where
girls
candidly
tackle
subjects
still
sensitive
in
many
conservative
homes,
said
Nokutenda
Magama,
a
programs
officer
with
Rozaria
Memorial
Trust,
a
nonprofit
that
works
to
empower
rural
girls
and
women
and
is
behind
the
Nhanga
revival.
Sessions
include
practical
skills
like
poultry
raising,
farming
and
soap
making.
The
trust
organizes
gatherings
by
age
group,
from
girls
as
young
as
five
to
women
over
35,
ensuring
an
age-appropriate
curriculum
and
mentorship
across
generations.
Elders,
including
senior
government
officials,
are
sometimes
invited.
A
wider
problem
The
reinvention
comes
against
worrying
statistics.
One
in
three
girls
in
Zimbabwe
marries
before
18,
according
to
the
United
Nations
Children’s
Fund,
calling
it
“a
national
emergency
demanding
urgent
action.”
It’s
a
similar
situation
across
East
and
southern
Africa.
Child
marriage
rates
soar
to
above
40%
in
central
and
West
Africa,
with
Niger,
at
76%,
the
highest
globally,
according
to
UNICEF.
Zimbabwe
and
many
other
African
countries have
outlawed
child
marriage,
even overturning
laws
prohibiting
abortion
for
girls
under
18,
but
poverty,
lethargic
enforcement
and
cultural
and
religious
customs
keep
it
alive.
Child
bride
to
community
role
model
For
Samantha
Chidodo,
the
revival
offered
a
path
back.
Now
26
and
a
final-year
law
student,
she
was
forced
into
an
abusive
marriage
at
17
to
a
man
nearly
a
decade
older.
“All
I
wanted
was
to
play
and
think
of
my
future.
Suddenly
I
had
to
be
a
mother
and
wife,”
she
said
at
a
camp
that
blended
tent
sessions
with
a
“girls
and
goals”
soccer
tournament.
“I
didn’t
even
know
what
to
do.
I
would
be
dead
asleep,
oblivious
that
I
needed
to
breastfeed.”
A
woman
next
door
would
take
the
crying
baby,
feed
him
and
return
him
to
the
sleeping
teen
mother,
she
recalled.
After
two
years,
she
walked
away,
enduring
stigma
as
neighbors
warned
others
not
to
associate
with
her.
With
support
from
Rozaria
Memorial
Trust,
she
returned
to
school
and
became
one
of
the
modern
Nhanga
pioneers.
“Initially
we
were
only
about
20
girls.
Almost
90%
of
us
did
well,
some
went
to
college,
others
started
projects.
The
community
began
to
see
our
power,
and
encouraged
their
children
to
join,”
she
said.
“Nhanga
is
now
seen
as
cool.”
Today,
more
than
200
girls
in
her
village
participate.
Many
schools
across
Zimbabwe
have
adopted
the
model,
which
has
spread
to
Zambia
and
Sierra
Leone
and
reached
African
Union
and
United
Nations
forums.
Winning
over
elders
Because
child
marriage
is
often
rooted
in
culture
and
religion,
girls
sought
the
backing
of
chiefs
and
village
heads
—
custodians
of
local
customs.
Xmas
Savanhu,
a
local
village
headman,
said
leaders
now
enforce
rules
against
early
marriage.
Offenders
must
pay
a
cow
as
a
fine
held
in
trust
by
the
chief
for
the
girl’s
education.
“This
ensures
she
can
return
to
school
without
financial
worries,”
he
said,
noting
that
culprits
are
also
reported
to
police.
Chiefs
also
partner
with
NGOs
to
help
young
mothers
resume
their
studies.
Despite
progress,
poverty
and
entrenched
attitudes
persist,
said
Enet
Tini,
a
teacher
and
girls
mentor
whose
school
adopted
the
model.
She
welcomed a
government
policy
allowing
girls
to
return
to
school
after
giving
birth,
but
noted
parents
are
often
reluctant.
“The
gap
that
we
have
lies
with
the
adults.
They
view
pregnancy
or
child
marriage
as
indiscipline
so
they
think
the
girls
should
be
punished,”
she
said,
highlighting
the
importance
of
girls-led initiatives
to
change
attitudes
among
themselves and
the
community.
A
global
problem,
local
solutions
Nyaradzai
Gumbonzvanda,
deputy
executive
director
at
U.N.
Women
and
founder
of
the
Rozaria
Memorial
Trust,
called
child
marriage
“essentially
rape
and
sexual
exploitation”
and
a
worldwide
problem,
but
“much
higher
in
Africa,”
where
laws
alone
cannot
end
it.
“Laws
are
important
…
but
it
is
critically
essential
to
reach
to
the
girls
themselves,
to
do
the
shift
in
the
social
norms
in
our
communities,”
said
Gumbonzvanda,
who
started
Rozaria
Memorial
Trust
in
2007
in
honor
of
her
late
mother,
who
was
married
at
13.
Her
message
that
solutions
must
involve
girls
themselves
alongside
policymakers
and
traditional
leaders
resonates
with
Razo,
the
young
mentor.
“If
we
can
pressure
each
other
into
behaving
badly,
then
we
can
also
influence
each
other
to
act
positively,”
Razo
said.