Zambia: Kalomo District Commissioner Joshua Sikaduli has warned village headmen and the people living in the communities under their command to take a more proactive role in dissuading child marriages and early pregnancies. The communities in the remote areas of the district have to stop resolving issues on girl child marriages and early pregnancies at household level.
The district commissioner said that it is very important for the girls to be aware of their own rights as a citizen. The officer said that the practice of child marriages and early pregnancy is detrimental towards girl child’s development as they severely limit the future of the girls.
The young girls are pulled out of schools in order to get them married. The idea is that the girls are not given enough time to think about their own future and careers before they are married.
District Commissioner Sikaduli also urged traditional leaders to stop resolving child sexual abuse cases at village level. The village heads must let the law do justice to the perpetrators after they commit the crime.
He made these remarks this in a speech during the distribution of several sanitary towels to pupils by Queens of Excellence, Southern Chapter at Nkandazovu secondary school. The District Commissioner was not attending the event in person but had been represented by the District Adminstrative Officer.
District Administrative Officer, Doreen Handunka had also read the speech of the District Commissioner on his behalf at the event.
Meanwhile, Queens of Excellence National Vice Chairperson, Veronica Mwanakasale Mukuni has urged the Nkandazovu community to embrace moral uprightness at the family level.
The Queens of Excellence, Southern chapter was officially launched on March 21, 2025 and is actively working with the Office of the First Lady. The organization has so far established its presence in 11 chiefdoms of the Kalomo District and Southern Province.
These areas are:
- Mukuni
- Musokotwane
- Nyawa
- Chikanta
- Hamaundu
- Simamba
- Mwanza
- Ifwenuka
- Choongo
- Mungaila
- Mukobela