African female chief rises to power- annulled 2600 child marriages and sent the girls back to school

Female chief rises to power annuls child marriages and sends girls back to school

In the Southeastern African Country of Malawi, there is a female chief known as "The Terminator." Since becoming Chief in 2003, Theresa Kachindamoto has annulled nearly 2600 child marriages and sent all of those girls back to school. (1)

The Female Chief Fighting To End Child Marriages in Malawi
Chief Theresa Kachindamoto is the tribal ruler of the Dedza District in Central Malawi. The country has one of the highest rates of child marriage globally, with half of its girls wed before the age of 18. (2, 3)

In Malawi, only 45% of girls remain in school past the eighth grade because of this, and 20-30% of maternal deaths are due to teenage pregnancy complications. The girls who survive pregnancy are then trapped in a life of poverty due to a lack of education and opportunity. (4)

Female Chief Kachindamoto worked tirelessly to have an actual law passed in the Malawi Parliament in 2015, making it illegal for anyone – girls and boys – under the age of 18 to be married. (5)

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A Zero-Tolerance Policy
Despite the new law, many child marriages continue to occur. Under what's called "customary law," a girl can still be married with parental consent overseen by traditional leaders. This means that subchiefs underneath her can still perform these marriages. (6)

Four male subchiefs continued to perform these illegal marriages, so Chief Kachindamoto suspended them. She then made all chiefs sign a decree saying that they would not perform child marriages. The four male subchiefs who already had would only be reinstated once they confirmed that they had annulled the marriages. (6)

A Woman Changing The Cultural Norms in Malawi
As a female chief, Kachindamoto is no stranger to adversity and defying tradition.

"When I was chosen to be the chief, there were no female chiefs within my area," she says. "Since then, I have managed to convince the royal families to choose women; hence 55 women small chiefs have been selected during my term of chieftaincy." (1)

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/female-chief-rises-to-power-annuls-child-marriages-and-sends-girls-back-to-school/ar-AA1eOA0k