June 16 tackles child marriage

Tuduetso Kelapile and UNICEF representative Vidhya Ganesh during a press briefing. PIC: KAGISO ONKATSWITSE
Tuduetso Kelapile and UNICEF representative Vidhya Ganesh during a press briefing. PIC: KAGISO ONKATSWITSE

Though Botswana has low incidents of child marriages the practise is reported to be rampant among the Zezuru, Basarwa, parts of the Kgalagadi communities and in North Western Botswana.

A child protection specialist with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF),  Ben Semommung said this during a media briefing to mark The Day of the African Child yesterday.  The day was commemorated under the theme, ‘25 Years After The Adoption Of The African Children’s Charter: Accelerating Our Collective Efforts To End Child Marriage In Africa’.

However, owing to statistical challenges, he could not provide figures on the extent of the prevalence among these communities. 

Editor's Comment
Closure as pain lingers

March 28 will go down as a day that Batswana will never forget because of the accident that occurred near Mmamatlakala in Limpopo, South Africa. The tragedy affected not only the grieving families but the nation at large. Batswana throughout the process stood behind the grieving families and the governments of Botswana and South Africa need much more than a pat on the back.Last Saturday was a day when family members said their last goodbyes to...

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