Posted on Monday 10 August 2009
Frazer Potani, AfricaNews reporter in Lilongwe, Malawi Photo: Malawi's speaker of parliament
Some female members of parliament of Malawi have disclosed that their political parties influenced them to speedily approve the controversial minimum age for marriage for women at 16 years.
Malawi's speaker
The women legislators made the admission at a women’s forum in Lilongwe organized by Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) last week which drew some female parliamentarians from various political parties in the country to interact with members of the press.

“In Parliament we are free to make decisions on issues but we do it with our political parties in mind to avoid some embarrassments,” said Otilia Jere, a Democratic Progressive Party MP.

“We thought the bill will include 18 years as a minimum age for marriage for women in the country,” added Jere also Deputy Minister for Higher Education, Science and Technology.

Another DPP legislator Dilia Kankhwani said most female parliamentarians voted for 16 years minimum marriage limit because they were coaxed by other contents in the said bill. “The 16 years age limit was just part of the bill because it contained several issues in it,” said Kankhwani.

Asked why the female legislators did not fight for the amendment of the marriage age limit for women in the country, the parliamentarians were silent at the forum. The female legislators’ admission that they approved for the marriage limit without seriously considering its implications on the girl child in the country comes after Health Minister Moses Chirambo and his deputy Theresa Mwale expressed concern on the matter.

The two cabinet members who were part of the approval of the marriage age, said it would have a negative impact on government’s efforts to reduce the country’s high maternal mortality rate to save lives of women dying from child birth complications.
africanews