In a case of child marriage, Respect Ruvimbo Topodzi was 15 and walking home from school in her native Zimbabwe when a 22-year-old man asked her out. “As a mother and survivor of child marriage, I am so passionate about ending child marriage,” she told AFP at a recent conference on the subject in Ghana’s capital Accra. West Africa in particular has the highest prevalence of marriage before age 15, and of the top 20 countries with the highest rates of child marriage in the world, 18 are in Africa. Twenty-four countries have launched national strategies to end the practice since the African Union began a campaign to stop child marriage by 2023. – Rooted in poverty –The causes of child marriage are complex and include traditional beliefs, climate change and conflict.

Source: Egypt Independent December 06, 2018 12:11 UTC