Women N Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Minister Sithembiso Nyoni has urged mothers to be watchful at the backdrop of a growing trend of old men who are using money to lure young girls.
Nyoni made the remarks on Saturday during the launch of Council Churches for Africa Women’s Fellowship under the theme: Parents as good shepherds, celebrating the warm nurturing hands, love, heartfelt life and caring minds.
Nyoni noted it was a cause for concern that hotels were full of young girls during the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF). She said:
I want to know if you as mothers know that during the ZITF we were seeing young girls going into hotels with old men enough to be their fathers or grandfathers.
Therefore, we need you, women, in churches to help us fight this off because that is what is leading to cases of early child marriages and gender-based violence.
We need the church to lead us so that the country is in order. The nation is as good as its spiritual leaders. So we need you to lead us so that God can intervene and help our children especially in homes so that there is peace.
Meanwhile, Johane Masowe Wenyenyedzi Nomwe leader Herbert Senda (also known as Madzibaba Enock) told NewsDay Zimbabwe in an interview, that they are grateful for the efforts made by the minister in helping them understand the effects of early child marriages and gender-based violence in homes.
High cases of early child marriages are being reported from apostolic sects.
More: NewsDay Zimbabwe