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Herald Reporter
Parliament resumes sitting today after taking a month-long break for the Christmas and New Year holidays. In the National Assembly, debate on a motion calling on Government to establish a commission of inquiry into the prevalence of child marriages, is expected to take centre stage.

The motion was moved by Glen Norah representative Mr Webster Maondera just before the House adjourned in December last year, saying there was need to raise awareness among communities on the dangers of child marriages.

The Glen Norah legislator urged the Government to immediately come up with educational programmes in all the country’s 10 provinces on the ills of child marriages and commission a research to determine the magnitude of the scourge in the country.

There are no reliable statistics on child marriages in the country because in most instances the victims have no recourse to law or are inhibited by societal practices. However, a 2011 report by the Research and Advocacy Unit showed that at least 21 percent of children, mostly girls, had been married before attaining 18 years of age.

Both the National Assembly and Senate are expected to continue debate on the speech presented by President Mugabe during the official opening of the First Session of the Eighth Parliament.