Buhera West legislator Oliver Mandipaka has called on Zimbabweans to have respect for girls and women and says men should not lust for young girls because like fruits they must be allowed to get ripe.
“Let them grow up because a Shona saying goes, regai dzive shiri mazai haana muto, let the eggs be chickens because you cannot have soup from eggs,” he said during his contribution to the debate on a motion calling for an end to child marriages.
“If we look at the fruits; if we were to pluck a fruit from a tree before it is ripe, you will feel that it is sour and bitter, you will not enjoy it but if the fruit is ripe when it is red or yellow, you will really enjoy the sweatiness of that fruit.
“What we are saying is let our girls mature first before getting married. Hence as men, we should remove the lust which is in us for these young girls,” he said.
Mandipaka also said one of the reasons for child marriages was poverty and some of the poverty was brought about by sanctions.
Another cause of child marriages was overcrowding. Some houses were too small for the families resulting in children sleeping in the same room with their parents and thus seeing them having sex.
“The other problem that leads to early marriages is the kind of houses which we construct, they are so small and families are crowded in those houses and are also in clusters.
“As a result when parents are in their bedrooms the children will be nearby and at times sharing a room with only a curtain in between. The children will be listening when the adults are indulging in sexual activities. I am saying we should stop this, let us build decent accommodation so that children do not copy or take attitude which are beyond their age. We need to fight overcrowding and poverty,” he said.-Insider
