Recognising and responding to complex dilemmas : child marriage in South Africa
Date
2020
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
African Sun Media
Abstract
In a June 2019 exposé on child marriage in South Africa, the investigative
journalism television show Carte Blanche drew renewed attention to
the more than 90 000 girls in South Africa who entered marriages as
child brides. The show focused on a “polluted ukuthwala” as a major
driver of child marriage, unpacking how traditional cultural practices
have become warped to the extent that it leads to young girls being
forced to marry older men against their will (Forced child marriages
2019). Nevertheless, South Africa remains a country with one of the
lowest rates of child marriage in Africa. Compared to countries,such
as Niger, where 76% of women aged 20-24 years were first married
or in a union before they were 18 years old, and the Central African
Republic, where it is 68% of girls, South Africa’s rates are low: the last
available data, collected in 2003, showed that only 6% of girls in South
Africa are married before the age of 18 years (Institut National de la
Statistique 2013; ICASEES 2010; Department of Health 2007).
However, these statistics paint a misleading picture of the fate
of thousands of girl children1 in South Africa. This chapter will briefly
unpack the nature, drivers and consequences of child marriage, followed
by a focus on South African legislation and cultural practices relevant
to child marriage. This is a prelude to an in-depth discussion of three
key dilemmas relating to the phenomenon, namely the inadequacy of
a legislative response, the clash between the primacy of human rights
versus cultural rights, and the reality of transactional intergenerational
sex in relationships other than marriages. Recognition of these
dilemmas leads to acknowledgement that current responses to child
marriage are not merely woefully inadequate, but also fail to grasp the
full scale of the problem.
Description
CITATION: Le Roux, E. 2020. Recognising and responding to complex dilemmas : child marriage in South Africa, in Grobbelaar, J. & Jones, C. (eds) 2020. Childhood vulnerabilities in South Africa : some ethical perspectives. Stellenbosch: SUN PReSS, doi:10.18820/9781928480952/07.
The original publication is available at https://africansunmedia.store.it.si/za
The original publication is available at https://africansunmedia.store.it.si/za
Keywords
Children -- South Africa, Child Marriage -- South Africa
Citation
Le Roux, E. 2020. Recognising and responding to complex dilemmas : child marriage in South Africa, in Grobbelaar, J. & Jones, C. (eds) 2020. Childhood vulnerabilities in South Africa : some ethical perspectives. Stellenbosch: SUN PReSS, doi:10.18820/9781928480952/07.