Malawi: 'Our Dreams Are Sold for Goats' - Child Marriage Tops Agenda At Mchinji Children's Parliament

What the report says

Schoolchildren in Malawi’s Mchinji district used the first session of the District Children’s Parliament to highlight child marriage as a major problem affecting girls. The two-day forum, held on 3 and 4 September at Mchinji Teachers’ Training College, brought together 165 learners from several traditional authority areas to debate issues including education, water, health, roads and child marriage.

According to the report, the discussion on early marriage drew the strongest response because children linked it to school dropouts, teenage pregnancy, poverty and long-term limits on the district’s development. Participants argued that girls married in their early teens often leave school before completing primary education, reducing future opportunities for communities that already face overcrowded classrooms and scarce learning materials.

The child parliamentarians called for stronger enforcement of laws against child marriage, more community awareness led by chiefs and religious leaders, and practical support to keep girls in school, such as sanitary pads, school feeding and scholarships. They also asked for safer ways for children to report abuse in villages. Officials and child-rights advocates who attended the forum praised the children’s participation and said their resolutions would be shared with district and national authorities for follow-up. More broadly, the event reflects Malawi’s continuing efforts to address child marriage through community action, education support and policy enforcement.