Lungu decries early marriages

MARTIN AKENDE in Chilubi.PRESIDETN Edgar Lungu has called for concerted efforts to curb Gender Based Violence (GBV) and early marriages in rural areas.Mr Lungu said early marriages were detrimental to the realisation of the full potential of the girl child.He said it was for this reason that Government had prioritised building and upgrading of rural schools to ensure access to better education for the girl child.The President said he was saddened that despite main efforts to discourage the vice, the trend was still on the increase.“As Government, we are concerned that despite calls to end this scourge of early marriages and Gender Based Violence, cases are still on the rise especially in rural areas,” Mr Lungu said.He said this when he paid a courtesy call on chief Matipa at his palace in Bukotelo area on Chilubi Island yesterday.And Chief Matipa of the Bisa people said he was worried that GBV and early marriages were still on the increase in his area.He said he was scaling up sensitisation in his chiefdom but needed more support from Government to deal with perpetrators.The traditional leader also commended President Lungu for implementing various developmental programmes in his chiefdom.