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World News

Arrests made after child bride dies giving birth at Zimbabwe church

Zimbabwean police have arrested a 26-year-old man after a teenage girl died while giving birth at a church site. 

Anna Machaya, 15, is thought to have died at the church site in the eastern region of Marange on July 15 before being secretly buried by members of her congregation. She was reportedly forced to leave school to get married.

The accused man, Hatirarami Momberume, faces charges of child rape. Anna's parents are accused of lying about her age and also pledging another of their daughters, 9, to the same man.

Anna's death has highlighted the practice of child marriage within Zimbabwe's Apostolic Church, which is known to reject medicine and hospital treatment. 

The United Nations expressed "deep concern" about the case and urged Zimbabwe to tackle the issue of child marriage. 

"The current trend of unresolved cases of violence against women and girls in Zimbabwe, including marriages of minors, cannot continue with impunity," the UN said in a statement.

A petition calling for justice for the young girl has been signed more than 93,000 times. It reads: "As citizens we need to put pressure on all duty bearers involved to act and bring a stop to child sexual abuse that is prevalent in religious sects. No religious leader is above the law. If they are marrying off children and sanctioning rape of minors they should be arrested. These sects should respect the law or they should not be allowed to operate in Zimbabwe." 

Zimbabwean feminist activist Everjoice Win tweeted that it was time for people to pressure those "with the power to uphold the law, or make new laws". Win added that women and girls are "not seen as fully human, with individual rights... to control our own bodies". 

A 2016 Constitutional Court decision ruled that child marriages were "unconstitutional" and set 18 as the minimum marriage age for girls and boys. However, human rights groups say that the apostolic church has largely ignored the precedent. 

A new bill to categorically ban the marriage of anyone below 18 years and prosecute anyone involved in the marriage of a minor is currently being debated in Zimbabwe's parliament.

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