By Moses Magadza in Zambia

LUSAKA – Participants at the inaugural public lecture honouring the late Chief Theresa Kachindamoto of Malawi have called for stronger collaboration, greater community engagement, and intensified sensitisation efforts to end child marriage across Zambia and the SADC region.

The Southern African Development Community Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF), with funding from Sweden and in collaboration with the National Assembly of Zambia, the University of Zambia’s School of Law, CARE International, and other partners, convened the lecture at the University of Zambia last week.

Chief Kachindamoto was a Malawian traditional leader who annulled more than 3,500 child marriages and championed girls’ education in her country. Her passing in August 2025 was widely mourned across the region.

Last week’s lecture, delivered by Zambian lawmaker and Chairperson of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Dr Christopher Kalila, provided a platform for stakeholders to reflect on what more needs to be done.

Ms Namatama Sakabilo, an advocate against child marriage and former officer at the Ministry of Gender, said the lecture was an important reminder of the transformative role traditional leaders can play.

“This was a great opportunity to learn more about what the late Chief did whilst alive,” she said and recalled her interactions with Chief Kachindamoto during Zambia’s own campaigns.

She highlighted the value of best practices such as the engagement of traditional leaders, who are “custodians of those people in rural areas where child marriage is more rampant.”

Sakabilo urged organisers to ensure that future lectures coincide with periods when students are on campus. She stressed that “young people need to know what is happening out there,” as many are either directly or indirectly affected by child marriage.

She further recommended increased sensitisation, strengthening of chiefdom bylaws, and continued enforcement of marriage registration by traditional leadership.

Ms Mundia Situmbeko, Senior Officer for Africa Engagement at Girls Not Brides, described Chief Kachindamoto as a trailblazer whose courage “gave a lot of other chiefs, not just in Malawi, but in the SADC region, the courage to really stand up for something that wasn’t just.”

She said the lecture was timely and necessary for sustaining momentum.

“It’s an opportunity for people to learn about her work and to really assert the belief that… by ending child marriage, everyone would be better off,” she said.

Situmbeko encouraged broader regional participation in future sessions. She suggested that voices from across SADC and beyond be invited so that “others can learn” from the chief’s pioneering approach. She also spoke about ongoing regional efforts to strengthen accountability.

She expressed optimism that the simplified guide to the SADC Model Law on Eradicating Child Marriage and Protecting Children Already in Marriage and the forthcoming Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning dashboard will help identify gaps and guide pressure on governments.

“IF we don’t have something to measure, we don’t really know how well we’re doing,” she said and urged stakeholders to be patient as the dashboard enters its final stages.

For Ms Judith Mwila, founder of Families are Nations, the lecture reinforced the importance of the family as the foundation for ending harmful practices.

“When you talk about issues of child marriage, there is no way any child can get married without the family knowing,” she stressed. She recalled once travelling 1,700 kilometres to rescue a 13-year-old girl who had been married off “in exchange for a goat” to a man nearly 17 years her senior.

She emphasised that grassroots organisations “actually know where the problem is” and must be supported to reach remote communities.

Mwila also urged the sector to broaden its approach by engaging boys and men, examining harmful cultural practices, and bringing religious leaders into the conversation.

“This session really uplifted my view on who should help in the issue of child marriage,” she said, adding that the next public lecture should address the family, tradition, religion, and the active involvement of men and boys.

Hon. Chushi Kasanda, MP for Chisamba and Chairperson of the Zambia Women’s Parliamentary Caucus was mostly struck by the passion of traditional leaders.

“It is about time. It’s a wake-up call that we should all work as one… because at the end of the day, we’ve got to protect the girl child,” she said.

She stressed that poverty, parental pressure and vulnerability remain key drivers of child marriage. She challenged fellow lawmakers to take personal responsibility and ensure that regional instruments such as the SADC Model Law translate into national legislation.

“The Model Law is coming from the SADC Parliamentary Forum, but how do we take it down to our Parliament? That is our role now,” she noted.

The MP also called for more sensitisation, especially targeting young people and fellow legislators. She recommended that future public lectures allow more time for audience engagement and be held when universities are fully in session.

Hon Kasanda thanked development partners, including Sweden, for their commitment, affirming that “the model laws that we’re making are very important… we are taking this to our parliaments, and we want to implement them.”

-Moses Magadza, PhD, is the Media and Communications Manager at the SADC Parliamentary Forum.