Zambian child bride: 'I was forced to marry a stranger'

                       

Seventeen-year-old Agnes (not her real name) was married three months ago to a man she had never met.

"My parents sat me down and told me I was no longer their responsibility. They wanted me to move out and start a life of my own," she recalls, sitting in the village of Chibombo, two hours' drive from Zambia's capitalLusaka.

"Things moved faster than I expected - when a stranger paid a bride price to my parents. I had no say in the matter," she says, tears welling in her eyes.

"I didn't choose this life and I'm not happy here."

Agnes agreed to speak on condition that we do not identify her. The BBC was also able to speak to her because her husband was away.

Wearing a striped T-shirt and a colourful sarong, she has a nervous and sad manner about her.

When we met her, she was going about her daily chores, washing dishes, cleaning and then starting a fire to prepare the evening meal.

It is not difficult to see how desperate her life is, her heels are cracked, her nail polish is wearing off.

Trapped

Early and forced marriages are common in Zambia. But this traditional practice doesn't just happen in Africa, it's a problem globally.

It is estimated that 14 million girls are forced into marriage before their 18th birthday every year - causing their childhoods to come to a sudden and unexpected end.

Children from poor communities are more at risk of being forced into marriage

Agnes is desperate to escape her new life but fears that her parents would disown her for the disgrace that comes with being a run-away bride.

Poverty and tradition are said to be behind this practice, which is most common in rural areas.

Parents see their daughters as a source of income and even wealth, those opposed to the practice say.

But even here, some are beginning to speak out against the practice.

Chief Chamuka VI of Zambia' Lenje people wants young girls to be kept in school.

He has summoned his subjects to a meeting under a giant tree. The villagers sing, shout his clan name and clap as they see their chief approaching.

He commands respect. Community members who attended the meeting didn't disagree with anything he says.

Chief Chamuka, dressed in his traditional regalia - a black and red robe with a matching hat with feathers on it - addresses them about the dangers of child marriages.

Chief Chamuka VI has told his people that child marriage will not be tolerated

"In my chiefdom, the stance which I have taken is that no parent shall force a girl below the age of 18 to be married. A parent who does that will be severely punished," he says.

Traditional leaders who denounce early marriage are usually frowned upon by those who believe they are defying old customs and norms that have been passed on from generation to generation.

But the chief's conviction seems unrelenting.

"I feel that in our communities there are certain customs and cultural practices that are good and some are bad - this has to stop," he says.

Lasting effects

Those forced into child marriage feel the effects for the rest of their lives.

Beatrice Chikwekwe got married when she was 15, she is now 32.

"I was terrified and confused on my wedding day, I didn't even know what I was doing," she says.

"I fell pregnant the same year and had complications while giving birth. I nearly died."

Ms Chikwekwe is doing her final year at the local college of agriculture, trying to make up for the time she lost.

For many though, there is no fairytale ending.