The National Prosecution Authority of Zambia on the 13th of March 2025,participated in a side event at the 69th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women in New York. The event, co-hosted by the governments of Uganda and Zambia, along with partners from the United Nations Population Fund, United Nations Children’s Fund, and Plan International, focused on the topic “Attaining Gender Equality: Accelerating Efforts and Strengthening Partnerships to End Child Marriage and Teenage Pregnancies in Uganda.”

Speaking on behalf of Zambia and the Permanent Secretary of the Gender Division, Ms. Mainga D. Kabika, Mrs. Chali Hambayi – the Director of the Gender based Crimes Department at the NPA- emphasised the need for regional and cross-border collaboration to eradicate child marriage in Sub-Saharan Africa. She highlighted Zambia’s progress in addressing child marriage through the enactment of the Children’s Code Act of 2022 and the Marriage Amendment Act of 2023.

Mrs. Hambayi noted that education is a game-changer for girls in Zambia in the prevention and response to child marriage. The country’s re-entry policy allows pregnant girls to return to school, and free education is provided to all. However, despite these strides, challenges persist in changing social norms that drive child marriage.

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