In Salima, a fishing and tourist district often battered by child marriages and poverty, the voices of children rang out with remarkable clarity and courage. In a symbolic session of the Children’s Parliament, pupils stood shoulder-to-shoulder with government officials, traditional leaders, and civil society actors, demanding their right to education, protection, and dignity.
The mock parliamentary sitting, supported by Save the Children with funding from the Swedish Government, was no mere play-acting. It was a powerful reminder that Malawi’s future lies in listening to its youngest citizens.
District Director of Economic Planning and Development, Eric Kenamu, admitted that the concerns raised by the child parliamentarians were not only valid but already enshrined in the district’s development priorities.
“The House has raised five issues, and I am glad to say all of them are contained in our District Development Plan. Implementation will therefore cover these concerns. However, special emphasis will be placed on them because they have been raised by children the true owners of Malawi 2063,” said Kenamu.
Among the issues raised were inadequate classrooms, teacher houses, shortage of learning materials, child marriages, and abuses that continue to blight Salima’s progress.
One of the young parliamentarians, Zuzen Dyson of Salima South East Constituency, spoke with conviction:
“The issues we have raised are real. Inadequate school blocks, lack of teachers’ houses, and child marriages affect our future. For too long, budgets have ignored children. We want children to be included when the government is budgeting, because we are the future leaders of Malawi,” said Dyson.
Civil society hails progress, demands institutionalisation
Executive Director of the Women’s Legal Resources Centre (WOLREC), Maggie Kathewera Banda, said the Children’s Parliament has been a game changer in promoting child participation.
“We have seen children becoming aware of their rights and duty-bearers taking up their concerns. Plans have been reformulated, and development projects initiated because of issues raised by children. What we are now lobbying for is the institutionalisation of child participation so that the government makes it part and parcel of its planning processes,” said Banda.
Government pledges greater commitment
From central government, the Chief Child Development Officer in the Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare, Nina Nanji, emphasised that the concerns raised by children were factual and pressing.
“At the central government level, we take these matters very seriously. Children are speaking the truth about realities that affect them daily. That is why we are pushing initiatives such as the Ending Child Marriage Strategy, the Children’s Manifesto, and soon, the ECD Policy, all of which place children’s rights at the centre,” said Nanji.
Traditional leaders battle child marriage
In a district where many men migrate to South Africa for greener pastures, underage girls are often lured into early marriages. Senior Chief Kalonga’s representative told journalists that traditional leaders were committed to reversing the trend.
“Salima has a rich cultural and tourism heritage, but also deep social challenges. Many underage girls are forced into marriage. Only last month, the Chief personally rescued two girls from early marriage. We will continue to fight until every child remains in school,” said the representative of Senior Chief Kalonga.
The cost of silence versus the price of participation
Organising Children’s Parliaments is not cheap, but Kenamu insisted that sustainability will be achieved through collaborative partnerships.
“The Children’s Parliament takes a lot of money to manage, but with our partners, these issues will be tabled during technical working groups to ensure continuity and sustainability,” said Kenamu.
As Malawi edges closer to 2063, the children of Salima are not merely asking to be heard — they are demanding a seat at the table. Their call is clear: budget for children, protect their rights, and let them shape the nation’s destiny.
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