z years and no girl under the age of sixteen ( 16) years may do so without the consent of the Minister. This is so as a result of Section 22 (1) of the Marriage Act [Chapter 5:11]. 23. What this effectively means is that the legal age of marriage for a boy is eighteen (18) years and that of a girl is sixteen (16). 24. This clearly is discriminatory and unconstitutional. I will revert to this point below. 25. For those contracting a marriage under the Customary Marriages Act [Chapter 5:07] there is no marriageable age that is specified. Put in simple terms there is nothing that prevents, in terms of this law, minors from contracting a marriage or entering into a registered customary law union. 26. The Constitution of Zimbabwe seeks to protect the rights of children. Section 81 of the same reads as follows:, "81. Rights of children ( 1) Every child, that is to say every boy and girl under age of eighteen years, has the right (a) To equal treatment before the law, including the right to be heard; (b) To be given a name and family name; (c) In the case of a child who is (i) Born in Zimbabwe; or (ii) Born outside Zimbabwe and is a Zimbabwean citizen by descent; (iii) to the prompt provision of a birth certificate; 6