Judgment No. CCZ 12/2015 47 Const. Application No. 79/14 ACRWC. The prohibition affects any kind of marriage whether based on civil, customary or religious law. The purpose of s 78(1) as read with s 81(1) of the Constitution is to ensure that social practices such as early marriages that subject children to exploitation and abuse are arrested. As a result, a child has acquired a right to be protected from any form of marriage. Effect of Section 78(1) of the Constitution on Section 22(1) of the Marriage Act and Child Marriage The applicants contend that s 78(1) as read with s 81(1) of the Constitution had the effect of rendering s 22(1) of the Marriage Act invalid when it came into force on 22 May 2013. Mr Biti argued on behalf of the applicants that as s 78(1) of the Constitution contains an absolute prohibition of child marriage, s 22(1) of the Marriage Act cannot be construed to be in conformity with the Constitution. The applicants contend further that as a result of the coming into force of s 78(1) as read with s 81(1) of the Constitution, child marriage has been abolished in Zimbabwe. The argument advanced on behalf of the applicants is that because the executive and legislative branches of government failed to take legislative measures to repeal s 22(1) of the Marriage Act, it has continued to provide the ghost of legitimacy to child marriages entered into after 22 May 2013. The factual basis of the applicants’ contention is supplied by the findings of the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2014. The findings of the survey were that 26.2 percent of young people aged 15-19 years were in marriage of which 24.5 per cent were females and only 1.7 per cent males.