Young brides contested this morality explanation and accused the stepmothers of wanting to rid themselves of the responsibility of feeding the girl. Older female respondents argued that once a girl’s hormones began ‘raging’, and she became sexually active, it was difficult to talk to her about abstinence, contraception, the dangers of early sexual encounters and the need to further their education. They argued that once girls became active they mistook their sexual activity for maturity and readiness for marriage. Inevitably, this clash between the younger generations led to the girls being chased away by the guardians once suspicions of sexual activity were roused. The following response from Sheila (not her real name) exemplifies the cumulative contributory roles of family disruptions and ill-treatment by guardians as drivers of child marriages: “…I went to Goromonzi Committee Primary School from grade one up to grade 5. I then went and stayed with my aunt in Ruwa where she worked at a farm called Bob and l only did grade 6 there. I came back to Goromonzi and finished my grade 7. My father got a job in Chitungwiza so we were left in the care of our aunt whilst my father and mother went to Chitungwiza. I then stayed with my aunt from form 1 until form 4. Life was really hard there. She stays at Gwaze. Things were hard there because we didn’t stay with our mother. It’s always difficult to stay with somebody else. She only bore boys. We would go to school and come back only to find that no chores had been done and we had to do it in the evening. When we wanted to study in the evening we couldn’t because she would switch off the lights. So our chances of passing in school were low so we failed. It is not what we expected but there was nothing we could do because we were not staying at our own place. So we just had to do what was required of us there. Sometimes my uncle would come and take us for holidays but we were not treated well. But my uncles didn’t know that this was happening and we couldn’t exactly report them. I failed my form four. My other uncle took us in his custody. I couldn’t even do a course or go back to school because we were suppressed, so I failed to do any of these. So I had to flee their residence in Budiriro. I fled and came here and explained to my mother what was happening. My uncle was not amused with that and shouted at my mother. When you are poor things are difficult for you.” One respondent specifically reported that her husband told her that he married her because he pitied her and wanted to help her to get out of the tough conditions she was living under at home. Most of the respondents who eloped cited the very uncomfortable conditions in which they were staying previously as their major reason for entering into marriage. Thus, for some, marriage and “starting my own home” was viewed a panacea for such problems and the young women get into marriage in the hope that things would get better. Their families were in support of the idea of the marriage. 3.2.3 Unplanned teenage pregnancies Several respondents indicated that due to pressing economic hardships, they had to look for employment and frequently, employment was secured in other towns far from home. This exposed them to opportunities for engaging in sexual relations while they were still in their teens. It was these sexual relations, which several respondents blamed for their unplanned pregnancies. Many child brides commented that they would not have got married if they had not worked or stayed apart from their parents. 13