Religion before marriage Over 18 Under 18 67% 47% 27% 33% 33% 13% 13% 0 Formal Christian Alternative Christian Apostolic None After marriage, membership of Apostolic sects fell by 34% among child brides, but it remained the same (47%) among non-child brides. Membership to “Formal Christian” and “Alternative Christian” among child brides remained the same after marriage at 33%. This is a very interesting change, and it may be hypothesised that it represents a reaction by child brides to their marriage. Religion Now Over 18 Under 18 47% 33% 33% 33% 27% 13% 13% 0 Formal Christian Alternative Christian Apostolic None 5.2 Loss of companionship Some child brides complained that their marriages were characterised by a lack of companionship. They lamented that they did not communicate well with their husbands and generally found companionship in neighbours and other children of the same age as her. For one respondent, this lack of companionship between herself and her husband was very sudden and difficult to explain. While she thought that they (her and her husband) were happy, she was shocked when her husband sent her to the rural areas to live with the in-laws within a month of getting married. For another respondent, the death of her first son was so traumatic to the point that she left her marriage, but eventually returned to the husband. Another child bride narrated how she was married for 22 years, but has not stayed with her husband for the past eight years because he went to Mozambique and never came back. 20