Towards a Reconstruction of Sacralized Traditions to Avert Gender-Based Violence Prevalent in Girl-Child Marriages Amongst the Akamba

Greek philosopher Heraclitus once asserted that “change is the only constant in life.” It implies that the world is changing, and so are people. The change in people and the world further prompts a change in the institutions that manage peoples’ day-to-day lives—culture, religion, ethics, and morality. More than ever, there is global awareness of child marriage and while rates of child marriage have declined over recent decades in many regions of the world, the practice remains stubbornly prevalent in Kenya. The marriage of a girl child, often to a much older spouse, was traditionally embraced to avert teenage pregnancies in most Kenyan communities. The reality, however, is that girl-child marriage effectively ends a girl’s childhood, curtails her education, increases her risk of domestic violence, and puts her at risk for early, frequent, and high-risk pregnancies. Girl-child marriage is both a cause and a consequence of gender inequality—reflecting and reinforcing power-play on limited economic opportunities and discriminatory gender norms. As such, it continues to be a rampant form of gender-based violence worth averting. This chapter takes up Jesse (Mugambi, Christian Theology and Social Reconstruction, Acton Publishers, Mugambi, Christian Theology and Social Reconstruction, Acton Publishers, 2003) social reconstructive challenge employing Musimbi Kanyoro’s (2002) cultural hermeneutic to chart ways of deconstructing and abandoning repressive cultural traditions. The chapter advocates for change through a critical cultural re-interpretation of negative traditional practices to avert gender-based violence wrapped in girl-child marriages.