A 14-year-old girl has been retrieved from an early marriage in Chipata District of Eastern Province.

The girl who had eloped with his 22-year-old boyfriend, was about two months pregnant before suffering a miscarriage.

Speaking to ZANIS in an interview, she indicated that before eloping, she dropped out of school, while in grade four.

“My brother used to beat me up for no reason, he would shout at me and never wanted my friends to visit me at home,” she added.

The survivor disclosed that she used to be called names like “a prostitute” which used to hurt me.

Eastern Province Gender Officer, Warren Maimbolwa expressed concern that early marriages and teen pregnancies had continued to rise in the region.

Meanwhile, Olipa Banda, a Psycho-social Counsellor, said it was important for children who underwent abuse or were victims of Gender-Based-Violence like early marriages, to access counselling services.