Hail the court ruling on child marriage
What you need to know:
Can you imagine that 15 million girls are married before the age of 18 annually? That translates to 28 girls every minute.
Can you imagine that 15 million girls are married before the age of 18 annually? That translates to 28 girls every minute. This is why the recent development in Tanzania is worth celebrating. The Tanzanian High Court recently made a landmark ruling banning child marriage. This would go a long way in protecting girls from the harms that come with early marriage.
The court ruled unconstitutional sections 13 and 17 of the Tanzania Law of Marriage Act, which allow girls to marry at age 15 with parental permission and at age 14 with the permission of a court. It is our hope at the Woman desk that the ruling will be a critical step in ending child marriage in this nation.
Tanzania has the highest rates of child marriage in the world according to Human Rights watch. And those who marry children should be ashamed of themselves as they abuse these young girls and curtail their education. These girls also develop numerous reproductive health challenges heightening several risks in their lives. At this age, they are too young and their bodies are not prepared to handle pregnancy and childbirth. They would also face marital rape from these older men who marry them. This is why we would like to take this opportunity to laud Msichana Initiative, a Non-Governmental Organization advocating for girls’ right to education in Tanzania for challenging the Marriage Act.
Some parents would marry off their daughters due to poverty so these young children would be traded like commodities. And painfully the price is usually in form of some few animals. Then there are also cases of adolescents who are forced into marriage after failing their exams.
The customary traditions that have since time immemorial been in practice in Tanzania need to be abolished.
Let the rule of law prevail as we try to make this nation and the world in its entirety a better place for young girls and women in general.
It is our hope that the government will put in place mechanisms to protect these girls from grassroot levels and arrest those practicing child marriage. There should also be meaningful alternatives to girls to ensure that they are empowered. The new ruling, a perceived Holy Grail, should at last restore the dignity and equality that has evaded young girls for years.
