Sierra Leone has taken a significant step towards ending child marriage by enacting a law that bans the practice and imposes severe penalties on those who violate it. The new legislation, signed into law by President Julius Maada Bio on Tuesday, makes it illegal for anyone to marry before the age of 18.
Those who violate the law, including parents, groom, wedding guests, and other enablers, face a minimum jail term of 15 years or a fine of approximately $4,000, or both. The law goes beyond similar legislation in other African countries by penalizing not only the spouses but also those who facilitate the marriage.
The move is a victory for activists who have long fought to eradicate child marriage in Sierra Leone, where about a third of girls are married before the age of 18, according to UNICEF. The law also provides a path for those married as children to seek annulment and financial compensation.
SAHARA REPORTERS
Going forward, anyone who contravenes the law by marrying out his daughter or taking a bride before attaining the age of 18 is liable to a jail term of 15 years or a fine of about $4000 dollars or both.
The law defines defaulters as parent(s) of an underage bride, the groom and anyone who supports or witnesses the wedding.
The new law was greeted with wild jubilation across the country, particularly among feminist groups championing the rights of a girl child.
Reacting to the development, the US Bureau of African Affairs welcomed the signing of the law on its X handle saying “the significant milestone not only protects girls but promotes robust human rights protections”.
Khadijatu Barrie whose sister was married off at 14 welcomed the new law with jubilation, hoping it would save other minors from child marriage, BBC Hausa Service reports.
“I wish the child marriage prohibition act was enacted earlier, it would have saved my sister, my friends and neighbors,” said the 16-year-old Barrie.
Barrie escaped child marriage through the intervention of the United Nations Children Education Fund (UNICEF).
The country’s ministry of health said one out of three girls became wives before they were 18. This is because culturally in Sierra Leone, men decide women’s fate, including when to marry.
