Sierra Leone formally banned baby marriage on Tuesday with President Julius Maada Bio signing into regulation a invoice to finish the apply that is still widespread.
Advocates hope the brand new laws will higher defend ladies in Sierra Leone, round a 3rd of whom are married earlier than they flip 18, growing the maternal loss of life price as a result of bodily dangers they face from being pregnant, in line with the well being ministry.
Underneath the regulation, any man who marries a woman beneath the age of 18 may face at the very least 15 years in jail and a nice of round $4,000.
Dad and mom or these attending such marriage ceremonies may additionally face fines.
The U.S. Bureau of African Affairs welcomed the passage of the invoice as a “vital milestone (that) not solely protects ladies however promotes strong human rights protections.”
West and Central Africa has the very best prevalence of kid marriage on the earth and is house to almost 60 million baby brides, in line with the U.N. youngsters’s company UNICEF.
A 21-year-old Sierra Leonean former baby bride, who requested anonymity, instructed Reuters that she was pressured into marriage on the age of 14 and was contemplating going to court docket because the new regulation would permit her to file for an annulment.
The laws ought to “break the cycle of early marriage and its devastating penalties,” stated Human Rights Watch researcher Betty Kabari. “It additionally units a pathway ahead for different African nations, equivalent to Tanzania and Zambia, to revoke legal guidelines that allow baby marriage.”
