Context:
Recently, Sierra Leone signed a law to ban marriage for children ages 18 years and younger.
More on the News
- Sierra Leone officially banned child marriage on 2nd July with President Julius Maada Bio signing into law a bill to end the practice that remains widespread in the small West African country.
- The new legislation, Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2024, will penalise people who enable marriage — like the parents, the officiant and even the wedding guests — in addition to the husband.
- Under the law, those married as children can file a petition for annulment of the marriage and can seek financial compensation.
- A parent, guardian, or person having charge of a child shall not consent for a child to enter into marriage.
- The law also prohibits cohabitation in which adults live and have a sexual relationship with children.
- Under the law, people who marry children can be imprisoned for 15 years or over $5,000. Anyone who “aids or abets” the marriage can face a 10-year sentence or a fine of about $2,500, or both.
- As per the UNICEF report, about 800,000 girls younger than 18 married in Sierra Leone in 2020 which is about 1/3rd of the girls in the country.
Significance of the Act
- This ban aligns with a broad initiative to promote the rights of girls by keeping them in school and protecting them from genital cutting.
- It helps in reducing the cases where pregnancies at a young age can cause long-term injuries and trauma.
Shortcomings of the law
- The law falls short by missing the vital component in enacting the urgent reform needed to eradicate female genital mutilation (FGM), viewed by many as a precursor to marriage, regardless of age.
Status of Child marriage in Sierra Leone
- More than 12 million girls younger than 18 marry every year as per the United Nations.
- The practice of child marriage has become slightly less common in the country over the past 25 years, with 30% of all girls being married in childhood today compared with 37% 25 years ago.
- Among women aged 18–49, just 1.3% are ‘only’ child brides, while 33.7% of all women in this age group have been subjected to both child marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM).
About 61% of girls in Sierra Leone ages 15 to 19 have undergone female genital cutting, which can cause serious difficulties in childbirth. - Of the total of more than 650 million child brides globally, South Asia has the largest number of child brides, about 290 million people (45% of the global total). Sub-Saharan Africa follows with about 127 million people (20% of the global total).
Female Genital Mutilation
- As per the World Health Organization (WHO), globally, over 200 million girls alive today have suffered FGM in over 30 countries.
- Every year, February 6 is observed as the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).