Sierra Leone bans underage marriages

A new law in Sierra Leone bans child marriage and allows child brides to have their weddings canceled and receive financial compensation.

The president of Sierra Leone Julius Maada Bio has concluded the legislative process and promulgated there law That prohibits child marriage, approved by parliament last June.The signing took place during a great public event, wanted by the first lady Fatima Bio, where the campaign was launched We are equal, a historic moment for gender equality in the country.

The law criminalizes marriage for girls under the age of 18.Violators risk it up to fifteen years in prison or one fine of approximately 3,700 euros or both penalties.Furthermore, the text prohibits cohabitation between men and underage girls and provides a compensation for girls who have married or become pregnant before the age of eighteen.The legislation is very broad and makes not only the husband responsible, but also the witnesses, parents or guardians of the child bride.

The phenomenon of child brides in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone is the second poorest country in the world and with one highly patriarchal society, where it is considered acceptable for the father to marry off his minor daughter, even without her consent.

In the country of around nine million inhabitants, they live beyond 800 thousand child brides according to Unicef, half of whom get married before turning fifteen.The United Nations children's agency also estimated that, fortunately, the child marriage rate is decreasing.In 2017, 30 percent of teenage girls married before turning 18, down from 37 percent the previous 25 years.Even if the trend is downward, the rate is still high and this law can speed up the abolition of the phenomenon.

The impacts of early marriages among girls are not only of a social nature, given that they are prevented from going to school, but also healthcare. According to estimates from the Ministry of Health of Freetown, in fact, the Pregnancy complications are the leading cause of death in girls between the ages of 15 and 19.

The role of first lady Fatima Bio

A crucial role he had it in the fight against child marriage first lady Fatima Bio which, for the occasion, organized a great ceremony attended by the first ladies of Cape Verde and Namibia, and the presidential couple's eight-year-old daughter.

In the six years of Julius Maada Bio's presidency, she was the first lady at the forefront of the campaign against gender violence, founding the campaign “Hands off our girls”.Her goal was to raise awareness, influence policy and support women and girls to have access to reproductive healthcare and for fight child marriage, the gender violence and rape.

I have always believed that Sierra Leone's future is female.This and future generations of girls must thrive in Sierra Leone, where they are protected, equal and empowered.

Julius Maada Bio, president of Sierra Leone

In an interview on the program BBC World Service, the first lady explained why this law was a personal battle.As a teenager she risked becoming a child bride.What prevented her from this experience was the outbreak of the civil war in 1991, but the experience remained with her to the point of becoming her main objective as first lady.

President Bio he praised his wife's work, stating that “Together, we want to build an empowered Sierra Leone where women are given an equal platform to reach their full potential.”This law is one milestone for gender equality not only for the country, but for all of Africa.