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full screen If you marry a girl under the age of 18, you risk a prison sentence of up to 15 years. Archive image. Photo: Leo Correa/AP/TT
Sierra Leone’s parliament has approved a new law banning child marriage.
Now you risk a prison sentence of up to 15 years or a fine equivalent to SEK 21,000 if you marry a person younger than 18.
– This is a historic moment and an extraordinary success for children all over Sierra Leone who have been fighting for their rights, says Patrick Analo, Save the Children Country Manager in Sierra Leone.
– Girls who marry young are not only robbed of their childhood, they are robbed of their future, he continues.
In the West African country, a third of all girls marry before their 18th birthday. There are over 800,000 child brides in the country, of which 400,000 were married before the age of 15, according to Unicef.
However, child marriage has slowly declined in Sierra Leone.
The bill has yet to be signed by President Julius Maada Bio.