Activists welcome ban on child marriages in Sierra Leone and call for action against FGM

Sierra Leone this week passed a groundbreaking law banning child marriage. The move was welcomed by human rights groups and foreign partners, but some activists are calling for further action to end widespread female genital mutilation (FGM) in the country.

In this West African country, hundreds of thousands of girls are married before their 18th birthday. In a society that is entirely patriarchal, women are exposed to numerous forms of gender-based violence.

Sierra Leone has some of the highest rates of child marriage, teen pregnancy and maternal mortality in the world.

A major step forward is the law banning child marriage: marrying girls under the age of 18 is now a criminal offence. Marriage is punishable by a prison sentence of at least 15 years or a fine of over 2,000 euros.

It also prohibits men from cohabiting with underage girls and provides a compensation package for women who marry or become pregnant before the age of 18.

Human rights organization Amnesty International said it “welcomes the historic law” but called on the Sierra Leonean authorities to “take the necessary measures now to ensure its full implementation.”

But the law – which is supported by Sierra Leone’s First Lady Fatima Maada Bio – is silent on the harmful practice of female genital mutilation, which many see as closely linked to the marriage of young girls.

FGM involves the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injuries to the female genitalia and can lead to serious health problems such as infections, bleeding, infertility and complications during childbirth.

(With news agencies)

Read more on RFI English

Also read:
Sierra Leone: Prison report: Women are severely punished for “survival crimes”
Urgent investment is needed to achieve the UN goal of eliminating FGM by 2030
Women’s rights groups sue Mali in regional court for inaction against FGM