A landmark ruling by Tanzania’s high court has established that a law passed in 1971 setting the legal age of marriage for girls at 15 is unconstitutional.
It is a major triumph for women’s rights. Many groups have argued that there is a connection between child marriage, HIV/AIDS, early pregnancy and frequent school dropouts. World Bank data shows that 22.8 percent of girls aged 15 to 19 in Tanzania had children or were pregnant in 2010.
The legal age for marriage for girls is now 18, the same as men and it will go a long way to end child marriage in Tanzania.
Advertisement
