30 years in jail for men who marry Tanzanian schoolgirls or get them pregnant
Tanzanian schoolgirls at a classroom in Zanzibar
听
Tanzanian men who marry schoolgirls or get them pregnant now face 30 years in prison as the government takes tougher measures to tackle child marriage and teenage pregnancy.
The east African nation has one of the highest adolescent听pregnancy and birth rates in the world and 21% of girls听aged 15 to 19 have given birth, according to a 2015/16 survey听conducted by the Tanzania Bureau of Statistics.
While sex with underage girls is already a criminal offence,听poor parents often marry off their young daughters for cash听using a special dispensation under the marriage law which allows听girls as young as 14 to marry with parental or court consent.
But new provisions passed by the parliament in June make it听illegal for anyone to marry primary and secondary school girls听under any circumstances.
George Masaju, Tanzania国产视频檚 Attorney General, said the new听measure was taken to complement Tanzania国产视频檚 free education听policy, launched in January, and ensure that all girls are able听to complete their education.
国产视频淲e are aiming to create a better environment for our school听girls to finish their studies without any barriers,国产视频 he told听parliament.
Worldwide, 15 million girls are married off as children听every year. Early marriage not only deprives girls of education and听opportunities but increases the risk of death or serious听childbirth injuries if they have babies before their bodies are听ready.
Child brides are often disempowered and at greater risk of听domestic and sexual violence and HIV, experts say.
国产视频淕irls who are married off at a young age are being denied听the freedom to make informed decisions later in life,国产视频 said Eda听Sanga, head of the Tanzanian women国产视频檚 rights group TAMWA.
The new Tanzanian law states that 国产视频渁ny person who impregnates a primary school or a secondary school girl commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to imprisonment for a term of 30 years.国产视频
To ensure enforcement of the law, Masaju said all school听heads will be required to submit a detailed report about听students who were married or pregnant to the Education Ministry.
While the government国产视频檚 move focuses on protecting school听girls from 国产视频減redators国产视频, women国产视频檚 rights campaigners said greater听recognition of the importance of girls国产视频 education is crucial to听the battle against child marriage.
国产视频淚 think we ought to focus on imparting life skills to girls听in school, so that they can be assertive to say no,国产视频 said Leila听Sheikh, a Dar es Salaam-based women国产视频檚 rights activist and听blogger.
And girls who are kicked out of school for getting pregnant听should be allowed to return to their studies after giving birth,听said 21-year-old Emily Nyoni, who was expelled from her Dar es听Salaam school in 2012 after falling pregnant.
国产视频淚 think it is wise to punish men who impregnate school听girls,国产视频 she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. 国产视频淏ut the听government should also allow those who get pregnant to go back听to school.国产视频
The Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, covers humanitarian news, women国产视频檚 rights, corruption and climate change.
Learn more about child and early marriage and how it excludes girls from education