About nine million people live in Sierra Leone. Of these, 800 thousand girls were married under the age of 18.
The President of Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio, has signed into law a law that prohibits and punishes child marriage. CNN, France 24, the BBC wrote this on Wednesday, July 3.
The law criminalizes the marriage of girls under the age of 18.
Violators of the law face at least 15 years in prison or a fine of more than $2,000. Parents or those attending such marriage ceremonies also face fines.
In Sierra Leone, according to human rights activists, about a third of women are married before they turn 18.
“This situation encourages high mortality due to the early birth of children. In addition, girls who marry early, as a rule, do not study and are completely dependent on boys,” human rights activists pointed out.
It is noted that approximately nine million people live in Sierra Leone. Of these, 800 thousand girls were married before the age of 18, including 400 thousand who married before the age of 15.
Meanwhile, UNICEF cited data that West and Central Africa has the highest rate of child marriage in the world. There are about 60 million child brides living there.
A Spanish court sentenced a local businessman to pay his ex-wife 204 thousand euros. The reason is 25 years of unpaid domestic work done by women.
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.