Zimbabwe Constitutional Court Outlaws Child Marriage

Washington

Following the ruling by the Zimbabwean Constitutional Court to ban marriage by girls under the age of 18, Freedom House issued the following statement:

“Freedom House lauds the Constitutional Court of Zimbabwe protecting the dignity and rights of young and vulnerable girls by banning marriage for all under the age of 18,” said Vukasin Petrovic, director for Africa programs at Freedom House. “We hope neighboring countries will make similar efforts to eradicate this grave human rights abuse, especially nations that still legally allow for girls as young as 12 years to be married.”

Background:

Child marriage is most prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa, the region with 9 of the 10 countries having the highest rates of child marriage in the world, including: Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Chad, Guinea, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Madagascar, Niger and Sierra Leone.  Many southern African states have laws that outlaw child marriage but allow traditional law exceptions. Before the court ruling, Zimbabwe’s Customary Marriages Act did not set a minimum age for marriage. 

Zimbabwe is rated Not Free in Freedom in the World 2015, Not Free in Freedom of the Press 2015, and Partly Free in Freedom on the Net 2015.