Child Marriage is Now Illegal in One More Country

In a landmark decision, Zambia has set the marriageable age to 18, therefore rendering all forms of child marriage illegal within the country without exception.

“The legislation directly responds to the nation’s urgent challenges, with Zambia witnessing a staggering 1.7 million child brides, 400,000 of whom were married before age 15,” explains Sally Ncube, the Regional Representative for Southern Africa at the human rights organization Equality Now.

Research has shown that the prohibition of child marriage can also lower rates of adolescent pregnancies, improve children’s overall welfare, and even keep children in school. However, within Zambia, some families view childhood marriage as a way to alleviate financial hardship. This clear and consistent law was needed to remove any notion of exception for childhood marriages, particularly for tribal communities who may perform customary marriage rituals. Ncube further emphasized the importance of awareness campaigns so that the general public is educated on the shift and the strengthening of accountability mechanisms to ensure the implementation of the law across the board.