Political will for a better future

Governments can protect girls from harmful practices by strengthening legal provisions, harmonizing statutory and customary law, and effectively enforcing laws. National strategies and plans are an opportunity to address multiple issues affecting adolescent girls—including and beyond child marriage.

Asia is primarily the region where the most significant decline in the prevalence of child marriage has been seen. In south Asia, a girl’s risk of marrying before the age of 18 has declined by more than one third over the last decade.

Child marriage occurs almost always after girls have been forced by their parents. Actions can be taken by the government of countries affected by the problem to encourage new practices through implementing adequate laws.

In Bangladesh where 59 per cent of girls are married before their 18th birthday, the government has revised his 1929 Child marriage restraint Act and worked with development partners on a National plan of Action for ending child marriage.

Since 2014, Burkina Faso, Mali, Yemen and Zambia have also started legal reforms to end child marriage. National strategies or plans on the practice must continue to develop and more campaigns must be launched to end it.

In Southern Africa, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Model Law on Eradicating Child Marriage, and Protecting Children Already in Marriage adopted in June 2016, constitutes a milestone in the efforts to end child marriage in the region.

The Model Law provides guidance to parliamentarians, Ministries of Justice, policymakers, and other stakeholders in SADC Member States as they develop effective national laws to end child marriage and address inconsistencies in their current legal frameworks.

Thanks to the African Union campaign to end child marriage, National launches have also taken place in Ethiopia, Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, Madagascar and Uganda to promote, protect and advocate rights of women and girls in Africa.