Harare, Zimbabwe, June 26, 2025: In southern and eastern Africa, child marriage continues to steal millions of girls from childhood and future opportunities. While countries have implemented important reforms to address child marriage, implementation remains contradictory and survivors are often left without protection and support. To close these gaps, governments must be domesticated and fully implemented SADC Model Act on Eradication of Child Marriage and Protecting Already Marriaged Children – A comprehensive legal and policy framework that criminalizes child marriage and implements the minimum age of marriage at age 18 without exception. Importantly, it ensures robust protection and multi-sectoral support for at-risk and already married people.
Stakeholders across the continent were commemorating African Children's Day on June 16th. This remains an opportunity for countries to reflect, promote and strengthen legal and protective mechanisms to protect child rights.
Theme for 2025 Children's Rights Plans and Budgets: Progress since 2010reflecting the progress made by African Union member states in mainstreaming child issues into national planning and budgeting processes, encouraging reforms in budgeting and planning mechanisms to adopt a child's rights-based approach. This includes integrating the SADC model laws on child marriage into national law and committing appropriate resources to implement it.
African states need to prioritize girls' rights by properly resourced by law and national action plans to end child marriages and provide actual protection not just in paper but also in practice. Without bold legislative measures backed by comprehensive investment, millions of girls will continue to be at risk.
Child marriage makes girls vulnerable to human rights violations
In 2022, UNICEF will be holding 130 million women and girls in Africa. I got married when I was a child. Almost half of the continent are currently under the age of 18, and it is predicted that the child population will be hit 1 billion by 2055UNICEF by the end of the century, Almost half of the world's children will live in Africa.
Child marriage is the cause and consequence of a cycle of poverty, gender inequality, and alienation that interferes with women and girls. Girls are much more likely to marry at a younger age than boys They are more vulnerable to sexual, physical and emotional abuse in relation to unequal power balance.
Child brides are often forced to drop out of school, reducing their education, gaining independence, earning income, reducing their long-term ability to provide to themselves and their families. Child marriages are at increased risk for early pregnancy and complications during pregnancy and childbirth, including obstetric formalities and maternal and infant mortality.. Child marriage is closely related to genital mutilation in women. Because girls are often mutilated in preparation for marriage.
Strong commitment, weak implementation of child marriage protection
African countries have signed and ratified the scope of regional and international human rights that outline the obligation to protect the rights and welfare of women and girls. However, the gap between commitment and implementation remains wide. Governments should investigate domestic laws and align laws, policies and practices with local and international standards.
The weak progressive enforcement of laws against child marriage is a broad question. This is shown in a recent study by women in the current Southern Africa and women by equality – Analysis of laws and policies implemented to protect and support child victims/survivors Marriage in Zimbabwe: Epworth's Case Study -This identifies a large number of shortages that support child marriage survivors. Access to poverty and challenge information, public services and legal support contributes to a sustained high rate of child marriage.
African Charter on Children's Rights and Welfare (ACRWC) It contains explicit provisions for child marriage. Article 21(2) is the most direct and important provision for addressing harmful social and cultural practices and leaves no ambiguity about charter opposition to child marriage and engagement. It requires state parties to enact laws that set the minimum age for marriage at age 18 for both girls and boys. Also, mandatory registration of all marriages in official registration is required. This is an important measure for monitoring and enforcing legal compliance.
Protocols to the African Charter on Human and People's Rights on Women's Rights in AfricaWhat is known as the Maputo protocol contains explicit provisions that address child marriage. The preamble clearly specifies that practices that hinder or put normal growth at risk and that affect the physical and psychological development of women and girls must be condemned and eliminated.
Article 1 commits state parties to combat all forms of discrimination against women through appropriate legislation, institutions and other measures, and Article 5 requires that all harmful practices that negatively affect women's human rights and violate international standards.
Article 6(a) provides that marriage will not take place without the free and full consent of the parties, but Article 6(b) establishes that 18 is the minimum age for women's marriage and sets clear legal standards for prohibiting marriages under this age.
SADC Model Act helps the state tackle child marriage
The SADC Model Act on Child Marriage is a roadmap for government actions, highlighting the national law to set the minimum age of marriage to 18 without exception, and the need for child marriage to be considered invalid.
In some countries there are conflicting or conflicting laws. The Constitution or Civil Code allows exceptions with parent or judicial consent, while setting the minimum age for marriage to 18 and exempts customary or religious law from scope. All legal frameworks must be in harmony to clearly and consistently prohibit child marriage under all circumstances.
Judgment guidelines should be provided to ensure that the judgment reflects the severity of the crime and is uniform across all laws. Additionally, in all circumstances, including sexual exploitation of a girl, including child marriage, the end of pregnancy must be permitted.
A general approach to ending a child's marriage
It is important to adopt a holistic approach alongside crime and must be mainstreamed into national policy, strategy and action plans. The model law requires the state to address underlying socioeconomic factors that contribute to child marriage, such as poverty and lack of access to education, and requires the provision of comprehensive support services through a multi-sector approach tailored to the needs of currently married children, survivors and at-risk children.
The state is being asked to provide access to health services, birth registration, psychosocial support, legal aid and justice, shelters and safe spaces, violence and exploitation, education, protections for economic empowerment and livelihood support. This should be linked to increased investments in service providers and institutions and support systems.
The African government must also take urgent measures to accelerate progress by investing in robust accountability mechanisms, with comprehensive legal and policy reform as a resource. Modeling methods promote accountability among member states by specifying the need for a transparent monitoring and assessment framework that tracks implementation and progress.
Ending a child's marriage is not only a legal and moral obligation, but it is essential to achieving sustainable development. When girls are empowered, they are more likely to delay marriage and childbirth, complete education and have a more successful career. These results have ripple effects, lifting girls and their families out of poverty, increasing national productivity and strengthening communities.
First Africa News24 https://africanews24.com/strengthen-efforts-to-tackle-child-marrige/
