With an estimated three in ten women in the country getting married as children, Tanzania is believed to have the 11th largest number of child brides worldwide.
Child marriages in Tanzania still pose a significant challenge to the country’s development. While reports indicate that the number of child marriages in the country has halved over the last five decades, the problem is still prevalent in some parts.
In Shinyanga, one of the country’s most affected regions, 42 incidents of child marriages have been reported this year alone compared to 19 in 2021. The practice officials say, is exposing young girls to sexual exploitation and denying them the right to education.
To address the issue, the government in conjunction with the United Nations has recently launched a campaign to end child marriages in the country.
It focuses on changing social perceptions, bridging the education gap and dealing with poverty which experts say are issues at the heart of the problem.
Activists say the country’s over 50-year-old law on marriage also needs to be reviewed.
Although successfully challenged in court six years ago, it still allows girls as young as 14 to be married as long as their parents consent to it. -Reporting by SABC News Isaac Lukando in Dar es Salaam.
