TANZANIA: CHILD MARRIAGE HARMS GIRLS

(Nairobi, October 29, 2014) – Child marriage in Tanzania limits girls’ access to education and exposes them to serious harms, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Human Rights Watch documented cases in which girls as young as seven were married. The government should set 18 as the minimum marriage age for girls and boys as a first step toward eradicating child marriage and improving the lives of girls and women.
The 75-page report, “‘No Way Out’: Child Marriage and Human Rights Abuses in Tanzania,” documents how child marriage severely curtails girls’ access to education, and exposes them to exploitation and violence – including marital rape and female genital mutilation (FGM) – and reproductive health risks. Human Rights Watch examined the gaps in Tanzania’s child protection system, the lack of protection for victims of child marriage, and the obstacles girls face in attempting to obtain redress, as well as shortcomings in existing laws and government plans to combat child marriage.