Symbol supply, Khadijatu BarrieImage caption, Khadijatu Barrie ran clear of house elderly 10 as a result of her father sought after her to get marriedArticle informationAuthor, Umaru FofanaRole, BBC Information, Freetown3 July 2024Sierra Leone has introduced in a brand new legislation banning kid marriage with a lot fanfare at a rite organised via First Woman Fatima Bio within the capital, Freetown.Invited visitors, together with first women from Cape Verde and Namibia, watched as her husband President Julius Maada Bio signed the Prohibition of Kid Marriage Act into legislation.Anyone now concerned within the marriage of a lady elderly below the age of 18 shall be jailed for no less than 15 years or fined round $4,000 (£3,200), or each.College pupil Khadijatu Barrie, whose sister was once married off at 14, instructed the BBC she welcomed the ban however wanted it had are available in to save lots of her more youthful sibling.“I in reality want it had took place previous. I can have a minimum of stored my sister and my pals and different neighbours,” the 26-year-old gender research undergraduate stated.Sierra Leone is a patriarchal society and it’s common for a father to present his daughter’s hand in marriage forcibly.Ms Barrie confronted this prospect elderly 10. She resisted it and fled the circle of relatives house after her father disowned her.She was once fortunate sufficient to search out academics who paid for her college charges and a sympathetic employee from the UN youngsters’s company who helped her out with lodging.However she says it’s tricky for individuals who reside in rural spaces to greenback custom and each neighborhood will wish to learn concerning the new legislation for it to be efficient.“If everybody understands what is there looking forward to you if you happen to do it I am positive this nation shall be a greater one,” Ms Barrie stated.The ministry of well being estimates {that a} 3rd of women are married off sooner than they flip 18, accounting for the rustic’s prime choice of maternal deaths – some of the perfect on the planet.Those that face punishment below the brand new regulations come with the groom, the oldsters or guardians of the kid bride, or even those that attend the marriage.Mrs Bio, who has been at the vanguard in campaigning in opposition to sexual abuse since her husband turned into president six years in the past, sought after the signing of the invoice to be a large instance.Since MPs handed the law a couple of weeks in the past, it has no longer gained a lot protection in the community.Symbol supply, Sierra Leone presidencyImage caption, President Julius Maada Bio’s daughter was once on the signing ceremonyAt the rite, President Bio stated that his “motivation and dedication to empowering girls and women is firmly rooted in my private existence adventure”.His eight-year-old daughter was once among those that watched him signal the invoice.The 60-year-old president defined how he had misplaced his father at an early age and were introduced up via his mom and later his elder sister who “supported and inspired me to pursue my desires to the most productive of my talent”.He said his spouse’s dedication to championing ladies’s rights: “In combination, we need to construct an empowered Sierra Leone the place ladies are given a fair platform to achieve their complete attainable. I’ve all the time believed that the way forward for Sierra Leone is feminine.”Rights activists reacted favourably to the legislation, calling it a watershed second.On their X web page, the United States Bureau of African Affairs welcomed the passage of the invoice pronouncing the “vital milestone no longer simplest protects ladies however promotes tough human rights protections”.Symbol supply, Sierra Leone presidencyImage caption, First Woman Fatima Bio (R), gazing her husband retaining the signed law, backs Sierra Leone’s We Are Equivalent CampaignYou can be involved in:Symbol supply, Getty Pictures/BBC
