Outcry in Somalia as new bill would allow child marriage

12/8/2020 19:06

        An outcry is rising in Somalia as parliament considers a bill that would allow child marriage once a girl's sexual organs mature and would allow forced marriage as long as the family gives their consent.
        
        The bill is a dramatic reworking of years of efforts by civil society to bring forward a proposed law to give more protections to women in one of the world's most conservative countries.
        
        The new Sexual Intercourse Related Crimes Bill "would represent a major setback in the fight against sexual violence in Somalia and across the globe" and should be withdrawn immediately, the United Nations special representative on sexual violence in conflict, Pramila Patten, said in a statement Tuesday.
        
        The bill also weakens protections for victims of sexual violence, she said.
        
        Already more than 45% of young women in Somalia were married or "in union" before age 18, according to a United Nations analysis in 2014-15.