Tanzania’s court of appeal has upheld a 2016 ruling barring child marriage in the country.

Prior to now, Tanzania’s legal age of marriage for girls was 15 and 18 years for boys.

In 2016, Tanzania’s High court ruled that the legal age of both boys and girls should be 18. This ruling followed agitations from human right groups, specifically Mischina initiative which argue that Tanzania’s child rights act doesn’t be Favour the education of the girl child. Their petition argued that the Marriage Act violated girls’ fundamental rights to equality, dignity, and access to education and contravened Tanzania’s Law of the Child Act.

The Tanzanian Government appealed the decision but the ruling was upheld this week by the Court of Appeal.

This ruling is a step in the right direction and it will help Tanzania girls to have a good education and a right to a good life

Culled from www.hrw.org