Laws to tackle child marriages urged

The Centre for Child Law has called on government to take action and bring about legislative change to prevent child marriages after Parliament heard last week that there were almost 100 000 married children, says a News24 report. The centre's deputy director, Karabo Ozah, said failure to take action or bring legislative change to completion was contrary to the Constitution and international human rights instruments SA is party to. ‘Legislative reform is but one step towards protecting girl children from child marriages,’ Ozah said. She said the centre was of the view that gaps in current legislation, which has different ages of marriage for boys and girls – with that of girls set lower, needed to be addressed through processes that are supported by community engagement. She added that it was important to educate communities about the harmful effects of child marriage.