5 African countries with the highest rates of child marriages

Nduta Waweru December 08, 2018

5 African countries with the highest rates of child marriages

Photo: Wiki CC

The Central African Republic

In the CAR,  the legal minimum age for marriage is 18. However, girls can get married at 13 years if it is approved by a court and/or if the girl is pregnant. In some cases, earlier marriage is allowed if a parent consents to it.

With this background, 68 per cent of girls gets married before the age of 18 mainly due to poverty and poor access to education, cultural practices such as female genital mutilation and polygamy, as well as conflict, which force many parents to consent to child marriage as a way of protecting their girls from violence and sexual assault.

Last Edited by:Nduta Waweru Updated: December 9, 2018

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