Child Marriage Bill in Somalia

The Somalian parliament is considering a bill that would allow child marriage once a girl’s sexual organs mature.

The new Sexual Intercourse Related Crimes Bill would allow forced marriage as long as the family gives their consent.

It marks a dramatic reworking of years of efforts to give more protections to women in one of the world’s most conservative countries.

The bill ‘would represent a major setback in the fight against sexual violence in Somalia and across the globe’, said the United Nations special representative on sexual violence in conflict.

The Somalian parliament parliament is considering the Sexual Intercourse Related Crimes Bill, which would allow forced marriage as long as the family gives their consent. Pictured: People wait as officials of Turkey Diyanet Foundation (TDV) distribute meat for needy people on the first day of Eid al-Adha in Mogadishu, Somalia on July 31