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Parliament speaker backs policies to counter premature marriage on Mozambique
4:01 CAT | 20 Oct 2018
Photo: Notícias
The speaker of the Assembly of the Republic of Mozambique, Verónica Macamo, on Thursday backed stronger government action to end premarital marriage, noting the pain and suffering inflicted on girls forced to marry older men.
“We should continue to improve public education policies with an emphasis on girls, involving families and society in general,” Macamo said.
Macamo said that premature marriage cause girls pain and suffering and harmed their health and development.
“It is imperative that we reflect on the best ways to end these practices,” she added.
Thousands of girls in Mozambique marry before the age of 18, the minimum age required by law. Civil society organisations say the practice enables the forced marriage of teenagers to older men through arrangements involving the girl’s parents.
Several organisations in Mozambique have demanded the removal of the legal exception that allows 16-year-old girls to marry, with their parents’ consent, when so-called “compelling reasons” such as pregnancy exist.
Civil society organisations say this exception leads to situations in which rapists escape justice by marrying their victims with the consent of her parents after agreement between the parties often involving the payment of money.
Source: Lusa
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