Gambian
President Yahya Jammeh has announced a ban on child marriage in the
predominantly Muslim west African nation, threatening heavy jail terms for
those who break the new rules.
Speaking
to a group of Muslim elders in Banjul on Wednesday, Jammeh said: "As from
today, Jul 6, child marriage is illegal and is banned in Gambia."
"Anyone
who marries a girl under 18 years will spend 20 years in jail. The girls'
parents would spend 21 years in jail and anyone who knows about it and fails to
report the matter to the authorities would spend 10 years in jail," he
added.
"The
Imam and those that preside over the marriage ceremony would also be sent to
jail. If you want to know whether what I am saying is true or not, try it
tomorrow and see."
Jammeh
instructed lawmakers to pass legislation reflecting the new ban before Jul 21.
In
December, legislators passed a bill criminalising female circumcision and
introducing prison terms of up to three years for anyone flouting the ban, a
month after Jammeh branded the practice outdated and ordered its immediate
cessation.
Jammeh
declared in November that the practice was not required by Islam - the religion
of around 95 per cent of the country's 1.8 million population - and that it
should be consigned to history, according to a government spokesman.
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