Tanzania: Government Releases National Survey and Report on Child Marriage


Nearly 40% of girls in Tanzania are married before their 18
th birthday, with girls in rural areas and from poor families more likely to marry early, according to a recently released national government survey on child marriage and accompanying summary report. Factors that infuence early marriage in Tanzania include poverty, gender discrimination, cultural practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM) and other rites meant to prepare girls for marriage, fear of family dishonor, and teen pregnancy. Additionally, even though Tanzania’s high court invalidated the country’s outdated marriage laws last year, Tanzania has yet to amend those laws, which allow girls as young as 15 to get married.

In order to end child marriage in Tanzania, the summary report recommends that Tanzania reform its marriage laws to clearly prohibit marriage before age eighteen, educate communities about the negative impacts of child marriage, provide quality education for all girls in the country, and provide sexual and reproductive health education. The organization Girls Not Brides also recommends that the country fully implement and fund the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children in Tanzania.

The complete survey, “National Survey on the Drivers and Consequences of Child Marriage in Tanzania,” and summary report, “Child Marriage in Tanzania at a Glance,” are available on the Girls Not Brides website.

Compiled from: Girls Not Brides ~ What We've Learned From The National Survey On Child Marriage In Tanzania (April 4, 2017).