Sri Lanka's bid to end child marriages
The government of the South Asian nation is considering a proposal to change marriage law as there is no minimum age for Muslims to marry under the current law.
In this May 13, 2012 file photo a Sri Lankan Muslim woman holds her child at dusk in a sea promenade in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
The Sri Lankan government has been working on a legislation to change the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act in an effort to prevent child marriages among its Muslim community.
In the South Asian country, the marrying age for girls is 18, but for Muslims there is no minimum age under the current law.
Human rights activists have long called for a reform and after nine years of evaluation, the committee responsible for the issue handed its report to the government in late January.
As TRT World’s Natalie Poyhonen reports the move could save lives of many Muslim girls.
Copyright © 2024 TRT World.