The Parliament is set to discuss a Bill that will raise the age of sexual consent from 16 to 18 years, at the same time criminalising the marrying off of minors.
Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi told State Media that the drafting of the Bill has been completed. Said Ziyambi:
The Bill is ready and we will be taking it to Cabinet soon. . .
Among some of the issues, the law will deal with is that court judgment which ruled that one cannot marry before the age of 18 — we have put it in the law.
The other issue the law deals with is Section 26 of the Constitution, which speaks about consent and we need to give effect to it. Effectively, it will provide the minimum age of consent.
We will also give full effect to provisions that children are not pledged into marriages.
Effectively, the Bill will outlaw child marriages, which has been a very contentious issue in recent times. It will also take care of issues that have to do with gender equality, which we are aligning with Section 3 of the Constitution.
A few weeks ago was a great uproar over the age of sexual consent after it was reported that some Members of Parliament wanted it to be lowered to 12 years.
Related:
- Dr Labode Rejects “Reduce Age Of S_xual Consent” Allegations
- MPs Call For Age Of S_xual Consent To Be Lowered To 12 Years
More: The Sunday Mail