Sierra Leone’s new child marriage ban welcomed
Sierra Leone has brought in a new law banning child marriage with much fanfare at a ceremony organised by First Lady Fatima Bio in the capital, Freetown.
Invited guests, including first ladies from Cape Verde and Namibia, watched as her husband President Julius Maada Bio signed the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act into law.
Anybody now involved in the marriage of a girl aged under the age of 18 will be jailed for at least 15 years or fined around $4,000 (£3,200), or both.
University student Khadijatu Barrie, whose sister was married off at 14, told the BBC she welcomed the ban but wished it had come in to save her younger sibling.