Child Marriage: Why Stronger Legal Enforcement Still Matters?
This blog post argues that enforcement is necessary in order to improve the situation. Legal reforms have led to some progress, but the prevalence has decreased only from 69 per cent in 1991 to 40 per cent in 2016.
Introduction
Child marriage is forbidden by law in Ethiopia, but it remains a serious legal and human rights issue. The 2016 Demographic and Health Survey shows that 40.3% of women in the age group 20–24 had been married before their eighteenth birthday and that 14.1% had been married before they reached the age of fifteen.[1] The situation is even worse in certain areas of the country. For instance, in Afar child marriage affects approximately 67% of girls and about 50% in Benishangul-Gumuz and the Somali Region. There also seems to be a strong link between education and child marriage; girls who have never been to school are almost seven times more likely to be married as children than those who complete secondary education.[2]
There has been some advancement in the reduction of child marriage in Ethiopia, the rate of such marriages having dropped by around one third in the last ten years. Nevertheless, the country still has one of the highest absolute numbers of child marriages in the world.[3] Child marriage can have a serious impact on a girl's life since it may compel her to quit school, decrease her chances of securing better employment in the future, and subject her to early pregnancy as well as various kinds of violence.
Ethiopia does, however, have a fairly robust legal framework designed to protect children from being married off as children. The law includes provisions to safeguard children and places a requirement on the state to take action against harmful traditional practices. The Revised Family Code also fixes the minimum legal age for marriage at eighteen. Moreover, the Criminal Code has clauses which penalise early marriage. Thus, the main issue is not merely the lack of laws but rather the extent to which those laws are enforced in practice. The Revised Family Code also sets the minimum legal age for marriage at eighteen. In addition, the Criminal Code contains provisions that punish early marriage. Therefore, the main problem is not simply the absence of laws, but also how effectively those laws are enforced in practice. The problem is not in whether the child marriage is prohibited, but whether this prohibition is enforced.
This blog post argues that enforcement is necessary in order to improve the situation. Legal reforms have led to some progress, but the prevalence has decreased only from 69 per cent in 1991 to 40 per cent in 2016[4] enforcement problems, insufficient age verification, lack of reporting and strong social norms permit the continuation of prohibited marriages.
Legal Framework
Article 35(4) of the Constitution obliges the State to abolish abusive customs and practices that oppress women or inflict physical or psychological injuries on anyone; Article 36 provides protection to children against mistreatment. Child marriage therefore falls within the purview of the constitution guaranteeing equality and protection.
Article 7 of the Revised Family Code Proclamation No. 213/2000 establishes the minimum age of marriage at eighteen years for both boys and girls; however, under exceptional circumstances, the Minister of Justice is empowered to allow marriage two years earlier.[5] Such an exception dilutes the general rule because a marriage involving children under the age of eighteen would still be allowed. The Criminal Code also reinforces the prohibition by Article 648 of marrying any person under the age of eighteen except for certain exceptions with the penalty being not more than three years’ imprisonment in case the minor is above thirteen years and seven years in case the victim is below.[6]
Critical Analysis
1. Presence of a prohibition does not mean protection
The gap between theory and practice is the key issue. It can be seen in the results of legal reforms: the research into the impact of the Revised Family Code revealed a significant decrease in underage marriage and early marriage, respectively.[7] As well, UNICEF reported a cancellation of many planned child marriages as a result of legal literacy and enforcement activities.[8] They are the tangible effects of the reform, rather than symbolic ones.
However, the enforcement is uneven. Thus, the qualitative research into East Gojjam showed problems in age verification, coordination and follow up, and the reluctance of local authorities to report the real scope of the problem.[9] In addition, the case-control study in West Guji has revealed that poverty and large family size are key factors influencing child marriage in Ethiopia.[10] Arranged marriage without proper supervision and ineffective enforcement lead to undermining public confidence and the effectiveness of deterrence of the law.
2. The case of Woineshet illustrates the consequence of ineffective institutional protection
In the case of Equality Now and Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association v. Ethiopia, the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights considered the case of Woineshet Zebene Negash, a thirteen year-old girl abducted, raped and forced into marriage.[11] The domestic legal proceedings did not ensure her protection. The Commission concluded violation of the African Charter and required compensation and improving the response of the state to abduction and forced marriage, including diligent prosecution.
The importance of the decision is in its approach to state responsibility: the criminal provisions are not enough if the authorities do not act. Investigation and prosecution are integral parts of the protection which should be provided to the child. And the case shows the danger of considering forced marriage as the issue of private or cultural nature, rather than the one which engages legal responsibility.
3. Prevention of the marriage is the goal of enforcement
Prevention should be an important part of the enforcement as well. Proper prevention requires birth registration, age verification, monitoring of marriage arrangements and involvement of schools, police and child protection institutions. Community-based models of enforcement demonstrate what effective prevention looks like: in Tigray, Women Development Groups reported the plans of marriage to local Marriage Annulment Committees, which led to the coordinated criminal proceedings.[12] Since there is a danger that the report of the child will cause reprisals, protection and alternative safe place are necessary conditions of any reporting system.
It is especially true when the custom or religion coexist with the law. Unregistered marriage might be recognized locally even though prohibited by the law; in the case of applying the Federal Family Code in Afar, there were difficulties due to cultural reasons. And so the education of parents, religious and customary authorities, registrars, police and prosecution should be included in enforcement.
Comparative Analysis
In Independent Thought v. Union of India, the Supreme Court of India found that sexual intercourse with a wife who is under eighteen cannot be exempted due to marriage.[13] The Supreme Court ruled that even if a child is married, this status does not strip him or her of constitutional protections. Even though the case was decided in India, its rationale may be applied to Ethiopia since it invalidates the concept of a marital exception.
The African Commission’s ruling in Equality Now, which dealt with Ethiopia specifically, provides an example of how the weak enforcement of laws may lead to human rights violations. In both cases, the need to protect children from sexual exploitation is determined by their age and rights rather than family affiliation or labeling of the relationships.
CEDAW Committee recognized the legal provisions of the Ethiopian Constitution, Family Code and Criminal Code, but was concerned with the exception to the eighteen-year minimum and emphasized the need for measures to enable law enforcement to ensure effective implementation of the Family Code.[14]
The Value of Stricter Enforcement
Enforcement plays several roles: It indicates that child marriage is a public wrong, not a private issue; it prosecutes the guilty spouse and accomplices; and its consistent application slowly changes societal expectations, especially in conjunction with other measures. It also ensures equality, as the prevalence of child marriage is about four times higher in Afar (67 per cent) than in most urban centres, and girls who did not receive any education enter into marriage as children almost seven times more often than those who complete secondary education.[15] Enforcement that fails to take these regional and socioeconomic differences into consideration will continue protecting some girls far more effectively than others.
Recommendations: Focusing on Enforcement
An enforcement policy should consist of the following components:
● Universal birth registration and age verification when registering or solemnizing the marriages.
● Joint coordination among the police, prosecutor service, judiciary and child welfare agencies, based on Justice Coalition and Marriage Annulment Committee pilots introduced in Afar and Tigray.
● Ensuring the availability of reporting mechanisms without compromising individual rights.
● Liability and prosecution of all the actors involved in arranging, solemnizing or witnessing child marriage, not just of an adult spouse.
● Systematic review of the exceptions from Article 7(2), taking into consideration the concern of the CEDAW Committee that it compromises the minimum age.
While enforcement policies are not limited to punishment, prosecution cannot compensate for the loss of education. An effective approach would need to include prevention, judicial accountability, child welfare services, education and legal assistance. The desired result is a law that is predictable, enforceable and enforced consistently.
Conclusion
Ethiopia already has strong laws to fight child marriage. The Constitution says we must protect children from practices and gives children rights. The Revised Family Code sets the marriage age at eighteen. Also the Criminal Code has punishments for those who break these rules. So child marriage still happens a lot. This shows me that having laws is not enough to keep children safe.
We need to make sure these laws actually work. This means we must use age checks and birth registration to prove how old a child is. Police, prosecutors, judges and child welfare groups must work together on these cases. We also need ways for people to report child marriage and free legal help for those who need it. Importantly we must hold the people who plan or help with child marriage strictly accountable.
The current laws that allow marriage under eighteen should be looked at again to see if they help or hurt child protection. I believe that enforcement must go hand in hand with teaching and community work. We need to stop child marriage before it even starts. The law is very clear on this: a childs age cannot be changed because of tradition or family pressure. We just need our institutions to take action so that stopping child marriage becomes a reality and not just words, on a page.
[1] Ministry of Women, Children and Youth (Ethiopia), National Costed Roadmap to End Child Marriage and FGM/C 2020–2024 (2019) 12.
[2] UNICEF and ICF, 'Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey 2016' data reproduced in Child Marriage Data Portal, 'Ethiopia Country Profile' (Child Marriage Data Portal, 2024).
[3] UNICEF, '25 Million Child Marriages Prevented in Last Decade Due to Accelerated Progress, According to New UNICEF Estimates' (UNICEF, 2023).
[4] Child Marriage Data Portal (n 2).
[5] Revised Family Code Proclamation No 213/2000 (Ethiopia) art 7(1)–(2).
[6] Criminal Code of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Proclamation No 414/2004 (Ethiopia) arts 647–648.
[7] Paul AMV Tertilt, 'Here Waits the Bride? The Effect of Ethiopia's Child Marriage Law' (2021) 144 Journal of Development Economics 102456.
[8] UNICEF Ethiopia, '2023 Country Summary: Ethiopia' (UNICEF, 2023).
[9] Ashenafi Hagos Baynesagn and Tsion Maru Wubie, 'Locked in Tradition: Upholding Child Marriage Practice in East Gojjam Zone, Ethiopia' (2025) 106 Journal of Social Work.
[10] Shiferaw Gelchu Adola, Dessalegn Wirtu and Merga Dheresa, 'Poverty and Large Family Size Are Pivotal Risk Factors for Child Marriage in Ethiopia: Evidence from a Matched Case-Control Study' (2025) Frontiers in Sociology <https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2025.1544169> accessed 20 August 2026.
[11] Equality Now and Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association v Ethiopia, Communication No 341/2007 (African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, 16 November 2015).
[12] UNFPA, 'Community-Led Enforcement Shows the Way on Ending Child Marriage in Ethiopia' (UNFPA, 2026).
[13] Independent Thought v Union of India (2017) 10 SCC 800 (India).
[14] Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, 'Concluding Observations on the Eighth Periodic Report of Ethiopia' UN Doc CEDAW/C/ETH/CO/8 (2019) paras 57–58.
[15] Child Marriage Data Portal (n 2).