Child Marriage in Tanzania

31% of girls in Tanzania are married before their 18th birthday and 5% are married before the age of 15.

According to UNICEF, Tanzania has the 11th highest absolute number of child brides in the world – 779,000.

According to 2010 data, child marriage rates are as high as 59% in Shinyanga, 58% in Tabora and 55% in Mara. Rates are lowest in Iringa and Dar es Salaam.

In rural areas on the border with Kenya, some girls reportedly marry as young as 11.

• Family honour: Pre-marital sex is often considered a taboo which undermines family honour and decreases the amount of dowry a girl can fetch when married. Some girls who are considered to be micharuko – ‘running around with men’ – are forced into marriage to avoid bringing shame to families.
• Poverty: A 2017 study by Forward shows that poverty is considered the leading driver of child marriage in Tanzania. Mahari – ‘bride price’ – involves a husband giving money, cattle or clothing to a bride’s family. It is also common for girls to decide to get married out of their own will in search of income opportunities.
• Nyumba ntobu: This practice involves an older, wealthier woman paying bride price for a young girl to become her wife. A man is then chosen to impregnate the girl and any children who are born belong to the older woman.
• Level of education: The Government’s Primary School Leaving Examination determines which students can go onto secondary school. Human Rights Watch argues that girls who fail the exam face little choice but to marry. Girls who are pregnant are also banned from re-entering school.
• Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C): FGM/C is linked to a desire to control female sexuality and is seen by many communities as a rite of passage to prepare girls for marriage. Other ‘womanhood’ initiation dances – such as unyago, samba and chagulaga – involve a girl being trained on marital aspects when she reaches puberty.
• Displacement: Burundian refugees in Tanzania live with limited resources, and years of displacement drives some refugees to marry off their daughters as a survival mechanism.

Having a strong law that provides for a standard minimum marriage age for boys and girls is a good starting point. Education is a key protection measure against underage marriages, and Tanzania should also end longstanding discrimination against girls in education, including by ensuring girls who become pregnant can continue their studies, and address widespread violence in schools. It is also important to engage communities on the importance of keeping girls in school and not marrying them off in their childhood. With these steps, girls in Tanzania can have the future they deserve, and be girls, not wives.