Written by Yvonne Misando
In October 2025, Somalia’s parliament made history by agreeing to the African Charter on the rights and welfare of the child, a step toward ending child marriage and setting 18 as the minimum age for marriage. For millions of Somali girls, this was the promise of freedom, the right to become women before being forced to become wives. But this was short lived
When the news became public, some men wept. These were not tears of happiness, but of anger.
Elderly men were seen crying and praying, feeling devastated that they were “losing their right” to marry young girls. They protested loudly, shouted, and pushed back, and the government unfortunately listened to their cries. Days later, the Ministry of Family and Human Rights made it clear that Somalia would not enforce any part of the new law that contradicted Islamic Teachings, including the 18 year marriage limit. The message was unmistakable and painful: the comfort of men mattered more than the safety of girls.
The official statement declared, “Our religion and constitution are the foundation of all laws in Somalia. Clauses that contradict Islamic teachings cannot be implemented”. That single sentence silenced years of advocacy. It told every girl who dreamed of education and a future: Your body is still not yours to protect.
Right now, over 45% of Somali girls are married before they turn 18, with many being married before they are even 15. These are not wives; they are children robbed of their education, their freedom, and often their lives. By refusing to uphold the 18-year minimum age, Somalia didn’t just reject a law, it rejected its own daughters. Child marriage is not faith, it is not heritage, and it is not protection. It is a system built to control girls before they even learn to say no. And every time it’s defended in the name of “religion,” another girl disappears in silence.
We know change is possible. Malawi outlawed child marriage in 2017 after years of advocacy. Ethiopia and Rwanda have created successful programs that cut child marriage rates by half. These African Nations prove that protecting young girls doesn’t erase culture; it actually makes the nation stronger.
Somewhere in Mogadishu, a 13-year-old girl likely watched those protests on television. She saw men crying for the right to own girls just like her. And she learned a dangerous lesson: her country will debate her value before it defends it. Every Somali girl deserves the right to education, the right to a childhood, and the right to say ‘not yet’ and ‘not him’. They deserve a government brave enough to protect those rights, even when men protest.
Somalia’s reversal is not just about one law; it’s a mirror. Across Africa, whenever women and girls gain ground, patriarchy cries ‘ tradition’ But we know better, what they call faith is often fear, fear of what free women can become. This is a call to African leaders to raise the age, protect the girl child, and choose courage over comfort. Somalia’s daughters deserve a country that fights for them, not against them. Because when men cry for the right to marry children, it is not religion speaking, but oppression.
Somali girls deserve better. They deserve classrooms, not wedding beds. Choices, not chains and a childhood that belongs entirely to them.