Horn Daily | Analysis
Somalia is once again facing international outrage after lawmakers backed down from a proposed law to ban child marriage. The bill, which sought to set 18 as the minimum marriage age, was withdrawn within days after religious leaders accused the government of “destroying Islam” and “importing Western values.”
The result: Somalia remains one of the few countries in the Horn of Africa where a girl as young as 11 can legally be married — if her parents and a cleric consent.
Faith or Fear?
For many Somalis, early marriage is defended as a religious and cultural duty. Clerics argue that marriage is permitted “at puberty,” allowing even pre-teen girls to be wed. In rural regions, families see it as protection from shame and poverty.
But doctors and rights groups describe a humanitarian crisis. Hospitals in Mogadishu and Baidoa treat teenage mothers suffering life-threatening childbirth injuries. Most never return to school. “These girls are victims, not wives,” says Dr. Rukia Ahmed, a women’s advocate in Hargeisa.
A Law That Never Lived
The parliament’s recent Child Protection Bill could have changed that reality. It banned under-18 marriages and criminalized clerics who officiate them. But when sermons and social media campaigns accused MPs of “defying Sharia,” the government quickly withdrew it.
“The problem is not Islam,” one lawmaker told Horn Daily. “The problem is fear — no one dares challenge the preachers.”
A Nation Divided
International organizations estimate that over one in three Somali girls marry before 18. In some regions, the number is even higher. Poverty drives the practice, but silence sustains it. Journalists who report on the issue receive threats; activists are branded “foreign agents.”
Yet a younger generation is beginning to push back. Online movements using the hashtag #AbooweLetHerGrow — “Brother, let her grow” — call for legal reform and public debate.
Somalia’s Choice
When an 11-year-old is called a bride, and a 70-year-old is called her husband — the question is no longer about religion. It is about humanity.
Somalia now stands at a moral crossroads. Should it continue to hide behind clerical authority, or will it choose to protect its daughters?