The helpline received a call from a woman reporting her neighbor for living with a 12-year-old girl as his wife. Mama Huruma, (not her real name) stated that the young girl had passed her primary finals but her parents, not believing that a girl should get an education, married her off instead of taking her to school.
Immediately after speaking to the caller, our Helpline counselor contacted the Social Welfare Officer (SWO) of the area where the girl resided to substantiate the claims raised by the woman. The SWO verified that the accusations were indeed valid and proceeded to take action towards getting her out of that situation.
The Social Welfare Officer contacted the police through the Gender Desk, and arrested the girl's husband. A few days later we received a call from the Social Welfare Officer that the girl was enrolled at a school and will be in foster care as she continues with her education.
Early marriages are the kinds of marriages where one or both partners are under eighteen years of age. These acts are unexceptable not to mention illegal and they deny girls their right to quality education and freely live their lives.
On average, 2 out of 5 girls will be married before they reach 18 years in Tanzania. Let's follow Mama Huruma's example. Don't stay silent when you learn that a child in your neighborhood/community is being forced into marriage.