Marriage, Divorce, Polygamy & Wife Obedience in Tanzania

Sections 10(2), 13(1) and 15 of Tanzania’s Law of Marriage Act of 1971 allow men to contract polygamous marriages, and permit the marriage of 15-year-old girls, while the minimum age of marriage for boys is 18.

Section 10. Kinds of Marriage.

. . .
(2) A marriage contracted in Tanzania, whether contracted before or after the commencement of this Act shall —

(a) if contracted in Islamic form or according to rites recognized by customary law in Tanzania, be presumed, unless the contrary is proved, to be polygamous or potentially polygamous; and
(b) in any other case, be presumed to be monogamous, unless the contrary is proved.

Section 13. Minimum Age.

(1) No person shall marry who, being male has not attained the apparent age of eighteen years, or being female, has not attained the apparent age of fifteen years.

Section 15. Subsisting Marriage.

(1) No man, while married by a monogamous marriage, shall contract another marriage.
(2) No man, while married by a polygamous or potentially polygamous marriage, shall contract a marriage in any monogamous form with any person.
(3) No woman who is married shall, while that marriage subsists, contract another marriage.

Link to full law

Note:

Update: On 8 July 2016, the High Court of Tanzania took steps to end child marriage for Tanzanian girls. In its decision, the Court ruled that Sections 13 and 17 of the Law of Marriage Act were unconstitutional and directed the government to change the law within one year so that the minimum age of marriage for girls is 18 years -- the same as for Tanzanian boys. 

*********************************************

Article 13(1) of the Constitution of Tanzania: All persons are equal before the law and are entitled, without any discrimination, to protection and equality before the law.

No more #UnsexyLaws - #MakeEqualityReality!

Join us in calling on the heads of state to amend or repeal all sex discriminatory laws and fulfill their commitment to the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action and gender equality by sending the letter below.