Today on the net: activists protest against child marriage in Nigeria, an online campaign to fund Edward Snowden’s trip to Venezuela, and a Tumblr blog featuring strange half-human half-animal creations.
Nigeria: activists protest against child marriage
These Nigerians gathered in Lagos this weekend are chanting "Child not Bride!". Protests like this one against child marriage have been ongoing for several days now.
They were prompted by last week’s senate decision to retain a portion of the constitution that provides for renouncing Nigerian citizenship and defines ‘full age’ as anyone over the age of 18, and any woman who is married, regardless of her age.
Activists are saying the resolution legalizes child marriage and have launched an online campaign called “Child not Bride”. The movement has been widely shared on social networks, with many web users accusing their politicians of quite simply legalizing pedophilia.
The anger is directed at the lawmakers and Senator Ahmed Sani Yerima in particular who sparked an outcry back in 2010 when he married a 13 year old Egyptian girl.
An act prohibiting child marriage was adopted by the federal government back in 2003. But as the United Nations Population Fund points out, not all state governments are following suit, particularly in the north of the country where Sharia law is in force.
This e-petition describes it as a legal gray area and is calling for a law defining the minimum age for marriage to be established across the country. The document has already bee... Go on reading on our web site.
http://www.france24.com/en/taxonomy/emission/18008
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