01 Aug 2021

 Parliament has rejected a private member’s bill seeking to amend the Marriage Act to align it with the Convention on the Rights of a Child.

Members from both sides of the aisle discussed the bill at length, with ruling party MPs opposing it while opposition MPs supported it.

A total of 33 MPs voted against the bill, 16 supported it while 15 were absent. 

Tabling the Marriage (Amendment) Bill recently, Selebi Phikwe West MP, Mr Dithapelo Keorapetse, said the bill sought to provide for the best interest of the child and to address the rights of persons with mental illnesses as well as issues around the different religious belief systems.

Mr Keorapetse reasoned that if passed, the bill would bring the Marriage Act to par with provisions of the Penal Code especially on the age of consent.

He said other instruments that were consistent with the bill were the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and the SADC-PF Model Law on Eradicating Child Marriages and Protecting Children Already in Marriage.

Other reasons he advanced for amending the Marriage Act were to repeal unpalatable and derogatory words such as ‘insane’ and sections that provided for persons with mental illness to have a presumption of capacity to consent to marriage.

Mr Keorapetse said the proposed bill also made provision to prohibit marriages of persons under the age of 18, which was consistent with the Interpretation Act and Children’s Act.

He proposed that Section 15 of the Marriage Act be repealed to ensure that child marriages were prohibited and that religious and traditional marriages should only be validated for persons 18 years or above to protect minors.

Responding, Minister of Nationality, Immigration and Gender Affairs, Ms Annah Mokgethi said the ministry was already in the process of reviewing and amending the Marriage Act.

Ms Mokgethi said marriage was a sacred institution hence emphasised the need for extensive consult with relevant stakeholders.

She added that cabinet had advocated for broader consultations to cover a wide spectrum of issues such as polygamous marriages.

“Currently, we are undertaking consultations with Ntlo ya Dikgosi, civil society, Faith Based Organisations and the nation at large. Our intention is to address all the gaps in relation to unions of marriage without leaving anyone behind. We are going to have to come up with regulations in order to regulate and monitor religious and customary marriages,” she said.

In addition, she stated that the Marriage (Amendment) Bill would be brought to Parliament in the near future. Ends