Bill Outlawing Child Marriage Passed by Senate

Senate Bill No. 1373 the “Girls not Brides Act.”, outlawing marriage between minors – persons under 18 years of age – or between a minor and an adult has been passed.

Risa Hontiveros, senator, said “The issue of child early and forced marriages is one that is largely invisible to us here in Metro Manila, but it is a tragic reality for scores of young girls who are forced by economic circumstances and cultural expectations to shelve their own dreams, begin families they are not ready for, and raise children even if their own childhoods have not yet ended,”

“Today, we give our girls a chance to dream, a chance to define their futures according to their own terms. We defend their right to declare when they are ready to begin their families. We tell them their health matters to us. Their education matters to us. We give them a fighting chance,”

Source: Rappler