A top government official in South Sudan’s Boma State underscores the urgent need to better protect girls against early marriage.
Addressing a congregation of South Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church at Lologo in Juba on Sunday, Boma’s Gender and Child Welfare Minister Lydia Peter Agolory said girl-child marriage remains a major challenge in the state.
She pointed out that some parents marry off their daughters at unsuitably early ages to get money or cows, pointing out that girls are married as young as 12.
The official admitted that her ministry failed to address the issue of girl-child marriage, citing bad cultural practices.
However, she said the government plans to eliminate girl-child marriage by 2030.