Kenya: Plans to lower age of consent face opposition

By Magdalene Mukami

NAIROBI, Kenya

Government plans to lower the age of consent from 18 to 16 are drawing opposition in the east African country of Kenya.

Critics say the proposed amendment to the country’s Sexual Offenses Act would exacerbate such problems as teenage pregnancy, female genital mutilation (FGM), and child marriages.

Proponents counter that current law penalizes consensual relationships among underage peers, and especially the males involved. Such young men may be accused of rape even where the female partner consented, even though legally she is unable, they say.

In a statement, Kenya’s Federation of Women Lawyers condemned the proposal, saying that it contradicts the state’s marriage laws, which set 18 as the minimum age of marriage.

According to UN figures cited by Childs Not Brides, a global umbrella group working against child marriages, 4 percent of girls in Kenya are married by age 15, and 23 percent by age 18, but opponents of the measure argue lowering the age of consent could worsen those figures.

Though official polls on the issue are lacking, Kenyans on social media and on the street have also voiced disapproval of the proposal, which has already gone through its first reading in Parliament and is expected to be either rejected or accepted before Dec. 25.

Dorcas Njeri, 35, a primary school teacher, told Anadolu Agency she feared lowering the age of consent would lead to more teenage pregnancies, especially because under the country’s education system, 16-year-olds are still early in their secondary school education.

“I strongly condemn and rebuke this nonsense,” she said.

“A 16-year old girl is in her second year in high school, she hasn’t even learned about reproduction, she is vulnerable. This law will just raise the rate of early marriages and teenage pregnancies in Kenya,”

“It shouldn’t become law,” she added.

Njeri also predicted the change would lead to more school dropouts, as more and more girls get pregnant before finishing high school.

John, a constitutional lawyer who declined to give his last name, complained that the new law would infringe on girls’ rights.

“For instance, this young girl who isn’t yet mature gets pregnant, and she can’t get married until she is of legal age, which is 18, it’s in the Constitution, so it’s the law,” he said.

“Why would politicians subject the girl child to this then if they aren’t willing to also ensure that the girls are married?”

He added, “The same way a person under 18 can’t legally gamble or join the army is the same way that this shouldn’t see the light of day.”