Colombia votes to outlaw child marriage; MPs hug each other, celebrate amid cheer in Parliament (WATCH)

Colombia’s congress has voted to change a law that allowed minors to get married at the age of 14 with parental consent.

Colombian lawmakers on Wednesday approved a bill to end child marriage in the country after 17 years of campaigning by advocacy groups and eight failed attempts to push legislation through the house and senate. The proposal would make the minimum age for marriage 18 and seeks to protect the rights and development opportunities for minors. It still must be signed into law by President Gustavo Petro.

Currently, the country’s civil code allows person as young as 14 years old to get married with parental consent.

A video surfaced on social media, showing Colombian MPs hugging each other happily amid loud cheer and celebrating inside the Parliament. 

They're girls, not wives

According to CNN, the initial proposal to reform the law – presented in 2023 – used the slogan “they’re girls, not wives,” aimed to prevent young girls from being forced to marry, to be subject to different forms of violence and to miss out on education and development opportunities.

“Minors are not sexual objects, they’re girls,” congresswoman Clara López Obregón said in a statement after the proposal was greenlit.

Child marriage remains a widespread practice worldwide and affects around 12 million girls per year, according to the UN’s agency for children, UNICEF.