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Children at a school in The Gambia, where child marriage is banned

Gambian President Yahya Jammeh has announced a ban on child marriage in the predominantly Muslim west African nation, threatening heavy jail terms for those who break the new rules.

Speaking to a group of Muslim elders in Banjul, Jammeh said: Â鶹APPœAs from today, July 6, child marriage is illegal and is banned in The Gambia.

Â鶹APPœAnyone who marries a girl under 18 years will spend 20 years in jail. The girlsÂ鶹APP™ parents would spend 21 years in jail and anyone who knows about it and fails to report the matter to the authorities would spend 10 years in jail.

Â鶹APPœThe Imam and those that preside over the marriage ceremony would also be sent to jail. If you want to know whether what I am saying is true or not, try it tomorrow and see.Â鶹APP�

Jammeh instructed lawmakers to pass legislation reflecting the new ban before July 21.

In December, legislators passed a bill criminalising female circumcision and introducing prison terms of up to three years for anyone flouting the ban, a month after Jammeh branded the practice outdated and ordered its immediate cessation.

Jammeh declared in November that the practice was not required by Islam Â鶹APP“ the religion of around 95% of the countryÂ鶹APP™s 1.8 million population Â鶹APP“ and that it should be consigned to history, according to a government spokesman.

© 1994-2016 Agence France-Presse

Note from A World at School:ÌýEvery year, 15 million girls under the age of 18 become brides Â鶹APP“ an average of 40,000 girls every day.ÌýIf all girls went to secondary school, there would be 64% fewer marriages and 59% fewer girls would become pregnant.