Julius Maada Bio<\/a><\/span><\/span> signed the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act into law.<\/p>\nAnybody now involved in the marriage of a girl aged under the age of 18 will be jailed for at least 15 years or fined around $4,000 (\u00a33,200), or both.<\/p>\n
University student Khadijatu Barrie, whose sister was married off at 14, told the BBC she welcomed the ban but wished it had come in to save her younger sibling.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really wish it had happened earlier. I could have at least saved my sister and my friends and other neighbours,\u201d the 26-year-old gender studies undergraduate said.<\/p>\n
Sierra Leone is a patriarchal society and it is common for a father to give his daughter\u2019s hand in marriage forcibly.<\/p>\n
Ms Barrie faced this prospect aged 10. She resisted it and fled the family home after her father disowned her.<\/p>\n
She was lucky enough to find teachers who paid for her school fees and a sympathetic worker from the UN children’s agency who helped her out with accommodation.<\/p>\n
But she says it is difficult for those who live in rural areas to buck tradition and every community will need to be informed about the new law for it to be effective.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf everyone understands what’s there waiting for you in case you do it I’m sure this country will be a better one,\u201d Ms Barrie said.<\/p>\n
The ministry of health estimates that a third of girls are married off before they turn 18, accounting for the country\u2019s high number of maternal deaths – among the highest in the world.<\/p>\n
Those who face punishment under the new rules include the groom, the parents or guardians of the child bride, and even those who attend the wedding.<\/p>\n
Mrs Bio, who has been at the forefront in campaigning against sexual abuse since her husband became president six years ago, wanted the signing of the bill to be a big occasion.<\/p>\n
The first lady told the BBC World Service Newshour programme the bill was a “personal battle” as she was almost a victim of child marriage.<\/p>\n
The marriage didn’t go through because the civil war broke out but the experience has remained with her.<\/p>\n
She said that child marriage was like “taking away a child’s dream and destroy them even before they knew who they are”.<\/p>\n
“Even when I am at the position I am now, I still feel that pain. I still hate my immediate family for trying to do that,” she said.<\/p>\n
The first lady said Sierra Leone suffers from a high birth mortality rate because many of those having children are still teenagers.<\/p>\n
“Most of these girls, their body is not ready,” she said.<\/p>\n
Since MPs passed the legislation a few weeks ago, it has not received much coverage locally.<\/p>\n\n