A growing movement led by women activists in Tanzania is pushing to raise the legal age of consent for girls from 15 to 18, citing urgent concerns over gender-based violence, child marriage, and barriers to education.
The effort is highlighted in a newly published academic paper by Agnes Phoebe Muyanga, a doctoral candidate in Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies at the University of Kansas. Her article, “The Socio-Political Performances of Care: Women Activists in Tanzania Push for the Increase of Tanzanian Girls’ Age of Consent from Fifteen Years to Eighteen Years,” appears in the Journal of Philosophical Investigations.
“The first time I learned that the age of consent in Tanzania could be as low as 14, I was shocked,” said Muyanga, who is originally from Uganda, where the minimum age of consent is 18. “That revelation changed the direction of my research.”
Muyanga’s study explores the efforts of Tanzanian women’s organizations and grassroots activists who are advocating for legal reforms. While most campaigners are calling to raise the age of consent to 18, some argue it should go even higher, to 21. Currently, Tanzanian law permits girls as young as 15 to consent to sex, and even 14 with court approval, while also allowing early marriages, often sanctioned by religious authorities.
Religious and cultural norms continue to complicate reform efforts. In Tanzania, where 63% of the population is Christian and 34% Muslim, traditional interpretations of religious law have often given male figures, including Islamic Qadis, the authority to approve marriages for young girls. Muyanga argues this has created a legal and social environment in which girls are left vulnerable and voiceless.
“It’s an indirect consequence of not having protective policies,” she explained. “A girl as young as 14 can end up married to a man decades older, with no legal safeguards in place.”
Beyond the moral imperative, Muyanga emphasizes the critical role of education. “Young girls deserve the chance to finish school without being pressured into early marriage or motherhood,” she said. “Many are forced to leave school in exchange for dowries, which continues the cycle of poverty and dependence.”
Muyanga, herself a survivor of childhood sexual assault, spent nearly a year in Tanzania conducting interviews and field research for the project, which will also form a chapter of her ongoing doctoral dissertation.
“I’m building on the voices of Tanzanian women who have been fighting this fight for years,” she said. “My goal is to support that advocacy with academic research that can influence policy and public debate.”
The campaign to raise the age of consent is part of a broader push across East Africa to ensure legal protections for minors, promote gender equality, and enhance access to education for girls.
Written By Rodney Mbua
