Somaliland has now approved a new law that criminalizes rape with offenders likely to face up to 20 years in jail in a historic move.
Rapists in the self-declared republic of Somaliland in the past had the chance to marry their victims but that norm is now over after the country’s parliament passed a law against rape this year.
The upper house of the country’s parliament on Saturday passed the law which now criminalises other forms of gender violence such as forced marriage, trafficking for sexual slavery and sexual harassment.
The move is to combat gender violence in a country that is conservatively Islamic.
Prior to the passage of this landmark anti-rape law, rape was considered cultural and treated as such.
Women and children rights activists have hailed the move after years of lobbying.
The Republic of Somaliland declared independence in 1991 and has been internationally recognised as an autonomous region of Somalia. There is no law against rape in Somalia.
The Islamic state has a population of about 3.5 million.
Source: Africafeeds.com
