The government of Malawi has passed a law that raises the minimum age of marriage to 18, effectively ending legal child marriage in the East African nation.
This is remarkable news from a country where half of girls are married before their eighteenth birthday, some as young as nine or ten years old. The practice of child marriage limits opportunities for girls to escape from poverty by interrupting or ending their pursuit of education. Between 2010 and 2013, an estimated 31,000 girls dropped out of school due to marriage.
Before this law, much of the burden to keep girls in school rested on cultural forces within communities. Primary school teacher Upile Tambala is one of these inspiring forces.
Upile encourages her young female students to continue their studies instead of getting married. A graduate of Planet Aid-supported teacher training college, Upile was recently featured on A World at School for her efforts.
"Girls should know that they are important," Upile says. "Girls should stand up and catch their future. My dad loves me being a teacher because he wants me to help other young girls to be educated like me."
You can read the full article on the A World at School website, and watch her story below.