National Strategy for Adolescent Girls and Young Women 2018-2022 91. The aim of the strategy is to ensure that AGYW in Malawi are safe and protected from all forms of violence and discrimination. AGYW should be empowered to demand sexual reproductive health rights, and make their own informed choices. They should have access to quality education and should be protected from child marriages. National Strategy on ending child marriages 2018 - 2022 92. This Strategy underlines the commitment of the Government and its partners to redouble their efforts towards having a Malawi free of child marriages. This Strategy provides a situation analysis and extent of the problem of child marriages in Malawi, its driving factors and consequences. 93. The Strategy incorporates regional and international standards as provided in various human rights instruments such as the United Nation's Convention on the Rights of the Child, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. Malawi amended her Constitution in 2017 and raised the age of the child from 16 to 18. The Marriage, Divorce and Family Relations Act provides for 18 as the age of marriage. The law in Malawi therefore prohibits child marriages. The implementation of this law, however, remains a challenge. 94. Malawi is therefore committed to support girls in avoiding child marriage, delaying child bearing and instead encouraging them to remain and continue with their education. 95. This Strategic Plan intends to provide leadership, guidance and oversight in national efforts of ending child marriages. The Plan is tackling the key drivers of child marriage by seeking to improve girls’ economic standing through increased economic opportunities, and initiating incentive-based programs to support girls to enroll for school, reduce the dropout rate and keep them in school through to secondary level. 96. The Plan also seeks to effectively enforce laws that were developed to protect children from child marriages. Furthermore, this Strategy aims at harmonizing and popularizing the different pieces of legislation and building the capacity of law enforcement agencies to fast track their enforcement. The Strategy is encouraging community engagement in a 25