The Kiribati Parliement has approved the first reading of the Marriage Bill 2002, that will bring the country's laws more into line with traditional cultural practices.
Under the bill, females will only be allowed to get married at 18, insteda of 16 under existing law, while males must wait until they are 21 to get married.
Both males and females will still need parental approval.
The Minister of Environment and Social Development, who moved the bill, said existing laws, left over from colonial times, needed to be amended as they did not reflect the traditional values of I-Kiribati people.
