IV. STATE OBLIGATIONS A. Legislative Measures Ensure that the betrothal and marriage of boys and girls under the age of 18 is prohibited, without exception [18] The binding obligations set out in Article 6(b) of the Maputo Protocol and Article 21(2) of the African Children’s Charter require States Parties to take legislative measures to prohibit child marriage and to specify that the minimum age of marriage shall be 18 years. States Parties should enact, amend, repeal or supplement legislation as appropriate to ensure that the betrothal and marriage of children under the age of 18 years is prohibited. This prohibition should be without exception and should apply to all forms of marriage. Legislative measures should also ensure that practices of abduction and kidnapping for purposes of marriage are prohibited.19 [19] Legislative measures that prohibit child marriage must take precedence over customary, religious, traditional or sub-national laws and States Parties with plural legal systems must take care to ensure that prohibition is not rendered ineffectual by the existence of customary, religious or traditional laws that allow, condone or support child marriage. 19 Practices that involve abduction of a child for purposes of marriage include ukuthwala as it is known in South Africa, ttshobediso as it is known among the Basotho people, unwendisa as it is known in Swaziland, telefa as it is known in Ethiopia, and similar practices that involve the carrying off, kidnapping, offering as atonement or abduction of children for purposes of marriage among the Himba people in Namibia, the Umutara in Rwanda, the Nyanza people in Kenya, the Ganda/Bantu tribes of Uganda and the Latuka people of Sudan and others. 13