Underage marriage is now banned in Guatemala.

As reported by Reuters, the new law, which was approved in Congress by a vote of 87-15, raises the age a Guatemalan girl can marry from 14 to 18.

Sixteen-year-old girls, however, will still be allowed to marry with a judge’s permission under certain circumstances.

Despite the new law, enforcing the court's decision will likely be a challenge, as one-third of women in Guatemala are typically married by 18. According to Unicef, 7 percent of Guatemalan girls are married by the age of 15.

Christa Stewart, the program manager of the Sexual Violence and Adolescent Girls’ Legal Defense Fund for the advocacy group Equality Now, has called the new law an important step in reframing how girls should be treated in Guatemalan society.

Stewart does, however, feel that the law will need a great deal of assistance.

“It requires a cultural shift to fully implement the law, the training of judges, and reaching remote rural areas,” she explained.

For a young woman in Guatemala, early marriage is a definite impediment to receiving a full education.

“If a girl is married, there is the presumption there will be child bearing and they are more likely not to continue with their education,” Stewart added.

Most Latin American countries ban marriages under the age of 18, while making allowances for underage marriage with the permission of parents or a judge.

According to World Vision, the top three countries where girls get married under the age of 18 are Niger, the Central African Republic and Chad.

According to The International Center for Research on Women, girls who marry before the age of 18 are more likely to experience domestic violence than women who marry later.