Child marriage
Additionally, jurisdictions may allow marriages younger than the stipulated age where specific exceptions, such as parental or guardian consent, or anomalous events, such as teenage pregnancy,[3] exist.
Evidence from 19th century Palestine suggests that husbands sometimes initiated sexual relations before their wives reached puberty, but that it was a rare occurrence, condemned socially and censured by sharia courts.
Writing in the 1830s, Edward William Lane observed that few Egyptian girls remained single by the age of 16, but socioeconomic transformation, educational reform, and modernity brought significant changes.
[c][d] Some modern Muslim authors and Islamic scholars, such as Ali Gomaa, who served as the Grand Mufti of Egypt, doubt the traditionally accepted narrative and believe based on other evidence that Aisha was in her late teens at the time of her marriage.
[2] The effects of child marriage on boys include being ill-prepared for certain responsibilities such as providing for the family, early fatherhood, and a lack of access to education and career opportunities.
[86] According to the United Nations Population Fund, factors that promote and reinforce child marriage include poverty and economic survival strategies; gender inequality; sealing land or property deals or settling disputes; control over sexuality and protecting family honor; tradition and culture; and insecurity, particularly during war, famine or epidemics.
[3][114][115] In reviews of Jewish community history, scholars[116][117][118] claim poverty, shortage of grooms, and uncertain social and economic conditions were a cause of frequent child marriages.
In 2023, a study led by Ohio State researchers, Fiona Doherty, Smitha Rao, and Angelise Radney found that the increase in environmental disasters tied to climate change were contributing factor to a rise in child marriage in at least 20 countries.
[126] The United Nations Population Fund stated the following:[87] In 2010, 158 countries reported that 18 years was the minimum legal age for marriage for women without parental consent or approval by a pertinent authority.
UNICEF reports that the top eight nations in the world with the highest observed child marriage rates are Niger (75%), Chad (72%), Mali (71%), Bangladesh (64%), Guinea (63%), Central African Republic (61%), Mozambique (56%), and Nepal (51%).
[citation needed] A UNFPA report stated: "For the period 2000–2011, just over one third (an estimated 34 percent) of women aged 20 to 24 years in developing regions were married or in union before their eighteenth birthday.
[145] This UNICEF report is based on data that is derived from a small sample survey between 1995 and 2004, and the current rate is unknown given the lack of infrastructure and in some cases, regional violence.
[156] This major accomplishment came following years of effort by the Girls Empowerment Network campaign, which ultimately led to tribal and traditional leaders banning the cultural practice of child marriage.
[158][161] Some child marriages in Morocco are a result of Article 475 of the Moroccan penal code, a law that allows rapists to avoid punishment if they marry their underage victims.
This includes absuma (arranged marriages set up between cousins at birth in a local Islamic ethnic group), bride kidnapping, and elopement decided on by the children.
[182] In 2024, the Mexican Senate voted unanimously to abolish the practices of child marriage in indigenous communities in Mexico, considering children's rights to be more important than tradition and customs.
[184][194][195][196] Twelve states have banned underage marriages, with no exception: Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Rhode Island, New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, Michigan, and Washington.
[229] The current laws involving child marriage are very complex in Malaysia, primarily due to conflicts between the beliefs of the government and those disposed by the religious teachings of Islam.
[234][235][236][237] In response, PAS Vice President Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah said that imposing a blanket ban on child marriage contradicts Islamic religious teachings and could not be accepted.
[275] Another custom in Pakistan, called swara or vani, involves village elders solving family disputes or settling unpaid debts by marrying off girls.
[297] In August 2019, Iran demonstrated its sensitivity towards its birth rates by arresting Kameel Ahmady, an expert in the area of child marriage, and sentencing him to a nine-year and three-month imprisonment for alleged "subversive research."
Extreme poverty drives many families in Yemen to marry off their daughters for financial relief, receiving a dowry in exchange, or sometimes to ensure the safety of girls in an unstable environment.
[321] Houthi laws and policies have also forced the closure of several civil and human rights organisations and also further restricted access to education,[326][327][328] indirectly increasing child marriage rates.
In Denmark, it was determined there were "dozens of cases of girls living with older men", prompting Minister Inger Stojberg to state she would "stop housing child brides in asylum centers".
[369] The Dutch government's National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings and Sexual Violence against Children wrote that "between September 2015 and January 2016 around 60 child brides entered the Netherlands".
[3] Prevalence of child marriage may also be associated with higher rates of population growth, more cases of children left orphaned, and the accelerated spread of disease which for many translates into prolonged poverty.
[400] Some researchers and activists note that high rates of child marriage prevent significant progress toward each of the eight Millennium Development Goals and global efforts to reduce poverty due to its effects on educational attainment, economic and political participation, and health.
Using Nepal Multi-Indicator Survey data, its researchers estimate that all girls delaying marriage until age 20 and after would increase cash flow among Nepali women in an amount equal to 3.87% of the country's GDP.
As of June 2024[update], 13 states have banned underage marriages, with no exception: Delaware (2018),[409] New Jersey (2018),[410] Pennsylvania (2020),[411] Minnesota (2020),[412] Rhode Island (2021),[413] New York (2021),[414] Massachusetts (2022),[415] Vermont (2023),[416] Connecticut (2023),[417] Michigan (2023),[418] Washington (2024),[207] Virginia (2024)[22] and New Hampshire (2024).
A survey of a variety of prevention programs found that initiatives were most effect when they combined efforts to address financial constraints, education, and limited employment of women.
