Child marriage

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Small Child Brides in the lap of their guardians

Child marriage usually refers to two separate social phenomena which are practiced in some societies. The first and more widespread practice is that of marrying a young child (generally defined as below the age of fifteen) to an adult. In practice, it is almost always a young girl married to a man.

The second practice is a form of arranged marriage in which the parents of two children from different families arrange a future marriage. In this practice, the individuals who become betrothed often do not meet one another until the wedding ceremony, which occurs when they are both of a marriageable age.} Which age this is differs by local custom. In most practicing cultures, this age is at or after the onset of puberty.}

Child marriage has been prevalent in many cultures throughout human history, but has gradually diminished since some countries started to urbanize, changing the ways of life for the people of these countries.} An increase in the advocation of human rights, whether as women's rights or as children's rights, has caused the traditions of child marriage to decrease greatly as it was considered unfair and dangerous for the children. Today, child marriage is usually only practiced in Arab or third world countries, where cultural practices and traditions remain and have a strong impact on the people, and where the living standards and conditions still create a strong incentive for child marriage.}

Child marriages may have many purposes. The nobility of some cultures tend to use child marriage among different factions or states as a method to secure political ties between them. For example, the son or daughter of the royal family of a weaker power would sometimes be arranged to marry into the royal family of a stronger neighbouring power, thus preventing itself from being assimilated. In the lower classes, if they were fortunate, families could use child marriages as means to gain financial ties with wealthier people, ensuring their successions.

In child betrothals, a child's parents arrange a match with the parents of a child from another family (social standing, wealth and expected education all play a part), thus unilaterally determining the child's future at a young age. It is thought by adherents that physical attraction is not a suitable foundation upon which to build a marriage and a family.} A separate consideration is the age at which the wedding, as opposed to the engagement, takes place.

Families are able to cement political and/or financial ties by having their children inter-marry. The betrothal is considered a binding contract upon the families and the children. The breaking of a betrothal can have serious consequences both for the families and for the betrothed individuals themselves.

Africa

Despite many countries enacting marriageable age laws to limit marriage to a minimum age of 16 to 18, depending on jurisdiction, traditional marriages are widespread. Poverty, tradition, and conflict make the incidence of child marriage in Sub-Saharan Africa similar to South Asia.

In many tribal systems, a man pays a bride price to the girl's family in order to marry her. (Compare with the customes of dowry and dower.) In many parts of Africa, this payment, in cash, cattle, or other valuables, decreases as a girl gets older. Even before puberty it is common for a married girl to leave her parents to be with her husband. Many marriages are poverty related, with parents needing the bride price to feed, clothe, educate, and house the rest of the family. Meanwhile, a male child in these countries is more likely to gain a full education, gain employment and pursue a working life, thus tending to marry later. In Mali, the female:male ratio of marriage before age 18 is 72:1; in Kenya, 21:1.

The various UN commissioned reports indicate that in many Sub-Saharan countries, there is a high incidence of marriage among girls younger than 15. Many governments have tended to overlook the particular problems that child marriage has resulted in, including obstetric fistulae, prematurity, stillbirth, sexually transmitted diseases (including cervical cancer), and malaria.

In parts of Ethiopia and Nigeria, over 50% of girls are married before the age of 15 and some girls are married as young as the age of 7. In parts of Mali, 39% of girls are married before the age of 15. In Niger and Chad, over 70% of girls are married before the age of 18.

In South Africa, there are legal provisions made for respecting the marriage laws of traditional marriages whereby a person might be married as young as 12 for females and 14 for males.

Early marriage is cited as "a barrier to continuing education for girls (and boys)". This includes absuma (arranged marriages set up between cousins at birth), bride kidnapping, and elopement decided on by the children.

United States

Laws regarding child marriage vary throughout the United States, though generally children 16 and over may marry with parental consent. Under 16 generally require a court order in addition to the parental consent.

Until 2008, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, practiced child marriage through the concept 'spiritual (religious only) marriages,' as soon as girls are ready to bear children, as part of its polygamy practice and laws have raised the age of legal marriage in response to criticism of the practice. In 2008, the Church changed its policy in the United States to no longer marry individuals younger than the local legal age.

In 2007, church leader Warren Jeffs was convicted of being an accomplice to statutory rape of a minor due to arranging a marriage between a 14-year-old girl and a 19-year-old man. In March 2008, the state of Texas believed that children at the Yearning For Zion Ranch were being married to adults and were being abused. The state of Texas removed all 468 children from the ranch and placed them into temporary state custody. FLDS denied the charges. The charges were eventually dropped in court as there was no solid evidence in support of this, and it was determined that the state entered the ranch illegally.

South Asia

The Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929 was passed during the tenure of british rule on pre-partition India, and forbade a male younger than twenty-one or a female younger than eighteen to get married. A marriage fell under the scope of this Act if either of the contracting parties met the established criterion of a child.

South Asia has the highest prevalence of child marriage of any region in the world in the world. In 2009 49% of women aged 20-24 had been married prior to the age of 18.

India

In an effort to curb the practice of child marriages the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh have passed laws that mandate the registration of all marriages in order to make it a valid marriage. However, mass marriages that involve children are frequently ignored by authorities.

According to “National Plan of Action for Children 2005,” (published by the Department of Women and Child Development of India) a goal has been set to eliminate child marriage completely by 2010. This plan is proving to be successful, though it is still difficult to monitor every child due to the sheer population of India.

According to UNICEF’s “State of the World’s Children-2009” report, 47% of India's women aged 20-24 were married before the legal age of 18, with 56% in rural areas. The report also showed that 40% of the world's child marriages occur in India.

Pakistan

Despite the aforementioned Act, the traditions is still practiced in some areas through Vani and other customs like Watta satta and Swara. The minimum legal age for marriage is 18 for men and 16 for girls.

Bangladesh

According to statistics from 2005, 45% of women then between 25 and 29 were married by the age of 15 in Bangladesh. According to the “State of the World’s Children-2009” report, 63% of all women aged 20-24 were married before the age of 18.

The Ministry of Women and Children Affairs is making progress in increasing women's education and employment opportunities. This, combined with specific education about child marriage and cooperation with religious leaders, is hoped to decrease child marriage.

Middle East

Yemen

Though there is no reliable national data on the incidence of child marriage in Yemen, sample surveys suggest one in two brides are 18 or under. Yemen’s legal minimum marriage age of 15 was revoked a decade ago to allow parents to decide when their daughters should marry.

Child marriage in Yemen is prompted by the high cultural value ascribed to shaping a young bride to fit the traditions and habits of the groom’s family. It is also fueled by poverty as some parents sell their daughters for a dowry.

Some advocates of child marriage defend the practice on religious grounds – in line with an interpretation of the Koran claiming there is no prescribed age for marriage. However, Islam does prescribe that a bride or groom must be mature physically (have gone through puberty) and emotionally.

Civil society activists are lobbying the Yemeni legislature to re-instate a legal minimum age for marriage. The move follows extensive media exposure surrounding the cases of three young girls: Arwa, 9; Nujood, 10; and Reem, 12 – who escaped from abusive marriages.

Saudi Arabia

The widespread prevalence of Child Marriage in the Islamic monarchy of Saudi Arabia has been documented by Human rights groups [1][2]. Saudi clerics have justified the marriage of girls as young as 10, with sanction from the judiciary[3].There are no laws defining the minimum age for marriage in Saudi Arabia, and girls as young as one years of age can be married off[4].

Contemporary practice

On October 30, 2008, police in Pakistan raided a child marriage and arrested two men on suspicion of organising the wedding of their two children to end their families' feud. In addition a marriage registrar in the Nazimabad area near Karachi claimed that a four-year-old girl and a seven-year-old boy were being wedded unlawfully.

See also

• Arranged marriage
• Pait Likkhi
• Child Marriage (film)
• Marriageable age

External links

• UN Population Fund factsheet, 2005