Child marriage in world

Africa

 

In many tribal systems, a man pays a bride price to the girl's family in order to marry her. In many parts of Africa, this payment, in cash, cattle, or other valuables, decreases as a girl gets older. Even before girl reaches puberty, it is common for a married girl to leave her parents to be with her husband. Many marriages are related to poverty, with parents needing the bride price of a daughter 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 resulting from child marriage, including obstetric fistulae, premature births, stillbirth, sexually transmitted diseases (including cervical cancer), and malaria. 

In parts of Ethiopia and Nigeria, numerous 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, the law provides for respecting the marriage practices 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.

Asia

 

Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929 was passed during the tenure of British rule on pre-partition India. It forbade the marriage of a male younger than twenty-one or a female younger than eighteen. 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.

India: 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% marrying before age 18 in rural areas. The report also showed that 40% of the world's child marriages occur in India. 

Pakistan: The tradition is still practised 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. On May 21, 2010, a six-month-old baby was married to a 25-year-old man. 

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.

Indonesia: The Indonesian Law on Marriage stipulates that a woman can only marry after they are 16 years old. Due to the couples admit and continued their relationships via Facebook until the girls got pregnant, so the underage couples in Gunung Kidul, Yogyakarta which proposing to be wedded increase by 100 percent.

Yemen: "Yemen is full of child brides. Roughly half of Yemeni girls are married before 18, some as young as eight." Until recently, Yemeni law set the minimum age for marriage at 15. But tribal customs and interpretations of Islam often trump the law. In practice, "Yemeni law allows girls of any age to wed, but it forbids sex with them until the indefinite time they’re 'suitable for sexual intercourse.'" In 1999, the minimum marriage age of fifteen for women was abolished; the onset of puberty, interpreted by conservatives to be at the age of nine, was set as a requirement for consummation of marriage. 

In April 2008, the case of Nujood Ali, a 10-year-old girl who successfully obtained a divorce, sparked headlines around the world. Her case prompted calls to rise the legal age for marriage to 18. Later in 2008, the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood proposed to define the minimum age for marriage at 18 years. The law was passed in April 2009, with the age voted for as 17. But the law was dropped the following day following maneuvers by opposing parliamentarians. Negotiations to pass the legislation continue. Meanwhile, Yemenis inspired by Nujood's efforts continue to push for change, with Nujood involved in at least one rally. And one awareness campaign claims to have prevented some early marriages in the Yemeni govern ate of Amran. 

Saudi Arabia: The widespread prevalence of child marriage in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been documented by human rights groups. Saudi clerics have justified the marriage of girls as young as 9, with sanction from the judiciary .There are no laws defining the minimum age for marriage in Saudi Arabia, and girls as young as eight years of age can marry.

North America

Canada: In Canada, individuals must be 18 or older (19 in British Columbia) to be married, unless they have parental permission. Parental permission is not always necessary if the courts consent. People under 16 can only get married if they are pregnant and have the court's approval. In Canada, people are on average 33 when they are married.

United States: Laws regarding child marriage vary in the different states of the United States. Generally, children 16 and over may marry with parental consent, with the age of 18 being the minimum in all but two states to marry without parental consent. Those under 16 generally require a court order in addition to parental consent.

Until 2008, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints practiced child marriage through the concept of '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. After the Austin's 3rd Court of Appeals and the Texas Supreme Court ruled that Texas acted improperly in removing them from the YFZ Ranch, the children were returned to their parents or relatives.