Even though Turkey raised the minimum age of marriage to 17 years of age in 2007, the country currently has one of the highest rates of child marriage in Europe.
Although the legal age is 17, under a legal provision for “exceptional circumstances” a family can apply for the consent of the courts to legally marry off a child who is younger than the established legal age. However, what is considered an “exceptional circumstance” is rather vague. Although Turkey already has laws in place to protect children, countless young underage girls are married off by their families each year.
Child marriage is not just a family issue -- it is a human rights violation and it needs to be addressed as such with the legal circles in Turkey. In 2011, Turkey signed the Council of Europe convention aimed at combatting violence against women, which includes enacting laws that view child marriage as a crime. Even though Turkey is a signatory to the agreement, the rate of child marriages in the country continues to climb each year.
Even though families may be aware of the laws regarding marriage, many prefer to avoid those legalities by marrying their children off in religious ceremonies, which are often not reported to the authorities. Therefore, it is difficult to find an accurate account of child brides in Turkey. According to reports, there are an estimated 180,000 child brides in the country. However, this statistic does not reflect the unknown number of religious marriages that are not legal or reported to the state. Some reports place the actual figure as high as one-third of all marriages in Turkey involving at least one partner who is below the legal age of consent.
One has to wonder just how the number of illegal and underage marriages...
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...egal marriages should be forced, with no exceptions, to accept the legal consequences of their actions. Communities must stop turning a blind eye to this form of child abuse and start speaking out. By depriving a girl of her childhood, her life and her dreams are seen as unimportant. All children deserve an education. They all deserve the opportunity to have financial stability in their lives. Every child should have the chance to experience a childhood and not be sold, traded or bought as a child bride.
By law, a child cannot be forced into marriage when they are under the legal age of consent. However, too many have winked and looked the other way for too long as young girls were sent off to new homes as the “gelin” or young bride. This attitude must change if women are ever to take their rightful place in Turkish society. Anything less is an insult to all women.
This is a right that applies to everyone, including the young Janie. But because Janie was a young girl she had no say in the matter, this is a discrimination of gender, which goes against human rights article 2 that states 'Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.' This was not fair for Janie and she was very upset thought out her marriage with the older man she was marrying.In the article Half of girls in South Sudan forced to marry, Lorna James Elia of the local Voices for Change advocacy group said, “Early marriages also will prevent South Sudan from achieving the goal of having women hold 25 percent of government jobs, said Lorna James Elia of the local Voices for Change advocacy group.” The article continues on to tell the story of a young girl who was bought by a man for 80 cows in Sudan. When she opposed she was beaten and s...
Still there are families who are ashamed of having a girl, still there are families where a wife is considered to be a slave, and still there are families who behave with a Mother as an enemy since she was not able to born a boy rather than a girl. The decree passed by President Hamid Karzai was due to the high percentage of violence against women in the country, where more than 3000 violence cases were recorded against women. This decree was based on the article 22 of the Afghanistan constitution, which states that “The citizens of Afghanistan, men and women, have equal rights and duties before the law" (Afghanistan, 2004). Based on this article of constitution we can find out that men and women are equal before law and this law insures all the liberty given to a man will be same for a woman. Unfortunately, according to a biannual report given by the Human Rights Commission "Violence Against Women" there are four different types of violence practiced against women in different parts of the country.
“The minimum employment age for employment in industrial, agricultural, or commercial companies is 15. The minimum age for apprenticeships is 14. There is no minimum age restriction for work in domestic service and there are no legal penalties for employing children in domestic labor unless the nature or condition of domestic service harms their health, safety, or morals.”
Statutory rape laws and child marriage laws greatly clash. According to Cocca, “of all brides in 1970, 13% were under 18; in 1980, 8.2%, and in 1990 3.7%. Of all grooms 1970 2.1 were under 18; in 1980 1.3% and in 1990 0.6” (Cocca, 2004). Yes over time the percentage of adults and minors getting married has dwindled, but it was not right to go along with in the first place. In some states...
Discrimination against women by policy, laws, and legislation around the world is still a major obstruction to gender equality. These include laws discriminating against divorce, marital rape, employment, education, sexual harassment, and obedience laws. In countries like Kenya, Zambia, and Malaysia, laws prohibiting gender discrimination are present but do not protect women against laws on marriage, divorce, and custody of children. In Uganda, practice of polygamy, bride prices, and forced marriages are still in practice. In studies done by the U.S. Census Bureau, the average age of marriage for an American woman is 26.9 years, and most states feature an age requirement of 18 years. However, in places like Guatemala, Japan, and Syria the age requirement for marriage differ between the sexes. In Japan, girls can marry at 16, while boys marry at 18. In Syria, the limit is 17 years for girls ...
Second, to ensure that parental rights are enforced; minors should need parental consent to obtain an abortion (Earll). Parents are legally responsible for the well-being of their children. They are responsible for giving th...
But now, laws have been enacted to raise the minimum age at which girls can be married. Today, The legal age is 18 years old. However, early marriages continue to be celebrated and tolerated particularly in remote and rural areas.
In most cases young girl’s get married to older men when they are still children. Child marriage harms girls, their families, and nations around the world. It should be considered forced marriage because it is without their consent and against their will that they are married. While child marriage is still allowed in all 50 states, people are beginning to discuss the issue. Although, it is extremely rare where a 15-year-old, much less someone younger, is mature enough to handle a marriage. The power to stop them from being put into that position lies within the hands and the responsibility of the parents, governors and
Ludden, Jennifer. “Can Child Marriages be Stopped?”. npr.com. 25 Nov 2013. Web. 10 Feb 2014
According to Reiss F. (2015), in the United States today, thousands of children under the age of 18 have recently taken marital vows- mostly girls married adult men. People have tried arguing that it is illegal since they would be considered underage, but with parental consent it is legal. Women who started off as strong and independent slowly finished off as scared and ashamed. The women were scared because they had no say in denying the marriage and they couldn’t stop whatever was occurring, such as sexual contact, or abuse. They were ashamed because their friends would judge them if they ended up having children and just for how their lives changed. From possibly living with family and going to school, to then move away from your family
Therefore, laws passed against early marriage ought to be strictly reinforced and taught to young girls everywhere, so that they can be equipped to fight for their rights. For example, one law executed in India resulted in,“ the Supreme Court recently hand[ing] down a decision requiring married couples to register their consent to be married and their age with local authorities, to better enforce the law establishing 18 as the minimum age of marriage”(“Child Marriage: Laws and Civil Society Action”). "The government of Bangladesh's secondary school enrollment program provides parents with monetary compensation[...]and requires parents to sign a statement of commitment not to have their daughters marry until they reach age 18...
Currently, Yemen is one of the poorest nations with one of the highest fertility rates and illiteracy rates.2 Child marriage plays a role in all of those problems for Yemen. About 80 percent of Yemen's population live in rural areas.3 Most child marriages occur in the rural areas compared to the urban areas. Girls in urban areas tend to get married at age 12 or 13, while girls in the rural areas may be married by the age of eight. 32 percent of girls in Yemen are married before the age of 18 and 11 percent are married before 15.4 Sometimes these child marriages in Yemen can also be consanguineous, which may be safer than marrying a stranger, but it still leads to other problems, such as biological diseases for their children.5 It is more common for younger girls(14 or less) to be in a consanguineous marriage than girls who are older.6 Although, once again, it may be more safe than marrying a complete stranger, it still has the severe consequences of having biological diseases for the couples' children, higher fertility rate, and higher child mortality rate.7 However, most cases of child marriage in Yemen usually involve a complete stranger who is much older than the girls and the girls usually do not even get consent in marrying the strange ma...
To be successful, the enforcement mechanisms must be able to do a great deal more. As child law is still being navigated, it is of the utmost importance that State Parties be piloted with a firm hand during this evolutionary period. The children deserve an international mechanism that is powerful. There will be little benefit from not one that gently, and politely, points States in the general direction of what is truly in the best interest of the children.
Children are important aspect in the world. They are the asset to a country and they will determine the future of the world. In order to have a bright future for the world, children should be treated with love and educated with the right knowledge that will lead them to become a good adult. Nowadays, the children rights are not protected. Many cases involve the children’s right had happened in the society such as child abuse and abandonment. It gives a sign that the humanity in our society has declined. The children’s right problems that occur can affect the growth and give a bad impact to the next generation. The problems should be solved and the children rights has to be protected.
This practice proves to be dangerous not only to the woman herself but also to the rest of us around her. The impact this practice has on the society is dangerous not only to the women but to everyone in it. Demographers have warned that in the future in twenty years the nation will have to face a shortage of girls as brides as the sex ratio is quickly becoming unfavorable. This practice is also causing an increase in crimes and violence towards women. Women are more likely to be exploited, molested and also raped as an obvious result. Awareness on this situation should be made and people who want to determine the sex of their child should be punished severely. Laws have been passed in the Indian Penal Code to punish any person who tries to determine the sex of the child. The society needs to understand that it needs the girl child as much as it needs the boy child. There was no past without the female and there will be no future without the girl