SOUTH AFRICA
SOUTH AFRICA
PREVALENCE OF MARRIAGE BY AGE 15
FEMALE
1%
MALE
N/A
PREVALENCE OF MARRIAGE BY AGE 18
4%
1%
Year of data:
2016
Source:
DHS 2016
Year of data:
2016
Source:
DHS 2016
LEGAL AGE OF MARRIAGE
18
18
LOWEST PERMITTED AGE OF MARRIAGE DUE TO EXCEPTIONS IN THE LAW
No minimum age
No minimum age
Law(s) which govern marriage and/or child marriage:
Civil Marriages (Marriage Act of 1961), Customary Marriages (Recognition of Customary Marriages Act of 1998), The Children’s Act of 2005
ABOUT THE LAW AND ANY EXCEPTIONS
There are inconsistencies across the laws relevant to child marriage in South Africa. The 2005 Children's Act made 18 the legal age of marriage for men and women, but it also recognises customary marriages. The Recognition of Customary Marriages Act does not stipulate minimum ages. The Marriage Act was also not amended to reflect the Children's Act. The Marriage Act states: "No boy under the age of eighteen years and no girl under the age of sixteen years shall be capable of contracting a valid marriage except with the written permission of the Minister, which he may grant in any particular case in which he considers such marriage desirable..."
CAN MARRIED OR PREGNANT GIRLS GO TO SCHOOL?
According to the South African Schools Act, all children, regardless of marital status or pregnancy, have the right to an education