LAWS ON ALL MARRIAGES AND FAMILIES.
According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone has the right to marry freely and with the consent of both parties. This is also stated in the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Child marriage violates this fundamental right.
CEDAW contains additional rights for women, including equal rights for women in marriage, deciding when and how many children to have, divorce, and child care and custody. Every country makes laws relating to these issues, but they do not all provide for equal rights between spouses - even though almost every country has ratified CEDAW.
There are ways laws on marriage and families can protect girls from child marriage.
1.
All countries, but especially those which have ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, should have enshrined the right to marry freely and with full consent in their national laws or constitutions.
It is not possible for someone legally defined as a child to give their consent to marry and, in most cases, children who are married have not freely chosen their spouse.
Unfortunately, the right to marry freely and with full consent has not been enshrined in all countries. Even if it has, exceptions to child marriage laws usually override it - for example, where a child can be married before the age of 18 with the consent of a legal guardian or a judge, or where religious and cultural laws which allow child marriage are accepted.
2.
Ensure that all births and marriages are registered with the appropriate government authority as quickly as possible, and that birth certificates are checked by officials before a marriage takes place.
In many countries, legal registration is a requirement when someone is born, gets married, and when they die. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child specifically states that children must be registered “immediately after birth”. Legal registration has many benefits, including preventing child marriages.
If a child is registered at birth, then it becomes a lot easier to check a child’s age when they get married - as long as the government has a law to ensure that birth certificates are checked before a marriage takes place.
If a marriage has to be registered, and the country has a law which prevents marriage below the age of 18, child marriages will not be recognised or they can be declared illegal. Even if child marriage is allowed - for example, at age 16 - this at least prevents younger girls from being illegally married.
However, there are many challenges with the implementation of these laws - usually because there are not enough offices or staff to cover all parts of every country. Often, these offices will be in bigger towns and cities, and child marriage is usually more prevalent in rural or remote locations. In poorer countries, even when child marriage is banned and when marriage registration is required by law, allowances are made for people who do not live near a registration office. For example, registration may only be required within three months of a marriage taking place.
As well as having the world’s largest population, geographically, India is also one of the world’s biggest countries. Despite having a large number of government workers, it is still challenging for the government to reach every village and community. However, each village has its own ‘council’ (panchayat), comprised of elected representatives from the community. India has recently made panchayats responsible for registering marriages, making it much more difficult for child marriages to happen.
3.
End discriminatory marriage practices and laws.
Many countries recognise marriages which are conducted under religious, cultural, or traditional laws - sometimes known as ‘personal laws’. Some of these types of marriage laws discriminate against women, and leave them with fewer protections compared to women who are married under regular or ‘civil’ law. Child marriages usually involve an adult man marrying a child, so there is already a strong power imbalance, and discriminatory marriage practices and laws deepen and sustain this power imbalance for the entirety of the marriage - and even beyond.
Here are some examples of discriminatory marriage practices and laws.​​​​​​​
Polygamy, which is usually the practice of men having more than one wife.
Men automatically having legal custody of their children regardless of who is the primary provider of care for them.
Women having fewer or no rights to ownership of shared property - such as the family home.
Imposing strict conditions for a woman to request a divorce, with fewer or no conditions imposed on men if they request a divorce.
Giving a larger share of inheritances to male heirs over female heirs - so if a husband dies, the wife will receive a smaller share of the inheritance than her sons. If there is more than one wife, the share is even smaller.
Polygamy in particular can be a driver for child marriage, and especially for marriages involving a child and a much older adult man. Girls can be married as additional wives, to give men more opportunities to have children.
Usually, governments do not have the power to ‘change’ personal laws, but they can create non-discriminatory marriage and family laws, in accordance with the UN Convention on the Elimination All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and make sure these take precedence over personal laws. They can also make sure that all marriages are registered under civil law, and that civil law is applied in the event of death or divorce.
If women have equal rights, this may prevent adult men from wanting to marry girls, as it gives women more power in the marriage regardless of their age.
4.
Ensure women and girls understand and have access to their health rights, including sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Everybody has the right to health care, but women’s rights to health care include detailed provisions which give them the right to decide about their sexual health, when they have children, and how many children to have. These are often termed ‘sexual and reproductive health and rights’ or SRHR. Women and girls also have additional health protections when they are pregnant or become mothers (maternal health rights).
Many of these rights are provided in the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child also states that children should have education and support to help them understand their rights.
If a country creates laws to deliver these rights, they can help prevent some child marriages, and they can also protect girls who are already married from some of the worst consequences of child marriage. This includes girls developing health complications - or dying - as a result of becoming pregnant and having children before their bodies are ready to cope with the physical strain.
There are two main ways governments can create laws or policies to deliver these rights.
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Comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights education in schools. Good quality and age-appropriate sexual and reproductive health and rights education has consistently proven to support positive decision-making by young people about their sexual health, and deliver positive, long-term health outcomes. In addition, when children understand their bodies and their rights about their bodies, including consent, it can provide young people with the knowledge to advocate with their families to prevent their own child marriages, as well reduce children’s vulnerability to child sexual abuse.
Confidential, non-discriminatory access to family planning for women and girls. Family planning allows people to have children if they want to, and to plan when they have children. This is usually achieved by using contraceptive methods, such as condoms and the contraceptive pill, which prevent pregnancies. In some parts of the world, early or adolescent pregnancy is a driver of child marriage, as it can be perceived by families or communities to be ‘shameful’ to have a child without being married. In other parts of the world, early or adolescent pregnancy is a result of child marriage.
Unfortunately, too few countries have these kinds of laws or policies, despite having committed to delivering these rights at national and international levels. Even if they do have laws or policies, there can be significant barriers to delivering them.
Social pressure: Even though the evidence shows that sexual and reproductive health and rights education leads to young people making positive decisions, deciding to have sex later, and having better sexual health, many people believe that teaching young people about sex, relationships, and sexual health will lead to earlier sexual relations.
Lack of resources: For both SRHR education and family planning, even governments which have laws and policies to deliver them may not have the money or staff to reach everyone in the country. Financing for education in lower-income countries has been in crisis for years, and 250 million children do not go to school at all. With these kinds of pressures, it is difficult for governments to prioritise SRHR education. In addition, according to 2023 estimates from the World Health Organization, 257 million women of reproductive age have an unmet need for contraception. Reasons for this include limited access to contraception or choice of methods, cultural or religious opposition, poor quality of available services, and gender-based barriers.
