Child Marriage

[DoopityDo]

Plan International have a petition going at the moment to get the Tanzanian government to even up their marriage laws. (Currently boys must be 18 to get married but girls only need to be 14.)

You can sign here, if you're so inclined!

On a somewhat related note, it is deeply weird to me that there are still states in the US where child marriage is legal. And that includes several which, with parental and judge's consent have no minimum age for marriage.

Which...I mean, seriously?

The IS is extremely odd in this area. No federal minimum? Which you would think would be the most popular law ever so why has no administration done it? The only thing I can think is that it's the terrifying, right wing, religious vote. A vote I wouldn't want.

US obviously!

Possibly they just can't be bothered to pass a law about it? I mean there is a general minimum of 18 (in Mississippi apparently you can't get married before 21 without parental consent) but it's the exceptions that get you.

If your parents say so, why, you can get married at 14! Bet that won't interfere with your education and/or screw your life up at all! Nope!

Plus the problem with passing federal laws in the US is that Republicans are generally opposed to doing that. At all. Because states' rights and small government!

Which I understand in theory, blah blah slippery slope to no state's rights at all. Even though I'd personally go for a federal minimum of...oh, at least 16. Preferably 18.

But you'd think the individual states might think it's a vote winner. I mean, California?

New York only just changed theirs this year to 17 with parental consent, 18 without. So it can be done. It just isn't being done.

In the US, 11 year old rape victims have been forced to marry their abuser by their parents. I dont see how putting a stop to that is any kind of slippery slope; but the parents are from Christian churches, which might explain it. They seem to have a lot of power.

There was a MN thread about US child marriage quite recently. Can't remember exactly where. You'd need to search, but it was an interesting one with input from an American woman. But yes. Clearly the child marriage situation in America is abusive and weird.

I think the age in England should be raised to 18 in all cases. Not sure whether 16 with parental consent is possible in NI, Scotland, Wales. But 16 year olds aren't yet adults.

Scotland seems to be going the way of giving 16 year olds all the rights of adults though, (see the proposed lowering of the voting age - wait, is it Scotland I’m thinking of?) so I don’t know if raising the age of marriage would fly.