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Lebanese views on early marriage of girls and boys
19-9-2018
The Lebanese Women Democratic Gathering (LWDG) launched yesterday the results of the national poll, ‘The attitude of Lebanese society towards the marriage of underage boys and girls’, implemented in partnership with UN Women and Save the Children. The study highlights the views of the Lebanese from the phenomenon of early marriage, its causes and effects, in addition to the potential role of the Lebanese State to end it through endorsing a law that sets the minimum legal age of marriage at 18 years. The coordinator of campaigns and communication at LWDG, Hayat Mershad, presented the findings of the survey which showed that 84% of respondents were against early marriage and that 80% considered it as a punishable crime. As for the ideal age for marriage, 97% of respondents believed that the ideal age for females is 18 years and above, while 64% supported enacting a legislation that clearly determines the age of marriage at 18 years. According to the survey, those who supported early marriage belonged to the age group above 56 years, of which 9% maintained the ideal age for girls is between 15 and 17 years and opposed the marriage of boys under 18 years. Mershad explained that the real reasons driving parents to concede marriage of their underage girls are economic, or related to traditions, fear of celibacy or to avoid unchastity. Mershad concluded that working to prevent the marriage of underage girls and boys should not be limited to ratification of legislations only, but should involve parents and raising awareness among them on the risks of early marriage, accompanied by efforts to reduce poverty and achieve economic empowerment for families. (An Nahar, L’Orient Le Jour, September 19, 2018)
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- العربية
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