Marriage of under age girls in Lebanon: Absence of official data whilst religious institutions retain control on age of marriage

Al Akhbar newspaper published last week a report on the phenomenon of marriage of under age girls by journalist Rajana Hamieh.  The author highlights the absence of official statistics which would have shed some light on this matter.  As such, the only data available pertains to a study conducted by CAS and UNICEF on the situation of women and children in Lebanon and which dates back to 2009.  Hamieh notes that despite its importance, this study does not reflect the current realities with the obvious rise in the marriage of under age girls especially amongst displaced Syrian families as well as poor local families.  The CAS study which covers a sample of 7560 women indicated that 2.1% of the women who were aged between 15 and 49 during the time of the study married before the age of 15 whereas 13.4% of women who were aged between 18 and 49 during the study married under 18 years of age. Some 10.5% of women who got married before the age of 18 were mostly residents of the Beirut suburbs, followed by 7.7% in Mount Lebanon.  North Lebanon scored the higher percentage of women who were married before the age of 15 (3.3%) which is consistent with the situation today and the recent reporting of three cases of young girls married at 14 years of age.

The author concludes by demanding that the state enacts a law for minimum marriage bringing up the marriage age to18. She highlights that 18 year olds are not allowed voting because they did attain legal eligibility whereas determining the age of marriage is left to confessional authorities who condone under age marriage.  She also points out to the Human Rights Convention which guarantee the right of every individual to enter Marriage only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses, as well as to clause 16 of the Convention for the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women which stipulates that “The betrothal and the marriage of a child shall have no legal effect, and all necessary action, including legislation, shall be taken to specify a minimum age for marriage and to make the registration of marriages in an official registry compulsory.”
Source: Al-Akhbar 14 February 2014