The issue of child marriage in Yemen has entered the realm of positive debate following a discussion among religious and legal experts at a seminar organized by the Seyaj Organization for Child Protection on Tuesday, April 28, 2008. Participants emphasized the serious health, economic, and social consequences of child marriage, while also criticizing the Personal Status Law, which has yet to specify a minimum age for marriage. They called for an amendment to Article 15 of the Personal Status Law, which currently grants guardians the right to marry off minors, male or female, without any age restrictions. The proposed amendment would establish a legal age below which no minor, male or female, may be married before reaching eighteen, and would also include a provision to penalize anyone legally authorized to officiate a marriage.
The religious schools of thought in Yemen (Shafi’i and Zaydi) unanimously agree on the impermissibility of marrying underage girls, describing it as a catastrophe and contrary to Islamic law. This was emphasized by both Dr. Hassan Maqbool Al-Ahdal, a professor of Sharia at Sana’a University, and Dr. Murtada Zaid Al-Mahatori, who were hosted by the Siyaj Organization to discuss the Islamic legal perspective on child marriage. They pointed out the invalidity of a marriage contract for a minor and the impermissibility of forcing her into marriage before she reaches puberty.
Dr. Al-Ahdal, who serves as Vice President of Sana’a University for Graduate Studies, reviewed aspects of the rulings in the four schools of thought regarding child marriage. He affirmed the consensus among all four schools that a minor girl cannot be forced into marriage except for a legitimate reason. However, he noted that Imam Ahmad held a different view, stating that he permitted the marriage of underage girls and gave them the choice upon reaching puberty to remain single.
While a professor of Islamic law at Sana’a University explained how Islamic law revolves around the public interest and adapts its rulings to time and place, Dr. Al-Murtada, a Zaydi scholar, described the marriage of young girls as a catastrophe, indicating the need for a revolution similar to the Prophet’s revolution against the practice of burying daughters alive. He issued a fatwa declaring the marriage of minors invalid and describing it as an injustice.
Al-Mahthouri reviewed a group of hadiths related to women, such as the hadith “Women are deficient in intellect and religion” and “A people who entrust their affairs to a woman will never prosper,” pointing out their weakness and contradiction with logic. He called for a review and critique of this tradition, which prompted Al-Ahdal to comment on it. Al-Ahdal pointed out that these hadiths are indeed found in Sahih Muslim, but he considered Al-Mahthouri’s view to be his own personal opinion and interpretation, while affirming his agreement that the marriage of a young girl is not permissible until she reaches puberty.
For their part, lawyers at the first Siyaj seminar criticized the Personal Status Law for failing to specify the legal age of marriage, pointing out that it merely restricts marriage to the woman’s physical capacity for intercourse. Lawyer Ali Ahmed Al-Assi stated that this contradicts the previous Law No. 3 of 1987, which stipulated that “the marriage contract of a minor girl is valid provided she consents at the time of the wedding. She may not be alone with him, nor be married to him, nor consummate the marriage unless she has reached an age of at least sixteen lunar years and is physically capable of intercourse.” He added that the previous law stipulated a penalty of imprisonment for a period not less than one year and not more than three years for anyone who violates its provisions, in addition to a fine. He noted that the current article in the Personal Status Law lacks any provision for such a penalty.
Al-Assi called for Yemeni legislature intervention to determine the legal age of marriage and to enact legislation criminalizing parents who arrange marriages for their daughters under the legal age. He also proposed imposing deterrent penalties on the husband, the father of the underage bride, and the officiant of the marriage contract, suggesting a minimum age of 16.
For his part, lawyer Faisal Al-Majidi discussed several shortcomings of the Personal Status Law, including its failure to define the “capacity” stipulated in Article 15 for a woman to marry. The article simply states “capacity for sexual intercourse,” and it does not specify how this capacity is to be determined.
Al-Majidi expressed surprise that the text permits marriage but prohibits sexual intercourse unless the capacity is undefined. He speculated that the text contains a subtle distinction between marriages of underage girls and marriages of boys, as it permits marriage for underage girls without restriction while prohibiting it for boys.
Oxfam’s media advisor, Mona Safwan, who spoke about the social custom of child marriage, explained that this custom is complicit in the practice because “marriage secures a girl’s honor,” and because her guardians fear “things that might happen if they are lenient in marrying off their underage daughter.” However, she considered the discussion of social custom in the matter of child marriage to be part of a comprehensive system intertwined with historical factors, including intellectual, economic, political, philosophical, and religious dimensions. She pointed out the ease with which custom, with its traditions and culture, can be criticized, as these change with the nature of each era. She noted that the discussion of child marriage is no longer a private family matter but rather a topic related to public development, the economy, politics, and religion.
The UNICEF representative, Naseem, who began by congratulating the Siyaj organization on its inaugural activities, pointed out the conflict between early marriage and children’s rights. In his remarks, which were largely delivered in a non-Arabic style, he emphasized the importance of the woman’s consent to marriage in Islam.
The representative explained UNICEF in Yemen reported that the Middle East and North Africa account for approximately 750,000 cases of early marriage, out of a global total of 60 million. They emphasized the importance of implementing media campaigns to raise awareness about the dangers of early marriage.
Dr. Abdullah Al-Kamel discussed the health risks associated with early marriage, highlighting several such risks. These include a woman’s inability to conceive safely and without complications, an increased risk of breast cancer, and a significantly higher incidence of birth defects in fetuses of young mothers compared to those of mothers aged 18 and above. He also noted the increased risk of calcium deficiency and osteoporosis later in life.
Dr. Al-Kamel further pointed to the psychological and social consequences of early marriage, stating that “studies have revealed that girls who marry early often struggle to emotionally adapt to their husbands in the early years of marriage.” Some girls indicate that their marriages were more like professional partnerships than emotional ones. Furthermore, marrying at a young age deprived them of learning essential life skills, whether in caring for a family, a husband, and children, or in navigating their social environment. This often leads to divorce shortly after marriage.
Al-Kamel pointed out that the illiteracy rate among young women married early exceeds 43 percent. Early marriages in Yemen, involving girls in their prime, constitute 65% of cases, with 70% occurring in remote rural areas and 35% in cities. Al-Kamel also highlighted the significant age gap between spouses, sometimes reaching 56 years. He noted that poverty is the primary reason for early marriage, while beliefs and attitudes emphasizing chastity and purity are the second most common cause.
Al-Kamel pointed to the importance of girls’ education in reducing the phenomenon of early marriage, explaining that the higher a woman’s educational level, the later she can marry. He also noted the high illiteracy rate among women who marry early, exceeding 43%, with the highest percentage (70%) occurring in remote rural areas and 35% in cities. He further explained that one of the most significant reasons for dropping out of basic education, both in poor and non-poor families across the country, is leaving school to get married. According to the 1999 survey on poverty in Yemeni society, the dropout rate for marriage in poor families was 1.9% for males and 2.4% for females, while in non-poor families it was 2.8% for males and 0.4% for females.
