Child marriage is allowed in 117 countries

At least 117 nations -including the United States- allow children to marry, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of data on 198 countries and territories.

In Sudan girls can marry at 10 and boys can marry at 15 or puberty without parental or judicial permission. In the Philippines Muslim boys can marry at 15 and Muslim girls can marry at puberty. And in Tanzania, Muslim and Hindu girls can marry at 12 as long as the marriage is not consummated until the girl reaches the age of 15.

It is estimated that one in three girls in the developing world are married before the age of 18. If current trends continue, the number of girls who marry as children will reach nearly one billion by 2030.

Read more:

Global women – Child brides. A global issue

Global women – Virginia bans child brides

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/09/12/many-countries-allow-child-marriage/

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=53389#.V_NQNIiLRdj

Image credit: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/06/child-brides/gorney-text

child marriage