Age of marriage

Marriageable age (or marriage age) is the minimum age at which a person is allowed by law to marry, either as a right or subject to parental or other forms of consent. Age and other prerequisites to marriage vary between jurisdictions, but marriage age is often set at 18. Until recently, the marriageable age for women was lower in many jurisdictions than for men, but in many places has now been raised to those of men. Most jurisdictions allow marriage at a younger age with parental or judicial approval, and some also allow younger people to marry if the woman is pregnant. The marriage age should not be confused with the age of majority or the age of consent, though in some places they may be the same. In many developing countries, the official age prescriptions stand as mere guidelines. In some societies, a marriage by a person (usually a woman) below the age of 18 is regarded as a child marriage.

The 55 parties to the 1962 Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage, and Registration of Marriages have agreed to specify a minimum marriage age by statute law‚ to override customary, religious, and tribal laws. When the marriageable age under a law of a religious community is lower than that under the law of the land, the state law prevails. However, some religious communities do not accept the supremacy of state law in this respect, which may lead to child marriage or forced marriage. The 123 parties to the 1956 Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery have agreed to adopt a minimum age for marriage.

Historically, the age of consent for a sexual union was determined by tribal custom, or was a matter for families to decide. In most cases, this coincided with signs of puberty: such as menstruation for a girl and pubic hair for a boy.

In Jewish oral tradition, men cannot consent to marriage until they reach the age of majority of 14 years and one day and have undergone puberty. With no signs of puberty, they are considered minors until the age of twenty. After twenty, they are not considered adults if they show signs of impotence. If they show no signs of puberty or do show impotence, they automatically become adults by age 35 and can marry. The same rules apply to women, except their age of majority is 13 years and a day. However, a woman could be contractually married by her father (or in his absence, mother or brothers) while a minor, as early as three. Sexual relations with her were still forbidden and she could annul the marriage at any time.

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