Top court ruling on religious marriages sparks debate in Turkey

Turkey's Constitutional Court has legalized the right to be religiously married without obtaining a civil marriage, sparking debate over the decision's impact on women and children.

The ruling has drawn stern criticism from all sides, including lawyers, ruling party representatives, and opposition deputies.

Family and Social Policies Minister Ay?enur ?slam said the government would not allow a legal environment that could lead to unofficial marriages of children, adding that new regulations were needed to prevent illegal marriages of minors.

Also expressing her suspicions, Deputy Parliament Speaker Ay?enur Bahçekap?l? said the ruling would lead to unjust practices against women and children. Bahçekap?l?, from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), also drew attention to a possible rearrangement of legal infrastructure according to the ruling and added that such a rearrangement would be wrong.

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) deputy Candan Yüceer said the ruling would increase the number of child marriages, with women and children losing all of their legal rights.

The ruling comes a year after the Erzurum Criminal Court of Peace appealed the case of three defendants, two religiously wed without civil marriage and one imam who ordained the wedding, to the Constitutional Court to overturn paragraph 5 and 6 of item 230 in the Turkish Criminal Code (TCK), which required the three to serve at least two months in prison.

The Constitutional Court annulled the paragraphs with a majority of 12 against four and revoked the indictment that carried the penalty of at least two months in prison.

Court members against the ruling said such an amendment could prioritize religious weddings over civil...