Child marriage

Turkish parents mostly named their newborn boys "Alparslan" and girls "Asel" in 2023, marking a change in the most popular name for girls compared to the previous year, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) has announced.

Family and Social Services Ministry has made field visits to cities with high rates of early and forced marriages, has prepared reports and has given training, within the scope of the prevention of early marriages.

"Nobody forced me to do so. It was my own choice, but I made a mistake. That's why we aim to encourage other young girls not to let their parents arrange a marriage they don't want. At the same time, we advocate that they get a new perspective on life."

Poverty and discrimination

Photo: GRUBB/Daniel Ibraimovic

Saudi Arabia has become yet another country that has banned early marriages after years of debate. The minimum legal age for marriage is now 18, the Saudi newspaper Saudi Gazette reported, quoted by RIA Novosti.

Justice Minister Walid Al-Samani has already sent a new law to all local courts.

According to UNICEF, 39,000 children marry daily in the world.

A total of 41 girls will return to education thanks to a hotline set up in 2015 to prevent child marriages in the southeastern province of Gaziantep, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Jan. 2.

After announcing one of the biggest social scandals in Turkey, Ichlan Ergiz does not want to get close to his former job - a state hospital on the outskirts of Istanbul.

Idzhlan export data from the hospital that in the maternity ward last year there were hundreds of underage girls, writes "Deutsche Welle"

A significant drop in Indian girls being forced into marriage has led a global decline in the number of child brides, the United Nations said on March 6.

A recent survey carried out by the Women’s Research Center at Ankara’s Gazi University has shed light on the severity of the problem of child marriages in Turkey, with many girls forced into marriages to “cover up sexual abuse,” daily Cumhuriyet reported on Jan. 21.

The Turkish government is planning to reduce the ratio of underage as well as forced marriages in the country from five percent to one percent through an action plan regarding the issue prepared by the Family and Social Policies Ministry for 2018-2023, daily Milliyet reported on Aug. 31.

Lebanon's parliament abolished on Aug. 16 a law that absolves rapists if they marry their victims, joining other Arab states that have repealed "marry-your-rapist" laws in recent weeks.

Lawmaker Elie Kayrouz, who backed ending the law - article 522 of the penal code - said other clauses also required change to protect women and children.