Underage marriage in Islamic law and Yemeni law

Abstract

This research aims to explain the marriage of minors and to know the point of view of Islamic law and Yemeni law on this marriage, as well as to know its causes and effects. This objective was achieved through an introduction, four chapters and a conclusion. The introduction included the importance of the research, the reasons for its selection, its problem, objectives, methodology, questions, hypotheses, previous studies and research, and its divisions. The first topic included: the nature of marriage, its legitimacy and its pillars in Islamic law.. The second topic contained: the concept of marriage of minors and the reasons for its emergence in contemporary societies. The third topic came: it included the legitimate and legal vision of the marriage of minors. The fourth topic included: the effects of marriage of minors. The conclusion included: the most important findings and recommendations. The researcher followed the descriptive approach based on induction, analysis and deduction. The research came out with the most important results and recommendations as follows: 1- Studying and analyzing the causes, motives and risks of underage marriage will limit the growth of the phenomenon by spreading awareness among the members of society. 2- Educating society about the dangers, negatives, and problems of underage marriage and its effects, and activating dialogue on this matter helps limit its increasing growth and contributes to combating the ignorance that surrounds some groups of society, which pushes them to hasten to marry off their daughters. 3- Early marriage is considered one of the social problems that the Yemeni society suffers from, and the Yemeni girl suffers from it, especially in the countryside. 4- The phenomenon of early marriage in Yemen was combined with many factors, including economic, social and cultural factors. 5- There are many effects that result from early marriage, including psychological, health, social and economic effects. 6- The presence of shortcomings in the Yemeni law regarding the marriage of minors, in Article No. (15) of its recent amendments in the Personal Status Law, which did not explicitly specify the age of marriage, and there is no explicit text specifying the penalty for those who violate the text of the law. 7- The prevalence of early divorce among young girls, due to several reasons, including, but not limited to, her lack of knowledge of marital rights, the lack of complementarity between the two marriages, or the lack of compatibility between them. 8- The high mortality rate of young mothers, due to their exposure to many risks of pregnancy and childbirth at an early age, including severe bleeding, acute anemia, etc. The researcher recommended several recommendations, the most important of which are: 1- Determining the age of marriage at (18) years, and urging the Yemeni legislator to amend Article (15) of the Personal Status Law No. (20) of 1992 AD and its amendments in Law No. (27) of 1998 AD so that it explicitly stipulates that the age of marriage be set at no less than (18) years. A solar system, specifying a penalty for those who violate it, and harmonizing other laws related to the personal status law with regard to the age of marriage for young girls. 2- Developing a media policy aimed at creating awareness among members of society, through visual, print and audio media, and social media, in order to clarify the harms of early marriage, and the risks, disadvantages, and problems of underage marriage and its future effects, and to provide an educational role through various relevant official and unofficial agencies and institutions such as the Ministry Education, media, human rights, the National Committee for Women, the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, civil society organizations and others. 3- Spreading legal awareness in society of the dangers and effects of child marriage. 4- Combined joint efforts (official and popular) to seek to achieve a safe age of marriage of eighteen years, in order to achieve the complete elimination of child marriage. 5- Urging researchers and those interested in the field of the family to prepare qualitative studies and in-depth specialized research on child marriage as a social phenomenon that includes all its different aspects in terms of its size, causes of its spread, damages and multiple effects.