Underage marriages a worrying scenario

Mar 07, 2017 News

– 14-yr-old ‘child bride’ case being investigated
In October 2005, the National Assembly unanimously decided to have the legal age of consent for sexual activity raised from 13 to 16 years old. This had implications on the age of consent for marriage. It meant that “marrying off” a teenager below the age of 16, even with parental consent, is a criminal offence. However, it would appear as though Guyanese are still committing this particular offence in the name of culture and custom.
Director of the Childcare and Protection Agency, Ann Greene said that her entity is currently investigating a situation where a 14-year-old girl was “married off” by her parents, to a much older man.
“Parents can only consent to marry their children when they are 16 years or older; otherwise, it’s a crime punishable by law,” Greene told this newspaper. She explained that while there are a few cases coming up “every now and again” of underage children getting married, but this is not seen as a widespread issue.
She added, however, that the possibility exists that the few cases being handled by the CPA may just be a tip of the iceberg.
“Who knows? There may be many unreported cases that we don’t know about,” Greene added.
Underage marriages cannot be registered legally, but asked whether religious marriages of underage children are taking place, Greene responded, “well, I hope that it isn’t, because Pandits, Priests and other religious leaders ought to be familiar with the law”.
She explained that any party, be it the parents or religious leaders, involved in conducting the marriage of an underage child, are subject to prosecution.
“Sometimes there is a gap between culture, and the law,” Greene added.
In 2006, the Bureau of Statistics produced the findings of a survey done in collaboration with United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF). It showed that child marriages are most prevalent, with child brides who are being married off to older men. Studies show that one in every 20 Guyanese girls is victim to being married as a child. This occurs mainly among the poorest 40% of households in rural communities, and to girls who have had only a primary level education.
The report specified that some 28% of Amerindian women between the ages of 15-19 were in a marriage or similar union at the time the research was carried out. Some 21% of East Indian women and five percent of African women in the same age group were married.
“This suggests that child marriage amid girls in Guyana is strongly correlated to religious and cultural traditions,” the report said.
The aforementioned figures often contribute to those that make up the high number of teenage pregnancies occurring in the country.
Since Guyana is a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of a Child, there have been calls for amendments to the law, for it to disallow a child below the age of 18 to give consent to a marriage.
This is mainly because child marriages are seen as particularly harmful to a girl’s health, mainly sexual and reproductive, which often results in maternal mortality and morbidity due to early pregnancies.
In 2014, CARICOM formulated a plan which aims to reduce the number of teenage pregnancies in the region by 20% between by 2019. This may also have a consequential positive effect on the situation of child brides in Guyana. (Rehana Ahamad)

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