How on earth can an 11-year-old make such a decision? I have helped over 42 girls get out of forced marriage, most are under 16 and I have yet to see one want to get married.
The UK government has raised the marriageable age from 16 to 18 to help stop this and I congratulate them for this. However, I think more work needs to be done.
Parents on both sides could force their 18-year-olds to marry and in legal terms it would be accepted. When I was a student I remember seeing two students of Pakistani origin marry, their parents told them that if they didn’t get married they wouldn’t finance them at university. They had no choice. Their parents earned too much money for them to get a grant.
I think the age of marriage should be 21 and if there is an age gap of more than 10 years the younger one must be at least 25.
What do you think? Write your thoughts below.
