Teen Marriage - Legal Aspect

Legal Aspect

In many countries, teen marriage laws are making it harder for teens to marry. In the United States, all but one state require that a couple be 18 in order to marry without parental permission. Nebraska sets the age of majority at 19. However, several states will waive this requirement if there is a pregnancy. However, teenage couples may still have to have court approval. A few states allow pregnant teens or teens who have already had a child to get married without parental consent. However, these couples must have permission from a court. Even with parental approval, many states require court approval when a person is 16 years old or less.

In the Siriono culture of South America, a girl may marry before she reaches puberty. The Murnigin girl of Australia is likely to become a wife when her breasts first begin to develop. The Murnigin boy of Australia might marry for the first time when his beard begins to appear. A Lepcha girl in Tibet is sometimes married at eight years of age, while boys are often married when they are 12 years old.

Boys marry at 15 years of age or less in 10 percent of 58 societies. Another 42 percent marry between 16 and 19 years of age. Thirty-eight percent are married in their twenties, and 10 percent marry when they are 30 years of age. (Ayer) Scientists and psychologists made a discovery in 1963 that in traditional societies, boys and girls have usually begun to do serious work well before they reach puberty. Girls are often doing womanly work at a certain age: cooking, weaving, gardening, and taking care of their siblings from the age of six to the age of nine. Some girls have to do these chores at an even earlier age like three or four. Boys on the other hand, learn how to farm, herd, and hunt before they reach manhood. Some mothers and fathers attempt to let their children to choose their potential loved ones. However, about 70% of decisions regarding marriage of children are made by their parents. Parents who fail to marry a child at the proper age are thought to be neglecting their responsibilities. These parents usually have their reputations ruined. Across cultures, females tend to be married earlier than males. Boys are married later than girls in 85 percent of 45 cultures. In the remaining 15 percent, both sexes marry at a roughly the same age. The differential in age of marriage for males and females is from one to five years in 78 percent of 37 societies and between six and ten years in another 18 percent.