According to Article 16 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution. Furthermore, the Universal Declaration states that marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses. It adds that the family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) recognizes that a change in the traditional role of men as well as the role of women in society and in the family is needed to achieve full equality between men and women. Article 13 states that parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in other areas of economic and social life in order to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, the same rights including the right to family benefits. Furthermore, Article 16 expands that Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in all matters relating to marriage and family relations. States are obliged to guarantee, on a basis of equality of men and women, the same right to enter into marriage as well as to freely choose a spouse and enter into marriage only their free and full consent. Men and women must hold the same rights and responsibilities during marriage and at its dissolution. Persons must have equal rights to decide freely and responsibly on the number and spacing of their children and to have access to the information, education and means to enable them to exercise these rights. Finally, the CEDAW promotes the same rights for both spouses in respect of the ownership, acquisition, management, administration, enjoyment and disposition of property, whether free of charge or for a valuable consideration.

International law stipulates that States must take all necessary action, including legislation, to specify minimum age for marriage and to make the registration of marriages in an official registry compulsory. Early marriage is recognized as a harmful practice in part because it usually results in a denial of other rights, such as a right to education. Since 1964, the Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages provides that no marriage should be entered into without the full and free consent of both parties. It also provides that all marriages shall be registered and that a minimum age for marriage shall be specified in legislation. Although harmful traditional practices such as early marriage violate international human rights laws, such practices persist because they are not questioned and take on an aura of morality in the eyes of those practicing them.

According to the Recommendation on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages General Assembly resolution 2018 (XX) of 1 November 1965, the family group should be strengthened because it is the basic unit of every society. It emphasizes again that both men and women are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, again in accordance with the provisions of Article 16 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Analysis provided by: Maggie Smieszek, Legal Expert.