At present there is no law mandating a minimum age for marriage in Somalia.

Deputy speaker Abdiweli Mudeey's bill provoked criticism from other lawmakers when they realised it would legalise marriage at puberty.

For some girls, this would be when they were as young as 10 years old.

Government survey data this year shows child marriage is common in Somalia. Nearly a third of Somali girls are married before their 18th birthday. Just under half are married before the age of 15.

"Some families marry off their daughters to reduce their economic burden or to earn income. Others may do so because they believe it will secure their daughters' futures or protect them," says Dheepa Pandian, who is a spokeswoman from the United Nations' Children's Fund, UNICEF.

At this stage it is not clear when parliament might vote on the bill.

At present there is political turmoil in Somalia - the prime minister was sacked last month and elections due this year will likely be delayed. The nation is also battling an Islamist insurgency.

Many lawmakers, like legislator and human rights activist Sahra Omar Malin, reject the bill.

"Our constitution is based on Islam. It says the age of maturity is 18, this is the right age for voting or for a girl to marry," she said.

Mudeey told lawmakers his bill has been reviewed by clerics and "this bill ... is the correct one based on Islam."

A woman who runs three camps in the Somali capital for families fleeing violence, shelters many abused and abandoned child brides.

"Most women here were married at 13 and are divorced by the time they are 20," she says. "They have no one to feed them."

Among them is Sirad, a shy 16-year-old with two children. Her husband has left, but if he comes back she must welcome him, she says.

"Who else wants me? If you are thrown into a well and can't come out, the only option is to try to swim."

Another girl was married off at 13 by her father to a man who paid $100. She and her mother say she was beaten and raped for two years before they convinced him to divorce her.

"The man just slept with me, beating me always," she says. "I regretted I was born."

Source

• Reuters
• Image: Change.org

Young women who are actually still girls — but who already have a husband, and sometimes even a child: It is a fate shared by Abaynesh of Ethiopia, Ramgani of India and Nayane of Brazil.

Each has her own story and her own way of dealing with the situation. SPIEGEL ONLINE asked them to share theirs.

Nayane, 15 years old, from Brazil

Nayane and her twin sister Nayara have their eyes glued to their phones, which are vibrating with each incoming message.

Nayara hasn't left the house in three months, a punishment imposed upon her by the "Red Command," the drug gang that controls her community, for having a relationship with a man from a rival group.

Nayane is keeping her company during her confinement. They are lounging on the bed in a small weathered room in a house in Parque União, located in the Maré favela in northern Rio de Janeiro.

Nayane is holding her 10-month-old daughter Ana Sophia in her lap.

The twins are 15-years-old, but aren't currently attending school. At the moment, Nayane is getting ready to go to a funk music party — the same party where she once met the father of her daughter.

The young mother has his photo on her T-shirt. He was involved in drug trafficking and was shot to death during a police operation six months ago.

Brazil has the fourth largest number of child marriages in the world. Almost 1 million women between the ages of 20 and 24 were married before they were 15, and 3 million entered matrimony before turning 18.

The minimum age for marriage in Brazil is 16 with parental consent, but the age limit can be lowered in cases of pregnancy. Continue reading

Source and Image:

• Spiegel Online