Draft marriage bill will criminalise underage unions: Parents will no longer be able to consent to their minor children getting married should the Draft Marriage Bill be passed as it will scrap underage marriages.
Should the bill be passed, this would mean parents would no longer be allowed to give consent for their minor children to marryIn terms of the Customary Marriages Act‚ the minister of home affairs must authorise marriages of boys aged 14-17 and girls aged 12-17.Parents will no longer be able to consent to their minor children getting married to marry should the Draft Marriage Bill be passed as it will scrap underage marriages.
The current Marriage Act as well as the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act allow for parents to give consent for their minor children to enter into civil or customary marriages. According to Stats SA’s Marriages and Divorces 2021 statistics, released earlier this year, 37 minors entered into civil marriages. Five of them were boys and 32 were girls. Thirty of these brides were marrying for the first time.There are several reasons why parents would consent to marriages, for example to alleviate poverty or for religious purposes, said cultural expert at University of KwaZulu-Natal Dr Gugu Mazibuko.
“These marriages have to be consented to by the parents and they also have their own gains. Not to generalise, but in some instances some families are comfortable with their girls entering into a customary marriage as they also gain something.”
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