Child marriage has long been a subject shrouded in stigma, complexity and heated debate in Jordan, yet collective efforts in recent years have managed to penetrate the outer shell surrounding this crucial issue, resulting in genuine observable change as well as more in-depth discussions and research into its causes and the impact it has on individuals, families, and the broader community within the Jordanian Context.

Jordanian Legal Framework

The minimum legal age for marriage is 18 years as stipulated within Article 10 of the Jordanian Personal Status law. However, a judge has the discretion to consent to the marriage of a child who has completed the age of 16 and is under 18 years when such marriage is considered a necessity to achieve interest or evade vice, on the condition of ensuring spousal consent and free choice and if there is no more than a 20 year age difference between the spouses.

Geographic Prevalence

Previous efforts concentrated its research on the socioeconomic aspects of this issue, while it is uncommon to examine the realities of child marriages through a geographic lens. Plan International conducted a Formative Research for She Leads Programme, where a dedicated section was employed to assess variations and distributions in the prevalence of child marriage across governorates (North, Central and South).

Both Jordanians and Syrians were included in the research's heterogeneous sample consisting of 1,019 residents surveyed across the twelve governorates in Jordan. Of which, 342 respondents were from the northern governorates, 342 respondents were from the central governorates and 335 respondents were from the southern governorates. When asked what age they were married, 57 percent of the respondents said they were married before turning 18; of which 72 percent were Jordanians and 28 percent Syrians as opposed to 99 percent were females and one percent being a Jordanian male from Karak.

What do the numbers tell us?

This research highlights wide, intra-state heterogeneity in levels of child marriage across Jordan. Tafileh and Amman had the highest proportion of married females under the age of 18, while Jerash had the lowest.

The variation across Jordanian governorates is usually attributed to socioeconomic drivers such as the contextual nature, social norms and beliefs of the local communities within each governorate. However, the numbers mask an inter-governorate practice, usually kept under the table, that helps people evade any hurdles that might prevent them from proceeding with their plans.
According to legal experts, the ‘Judge’s discretion’ and ‘necessity to achieve interest’ are loose legal terms and leave room for different interpretations based on the judge and therefore a matter of personal application, which leaves legal loopholes that legal guardians exploit when they want to marry off their children before they reach the legal age.

Geographic Evasion…what does it mean?

Cases have been circulated where a spouse was still a child which prompted the judges to refuse them the approval as per their discretion. Determined to continue with their plans of marriage, they go to a different Sharia Court in another governorate where the judge marries them off.

“Unfortunately, we witness frequent cases of this type. Although the cases in which women are refused marriage in Amman are very few, they nevertheless find a way around it by resorting to other judges in other governorates and in more desperate cases, in other countries. Other times the alternative is the village’s sheikh; they marry off the minors who are under the age of 16, often at the age of 12, then the sheikh authenticates the marriages in Court after they reach the age of 16,” said Emy Dawud from Feminist Movement Jordan.

When asked about the reason that might make judges in the governorates agree to marry off the same cases that other judges refuse to marry off, she answered “Judges usually are lenient with the communities they come from, and are influenced by their customs, traditions, and beliefs. In addition, they sometimes agree based on the unspoken truth that some families will marry off their daughters without court documentation through sheikhs which has alarming consequences in cases of death, birth, divorce, children registration, parentage, etc.” she continued.

According to Farah Ishaqat, Access to Justice Legal Specialist at Terre des hommes Foundation, there is a noticeable increase in child marriages.

“This is evident in the Syrian refugee community, where members uphold the Syrian ‘Customary Sheikh Marriage’ in which a girl is married off as soon as she reaches puberty without establishing the marriage in court, typically between the ages of 13 and 15.

“Completing the procedures of marriage outside the frame of the court is illegal in Jordan. The penalty of such marriage is a fine of JOD 1000 and one to three months in prison. Consequently, they turn to avoiding the registration of marriage contracts and refraining from issuing Family Books, which leaves their children unregistered and without birth certificates or other legal documentations - denying them access to healthcare and education.”

This has wider ramifications on the readings and categorization of the numbers. The argument and rhetoric that specific governorates have high rates because of their societal norms, lack of education, or poverty is insufficient today.

How can such evasion be overcome?

This issue calls for a greater push to address legal loopholes that make it possible to obtain such marriages by legal means, enforce policies more uniformly across all governments and raise awareness on this practice amongst judges and increase communities’ awareness on Jordan’s Personal Status Code and the Penal Code.

Furthermore, the usual geographic analysis in development programming might not reflect it correctly as it has an untapped dimension festering underneath the surface. Key considerations on geographic evasive characteristics of local communities must be instilled in new interventions and programs as well as policies and regulations.

By: Roa’a Abu Nada