Early marriage

By Nisreen Zalmout
It is the forcing of girls into marriage, or the marriage of, or turning a blind eye to the marriage of, young girls at an age below the age of majority set in law for legal capacity and sufficient maturity to take the decision of choosing a partner or accepting one,
in a way that deprives the girl of her rights to education, burdens her with psychological, social and health burdens, and causes her, or is likely to cause her, psychological, health or sexual harm.
Early marriage impedes a girl's full development, in terms of completing her education, economic independence and physical and psychological growth.
Pregnancy at an early age is one of the consequences of early marriage, resulting in the highest rates of death among mothers and children, since young girls have not matured, either physically or psychologically, to bear the difficulties of pregnancy. As a result the death rate among young mothers is six times higher than among mothers who give birth in their twenties. Consequently around 10% of births that occur in the world are to girls of pubescent age, and every year around 14 million young girls become mothers.
In addition, as soon as a girl marries she leaves her studies, which contributes to the fall in the rate of girls' education.
Early marriage in Palestine
Among the phenomena widespread in Palestinian society in particular, and Arab society in general, is the phenomenon of early marriage, especially among females.
By it is meant marriage before reaching the age of majority at which a male's or female's ability to manage his or her family socially and economically may be complete. A family may resort to this phenomenon out of ignorance and backwardness, or out of poverty, for the poor tend to marry off their daughters to the first suitor however early, in order to save some of the family's expenses. A girl herself may also wish to prefer marriage in order to move to a better life.
Some consider early marriage a protection against falling into what is forbidden when the girl grows older, and a preservation of the family's honour.
Some resort to this phenomenon as a result of overcrowded housing because of the large number of family members. Psychological or living pressures on the girl, and the preference for males over females, may also play a role in the girl's ridding herself of her family and accepting a suitor at an early age. Among the customs common in the villages and camps is that the pretty girl is the one in demand and the one who may marry while young, which encourages this phenomenon and the response to it.
Data from the Palestinian Bureau of Statistics indicates that around 32% of girls married under the age of 18 out of all marriages in 2003, and in 2004 the results showed that 50% of girls had their first child at an age below 19.