As many as one million Colombian women have been married before the age of 15.
Colombia’s parliament has passed a law banning marriages under the age of 18.
There had previously been attempts to pass the law as many as eight times in the past 17 years, but the majority of the parliament had defeated the motions each time.
In Colombian law, there has been a regulation dating back to the 19th century, according to which people under the age of 18 could marry with their parents’ permission, says for example British newspaper The Guardian. Minors are considered to be unofficially married if they have lived together for two years.
Opponents of child marriage pushed for the law with the slogan “They are girls, not wives”. The problem has particularly affected girls, but still about a quarter of those who got married underage have been boys.
Traditional customs in the background
Underage marriages have been very common in Colombia. One in four women was under 18 when they got married. There are one million women in Colombia who are married before they turn 15.
Social scientists have sought an explanation for the prevalence of underage marriages in Colombia’s poverty, history and culture.
There has been an internal conflict in the country for decades. Drug use is common. The country also has a strong machista culture, i.e. the supremacy of men, says the director of Profamilia, an organization that promotes reproductive health, to The Guardian Marta Royo.
News channel CNN according to the law, marriages of 14-year-olds have been allowed, but even this limit has not always been kept.
– In many areas we have [naisilla] there is only one role, to become mothers, and age is not a question. It is completely normalized that girls are made not only wives, but mothers at the age of 12, 13, or 14, says Royo.
Although child marriage violated international agreements, it had a lot of support in Colombia. Especially the girls haven’t had much say if their parents have wanted her to get married.
Opponents of the ban have justified the old practice with the rights of parents and the country’s traditions. There are more than a hundred indigenous peoples in Colombia. Many of their representatives have opposed the ban.
Parliament discussed how the law change would affect, for example, the Wayúu people, where women are in leadership positions. For them, getting married and having children early are accepted rites of passage for girls from childhood to adulthood. They start to be prepared immediately after the first menstruation, he says City Paper Bogota publication.