Underage Marriage: Legal and Social Practice in Muslim Jurisdictions

Abstract Islamic law does not specify a fixed marriage age. Rather, the walī can conclude a marriage for a minor at any age. To conclude their own marriage, prospective spouses must be of sound mind ( ʿāqil ) and pubescent ( bāliġ ), with a previously unmarried girl only being allowed to do so according to the Hanafi school. In an effort to curb early marriage, a practice that involves predominantly girls, legislatures in Muslim jurisdictions have introduced a fixed legal age of marriage and have increased state oversight over the authorisation of early marriages. At the same time, however, many countries continue to apply the Islamic concepts of physical and mental maturity. As a result, provisions based on Islamic law and Western legal concepts interact and, at times, exist in tension with one another. Subsequently, the flexibility of Islamic law has been preserved and early marriage continues to be legally valid. These marriages are concluded for a wide variety of reasons, encompassing economic, social and religious factors. Thus, legal reform is only one of many tools needed to meet the challenges posed by early marriage.