Although we think that it is an issue that occurs in other countries, Mexico has high rates of child marriage.
We hear about cases of child marriage and think that this happens in countries of the East, but in Mexico there is an epidemic of child marriages that is affecting the population between 12 and 17 years old, and especially women. According to studies, one in five girls and adolescents enters into a marital union before reaching the age of 18.
Experts indicate that there are more than 6.8 million women in the country who married before coming of age. ? In 2015 alone, more than 300 thousand children and adolescents between 12 and 17 years old married or joined? all this despite the fact that Mexican laws have been modified to avoid these situations.
Ligia Alvarenga, Deputy Executive Director of OXFAM Mexico comments that? On average, 60 times more women under the age of 15 marry than men, and six times more women between the ages of 15 and 17 than men. These figures show us how this practice continues to affect girls and women unevenly.
Leonardo Mier, Protection Officer of UNICEF Mexico, considered that? Marriage and the early unions of girls constitute a violation of their human rights and are considered by the UN as harmful practices that seriously affect life, health, education and the integrity of the girls ?. Unfortunately, Baja California, Guanajuato, Nuevo León, Querétaro and Sonora continue to allow marriages in minors under 18 years of age in their legislation, through dispensations or exceptions granted by family judges. And in Chihuahua, the minimum age to marry is 14 years old for women and 16 years old for men, the same age range established in the Federal Civil Code, says Save the Children.