What is the minimum age of marriage in Sri Lanka?
The minimum age of marriage in Sri Lanka is 18 years for all citizens except Muslims. In 1995 the General Marriage Registration Ordinance of 1907 (GMRO or general law
What is the minimum age of marriage in Sri Lanka?
The minimum age of marriage in Sri Lanka is 18 years for all citizens except Muslims. In 1995 the General Marriage Registration Ordinance of 1907 (GMRO or general law) and the Kandyan Marriage and Divorce Act 1952 were amended raising the age of marriage to 18 years for males and females. Prior to 1995, the GMRO and the Kandyan Marriage and Divorce Act permitted marriages below 18 years of age.
Muslim marriages in Sri Lanka are governed by the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA) which does not stipulate a minimum age of marriage. A girl below 12 years can be given in marriage with the authorization of a Quazi judge, however marriage without this authorization is still considered valid.
What is the provision for statutory rape?
In1995 the Penal Code was also amended raising the age of sexual consent from 12 years (previously) to 16 years. Hence since 1995, under Section 363 of the Penal Code, sexual intercourse with a girl below the age of 16 is a criminal offence, however this provision exempts married Muslim girls between 12 and 16 years of age.
Does child marriage occur within the Muslim community? What is the data?
Community level counselors, researchers and women’s groups have many documented cases of legal child marriage occurring within the Muslim community in many parts of the country, including in urban areas like Colombo. In terms of statistics there has been no widespread data collection, however data from marriage registrars indicates that the practice is prevalent. Not all Muslim marriages are registered, therefore statistics are difficult to obtain.
Some recent data from marriage registrars are as follows:
- According to data collected by the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU) statistics of registered marriages in Ampara District between 2011 and 2016 show that 870 marriage involving 13-18 year olds had taken place, including eight 13-years olds and thirty six 14-year olds. (Source: ACJU submission to Muslim MP’s)
- Records on Muslim marriage registration in Kattankudy indicate that in 2015 – 22% of all registered marriages were with a bride below 18 years of age. This is a considerable increase from 2014 where the figure was recorded at 14%. The practice is also evident in Colombo due to religious and cultural considerations, poverty and safety concerns often cited as its basis. (Source: Unequal Citizens study)
- Data on registered Muslim marriages from 4 Divisional Secretariats in 2 districts of the Eastern Province indicate that over 143 cases of underage marriage had taken place in 2014, and over 118 cases in the first few months of 2015 (Source: WAN statement)
What are the current realities of early marriage in Sri Lanka?
In Sri Lanka according to women volunteers who assist affected women, one of the main reasons that husbands seek divorce from wives who are minors is because they are “unfit to have sex” and “unable to do housework”. The plight of young girls who are divorced becomes precarious. There are many cases of abandonment, non-maintenance, divorce and forced polygamy in situations of early marriage.
Compulsory education of young women and girls who get married early is more often discontinued before marriage, thereby significantly limiting their higher educational and economic opportunities. This compels them to be highly susceptible to grave financial difficulties in the event that husbands are unable or unwilling to provide maintenance, in case of death of husbands, polygamy, divorce or abandonment.
There are also major health risks. Data from a 2011 UNFPA report* ‘Extent, Trends and Determinants of Teenage Pregnancy in Three Districts in Sri Lanka’ revealed that, “An increased risk for teenage pregnancy was observed when the ethnicity of the women or the spouse was Muslim and/or were followers of the Islamic faith”. Girls who marry young are also at a higher risk of reproductive and maternal health problems given lack of bodily maturity and decision making over sexual, reproductive choices and family planning. They are also at an increased risk of gender-based violence, including domestic violence and forced sexual intercourse (marital rape). Global data indicate that girls who conceive before the age of 15 are 5 times more likely to die in childbirth.
Source: Unequal Citizens study
Source*: UNFPA, 2012. ‘Extent, Trends and Determinants of Teenage Pregnancies in Three Districts of Sri Lanka’
Source: Girls Not Brides http://www.girlsnotbrides.org/what-is-the-impact/
Does child marriage also occur in non-Muslim communities?
As marriage below 18 years of age is not legal for non-Muslims, so there are no legal child marriages. However, as research and studies below indicate – there are many cases of early co-habitation which happens due to a number socio-economic and cultural reasons and is prevalent in other communities around the country, as well as post-war areas.
But the key difference is that in the Muslim community it is legal and State has not taken any action in this regard, whereas in other communities the State actors, child protection agencies, health worker