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PEW RESEARCH CENTER
www.pewresearch.org
The legal age for marriage without parental consent is 18 years
for both boys and girls. Nevertheless, according to the UN
Population Fund, child marriage remained very common,
particularly in rural areas and in the south. An estimated 48
percent of women between ages 20 and 24 were married before
18, and 14 percent were married before 15, according to 2000-09
UNICEF data. As confirmed by the UN special rapporteur on
modern forms of slavery during her mission to the country in 2012,
early forced marriage remained a concern in many communities,
where parents forced girls as young as age 10 to marry. She
noted, “Victims of such arrangements are also likely to be victims
of domestic servitude and sexual slavery.” In collaboration with
UNICEF and UNFPA, the government launched a national
campaign in June to raise awareness about the dangers of early
marriage. In December 2014 the government passed updated
antitrafficking legislation that broadens the scope of the previous
legislation to cover sexual exploitation, labor trafficking, forced
labor, forced begging, and debt bondage. Penalties for trafficking
offenses range from two to five years’ imprisonment and a fine of
one to 10 million ariary ($304 to $ 3,040). Trafficking crimes
against children are punishable by five to 10 years’ imprisonment
and a fine of two million to 10 million ariary ($608 to $3,040).
According to a 2013 report by the UN special rapporteur, the
practice of “moletry,” in which girls are married off at a younger
age in exchange for oxen received as a dowry, continued. The
parents of a boy (usually around age 15) look for a spouse for
their son (girls may be as young as age 12), after which the
parents of both children organize the wedding. The parents hold a
written agreement for one year that they may prolong. If a child is
born after the first year and the marriage contract has expired, the
girl--or, if she is very young, her mother--will be responsible for
raising the child. If the girl has been unfaithful or the marriage
does not last the full year, parents return the dowry, without any
stigma for either side. The wife must stay the contracted year,
even in the case of domestic violence, in which case the girl’s
parents receive more money or jewels. The UN special rapporteur
also criticized the practice of “valifofo,” or arranged marriage. She
noted in places like Ihorombe, in the Bara community, when a girl
reaches age 10, she is separated from other family members and
may receive male visitors without obtaining approval from her
male relatives. In the Bara community, the parents betroth a girl at
birth, and the parents receive 10 oxen. The man may take the girl
at age seven or ask her parents to raise her until she is age 12, at
which time parents take her to the husband’s home.
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
The Marriage, Divorce, and Family Relations Act sets the
minimum age for marriage at 18, but the constitution allows
marriage at age 15 with parental consent. According to the 2014
Malawi Millennium Development Goal Endline Survey, 10.3
percent of girls and women ages 15 to 49 were first married or in
a union before age 15, and 49.9 percent were married or in a
union before age 18. The minimum marital age was not widely
enforced, and civic education on early marriage was carried out
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
The minimum age of marriage is 18 years for men and 16 years
for women. Muslim women younger than 16 years may marry with
the approval of a sharia court. Accurate statistics on early
marriages were difficult to obtain, but a 2014 United Nations
Population Fund report stated that more than 15,000 citizens
married before age 19 in 2014. In October the Ministry of Women,
Family, and Community Development reported it had set up a task
force to help regulate early marriages and limit abuses.
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
The law allows girls and boys under age 18 to marry if they have
reached puberty, have parental consent, and the court finds no
substantial reason to object to the union. In 2013, 18 underage
marriages were registered at the court, of which 16 involved girls
and two involved boys, a sharp drop from 2012. According to the
NGO Hope for Women, child marriage was often endorsed by
Islamic scholars invited to speak at government-organized public
events and on television and radio.
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh