A national consultation on the issue of the legal age of marriage was told Friday that more than 8,400 girls and 1,300 boys under 19 years of age were married in Trinidad & Tobago between 1997 and 2007. 
According to common law in the Marriage Act of 1923, the legal age for marriage stands at 12 for girls and 14 for boys.
That translates to an average of 70 underage marriages of girls every month over the 10-year period - or just over two per day.
The data was presented by Rawwida Baksh, consultant at the Ministry of Gender, Youth and Child Development. Baksh noted that the figures included girls under the age of 15.
She said the source of her information was the Central Statistical Office (CSO)
“Research needs to be done in order to find out the dynamics taking place in these circumstances. We need to know how these young girls feel with their lives being mortgaged,” Baksh said.
Baksh noted that Trinidad & Tobago is one of 50 countries in the world where child marriages still take place.
“In 2011, on the eve of our 50th Independence anniversary, it is anomalous that we would still have legislation that perpetuates the unequal treatment of girls,” she said.
The minister of Minister of Gender, Youth and Child Development Verna St Rose-Greaves has promised that legislation to protect children would go to Parliament very soon, noting that the country ags behind in the standardisation of an age for marriage.
According to common law in the Marriage Act of 1923, the legal age for marriage stands at 12 for girls and 14 for boys.
St Rose-Greaves said child marriages are often used as a method to avoid prosecution for sexual violations involving minors or to take the shame away from teenage pregnancies.
She said the country’s four marriage acts are in conflict with several international conventions, including the Convention for the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women.
The minister said there is a need for consultation among all interest groups to ensure the protection of all the country’s children.
The Secretary General of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha Sat Maharaj is of the view that the question of early marriage is one for the community, not lawmakers. He also noted that very few young teens are getting married today.
The Secretary General of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha Sat Maharaj is of the view that the question of early marriage is one for the community, not lawmakers. He also noted that very few young teens are getting married today.
The act governing Muslim marriages sets the age of consent at 16 for males and 12 for females. The corresponding Hindu legislation is 18 years for males and 14 for girls. In both cases parental consent is needed for early marriage.
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