Age of Marriage Under Christian Law

We have shown how the Jewish Encyclopedia says that under Jewish Law girls can
marry at the age of twelve or even younger than that; let us now see what the Catholic
Encyclopedia says of Christian laws with regards to marriage. The Catholic
Encyclopedia says:
The marriageable age is fourteen full years in males and twelve full years in
females, under penalty of nullity (unless natural puberty supplies the want of
years [i.e. if puberty occurs before the age of twelve])… The canonical age holds
in England, Spain, Portugal, Greece (Ionian Isles excepted, where it is sixteen and
fourteen), and as regards Catholics even in Austria. While in some parts of the
United States the canonical marriage age of fourteen and twelve still prevails, in
others it has been enlarged by statutes.
(Catholic Encyclopedia, https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01206c.htm)
Elsewhere, the Catholic Encyclopedia says:
By the common law, the age at which minors were capable of marrying, known as
the age of consent, was fixed at fourteen years for males and twelve years for
females. Marriages under the age of seven years for both were void, but between
seven and the age of consent [14 for males, 12 for females] the parties could
contract an imperfect marriage, which was voidable but not necessarily void.
(Catholic Encyclopedia, https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09691b.htm)
Although twelve was the general guideline, Christian fathers were allowed to marry their
daughters off even before that. We read:
Medieval Christianity continued to maintain the age of twelve as a minimal age
for females to enter into marriage. However, even this low age limit was not
absolute. Using natural law logic, Catholic authorities argued that the decisive
factor which determined a child's readiness for marriage and sexual relations was
the onset of puberty, and not necessarily age as such. According to one Catholic
scholar, “If it could be satisfactorily proved that puberty . . . was actually attained
by the boy before the completion of his fourteenth year, or by the girl before the
completion of her twelfth year, then . . . the party could enter upon a valid
marriage.” [1]
(Mark E. Pietrzyk, https://www.internationalorder.org/scandal_response.html)
Similar to Jewish Law, Christian Law differentiated between the minimum age of
marriage and the absolute minimum age of marriage. Twelve years old was the
minimum age of marriage, called the age of consent; in other words, a girl had to be
twelve years old before should could arrange her own marriage. But the absolute
minimum age of marriage was in fact seven years of age, during which time her father
could arrange her marriage without her permission. In the Journal of Psychology and
Human Sexuality, we read:
Age of Consent: A Historical Overview
Age of Consent throughout history has usually coincided with the age of
puberty although at sometimes it has been as early as seven…The Roman
tradition served as the base for Christian Europe as well as the Christian Church
itself which generally, essentially based upon biological development, set it at
12 or 14 but continued to set the absolute minimum at seven. In the past
century there has been a tendency to raise the age of consent but the reasons for
the change have not always been clear and the issue has been further complicated
by the reluctance of many contemporary historians to recognize what the actual
age of consent in the past has been. This failure has distorted the importance of
biology on age of consent in the past.
(Age of Consent: A Historical Overview

https://www.haworthpress.com/store/Ar...XH16E3FKBF7Q9P
3MKLPC82LUJNKC41U5&ID=87429)

Saint Thomas Aquinas, considered by Catholics to be the greatest theologian of all time,
wrote in The Summa Theologica:
If the parties are betrothed by another person [i.e. the father] before they reach the
age of puberty, either of them or both can demur; wherefore in that case the
betrothal does not take effect, so that neither does any affinity result therefrom.
Hence a betrothal made between certain persons by some other takes effect, in so
far as those between whom the betrothal is arranged do not demur when they
reach the proper age, whence they are understood to consent to what others have
done.
(The Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas,
https://www.newadvent.org/summa/5043.htm)
In other words, pre-pubertal marriages arranged by the father are recognized by the
Church. Once the girl reaches puberty, she has the option of nullifying the marriage.
However, there is a big catch to this: if the man has sex with the pre-pubertal girl, then
she can no longer nullify the marriage. Catholic popes argued that even if marriage took
place before twelve years of age and before puberty, then such a marriage would still be
binding by the law. We read:
Sexual intercourse which took place before marital age limits or puberty was not
necessarily illicit or sinful. On the contrary, some popes ruled that intercourse
below the age of twelve/fourteen had the effect of sealing a marriage contract, as
long as such intercourse took place after the age of discretion, which was seven.
[2] Once intercourse had taken place, the marriage could not be annulled.
(Mark E. Pietrzyk, https://www.internationalorder.org/scandal_response.html)
This is a very important point, and shatters the glass house that the Christians live in.
The popes—who, due to the backing of the Holy Ghost, are considered infallible when
they issue such religious edicts—ruled that a girl could be married off after the age of
[2] Rush, 32-34. 17
The Islamaphobe’s Glass House Hashimi
seven, before the age of consent. In other words, she could be married

seven, before the age of consent. In other words, she could be married against her will.
If the husband had sex with her (even against her will), then this sealed the marriage and
the girl could not annul the marriage. In the twelfth century, Pope Alexander III ruled:
If a girl of tender age is betrothed and delivered to her husband, and afterwards
desires to marry a different man, her petition is not to be granted if her husband
swears that he has had carnal knowledge of her even at the early age of eleven or
twelve. [3]
The Christian scholars ruled that even if a seven year old girl had sex before reaching the
age of puberty, the fact that she had sex proves that she was mature enough to be married.
In other words, the minimum criteria to marry a girl is that a man can have sex with her.
When a man wants to marry a young girl, all he has to do is marry her and then have sex
with her. In a very circular logic, the sex he had with her will validate his marriage and
prevent an annulment. Christian Law therefore dictates that it does not matter how young
a girl is, or whether or not she has attained the age of puberty; all that truly matters is that
her husband can penetrate her and have sex. Once he does this, nobody can oppose or
annul the marriage.
C. Yandell writes in “Carpe Corpus: Time and Gender in Early Modern France”:
In canon law, puberty normally determines marriageable age, although the
minimum age for marriage is seven years, "the age of reason", when a child is
deemed capable of consent. The lawyer Estienne Pasquier notes that the Digest
compiled by Justinian specifies fourteen years for men, twelve for women, but, he
adds, if one is capable of carnal cohabitation before this age, marriage is
permitted.
(Carpe Corpus: Time and Gender in Early Modern France, by Cathy Yandell
p.37,
https://books.google.com/books?id=YXs...A37&lpg=PA37&d
q

---

[3] Quoted in John Fulton, The Laws of Marriage (New York: E. and J.B. Young, 1883), 112. 18
The Islamaphobe’s Glass House Hashimi

=noblewomen+married+early&source=web&ots=q6KGHQigfa&sig=0Pv9 5S0Z7
pBtjVz9GZHbuWc53ho#PPP1,M1)
We read further:
Thus even for very young partners, the act of intercourse bound the two of them
together for life. As one Catholic scholar has written, “carnal relations between
the parties seemed to indicate sufficient maturity and made up for the defect of
years.” [4] Sexual intercourse below the age of discretion (seven) was not a crime,
but merely “invalid,” and thus, inconsequential, as under Jewish law. [5]
Parents arranged marriages for their pre-pubescent children during the Middle
Ages for a variety of dynastic, economic, and cultural reasons. [6] Such marriages
were usually consummated at the age of twelve. Although physicians warned of
the dangers of impregnating very young girls and implored husbands to wait until
the wife reached the age of at least fourteen, such warnings usually went
unheeded, and the Catholic Church continued to bless marital bonds with twelveyear-
old girls. [7]
Although technically the consent of the child was necessary for a marriage to take
place, the child was usually not in a position to challenge his or her parents and
resist an unwanted union. This led to a number of abuses which went
unchallenged by the Church. In 1526, the Dutch scholar Erasmus complained,
“It is no uncommon case, especially in France, for a girl of scarce ten
years to be married and a mother next year. . . . It seems portentous, and
yet we sometimes see it, especially in Britain and Italy, that a tender child

is married to a septuagenarian [i.e. a man in his seventies]. . . . Yet Church
laws do not rescind such nuptials” [8]
In later centuries, some Christian commentators would denounce sexual relations
with young girls as being equivalent to rape. In the sixteenth century, canonist
Egidio Bossi argued for this interpretation on the grounds that a child could
hardly be considered as being in a position to give consent. However, he
recommended that the age of consent be fixed at only six or seven years of age.
[9]
At the Council of Trent in the sixteenth century, there was some discussion
among the Church leadership about possibly raising the age for marriage.
Cardinal Charles De Guise of Lorraine, France, advocated raising the age of
marriage for women to twenty and for men to twenty-five. The bishop of Cordia,
Spain, argued for the ages of twenty for women and twenty-two for men.
However, the majority of those on the Council were opposed to raising the age for
marriage on the grounds that adolescents would be tempted to commit fornication
unless they were permitted to marry. The conservatives prevailed: the age limit
remained at twelve for females and fourteen for males. [10]
(Mark E. Pietrzyk, https://www.internationalorder.org/scandal_response.html)
In a paper published at a symposium on Byzantine Studies, we read:
Baptism, usually at birth, was the fundamental rite of incorporation into the body
of Christ and the Church…Betrothal, sometimes as early as the age of five,
marked another stage in the child’s social incorporation.
(Byzantine Studies: 2006 Spring Symposium,
https://www.doaks.org/byz_2006_symposium_abstracts.html )




Aisha (peace be upon her) was around the age of puberty when she married. Christians
criticize the Prophet’s marriage to her on the grounds that she was too young. Yet,
Christian Law not only allowed girls to marry at the age of puberty, but rather it was
encouraged by the Church to marry at this young age. In an article entitled “The Practice
and Theory of Marriage in Roman North Africa”, we read:
Other canons require that lectors, upon reaching puberty, should either marry or
take vows of celibacy.
(The Practice and Theory of Marriage in Roman North Africa,
https://people.vanderbilt.edu/~james....huntermar.html)
In the article entitled “Marriage: Laws and Customs”, we read:
Legal Age for Marriage
Roman law gave the minimum age for marriage as that of puberty which was 14
for boys and 12 for girls; these remained the legal age for marriage until the late
19th Century in Britain…There is however evidence that child marriages were
reasonably common in North West England in the 16th century…
(Marriage: Laws and Customs, https://www.isle-ofman.
com/manxnotebook/famhist/genealgy/marr.htm)
In an article entitled “Law, Sex, and Christian Society in Medieval Europe”, we read:
Ordinary people who chose not to devote their lives to ascetic observances were
often advised that their best defense against the ever present urge to copulate was
to marry early. For this reason, St. Chrysostom warned parents to see to it that
their children married soon after they reached the age of puberty.
(Law, Sex, and Christian Society in Medieval Europe,
https://www.pinn.net/~sunshine/book-sum/medevl1.html)

When girls neared the approximate age of puberty, they were considered marriage
material. These pre-pubescent and pubescent girls were routinely married off to men
who were the same age as their grandfathers. We read:
Christian canon law followed Roman law in setting the minimum age of marriage
at twelve for females and fourteen for males. The logic behind these marital age
limits was that these were the approximate ages of puberty for both genders,
indicating readiness for procreation. In ancient Rome, among both pagans and
Christians, marriage at an early age was frequent. Betrothals often occurred even
before puberty, although the consummation of marriage through intercourse
usually did not take place until after the girl’s first menstruation. Very often, the
age of discrepancy of marriage partners was great. According to one historian,
“the matching of a man with a woman young enough to be his daughter or even
granddaughter was generally accepted.” [11]
(Mark E. Pietrzyk, https://www.internationalorder.org/scandal_response.html)
[

Age of Marriage Under Jewish Law

The Jewish website, Jewfaq.org, says:
The minimum age for marriage under Jewish law is 13 for boys, 12 for girls;
however, the kiddushin [betrothal] can take place before that, and often did in
medieval times.


(JewFaq.org, https://www.jewfaq.org/marriage.htm)


The age of twelve approximates the commencement of puberty. According to Jewish
Law, marriage at this age is not just allowed, but rather it is actively encouraged and
fathers are advised to quickly wed their pubescent daughters. We read:
One passage that would echo long and loud for Ashkenazic Jews throughout the
Middle Ages held that a man who marries off his sons and daughters near the
period of puberty (samukh le-firkan) will receive the scriptural blessing: “you
shall know that your tent is in peace” (Job 5:24), 101 evidently understood to
mean that if one’s children were married, they would not succumb to sexual
temptation” (Biale, 1997:p49-50)[95]


(G.U.S.: A World Reference Atlas, https://www2.rz.huberlin.
de/sexology/GESUND/ARCHIV/GUS/MIDDLEEASTOLD.HTM)


So Jewish Law allows men to marry twelve year olds, whom today would be considered
“child brides”. But the plot thickens! Even the age limit of twelve is not absolute.
Rather, twelve years old is merely the age at which a girl can herself decide to get
married. Before that, however, her father can have her married off, without her
permission.

We read from the website of the Special Rapporteur to the United Nations:
According to Jewish religious law (halacha), which in Israel confers validity on
the marriage of Jews conducted within its borders, it is possible to marry a young

girl of any age, but the girl herself may decide to marry only when she has
reached the age of 12 and a half.


(U.N. representative, https://www.right-to-education.org/co...ge/israel.html)
The authoritative Jewish website, AskMoses.com, says:
What is the minimum age of marriage according to Jewish law?
by Rabbi Naftali Silberberg


…In ancient (and not so ancient) times however, marriage was often-times
celebrated at a rather young age. Although we do not follow this dictum,
technically speaking, a girl may be betrothed the moment she is born, and married
at the age of three. [Shulchan Aruch, Even HaEzer 37:1.] A boy may betroth and
marry at the age of thirteen. [Shulchan Aruch, Even HaEzer 43:1]


(AskMoses.com, https://www.askmoses.com/article.html?h=573&o=2488)
The Talmud recommends that a daughter be given in marriage at around the age of
twelve (i.e. the commencement of puberty), but Jewish fathers were historically allowed
to marry their daughters off even before that age. Surprisingly, the wife could be as
young as three years old. According to Jewish Law, such marriages were officially
sealed by the man having sex with the baby. We read:


In the ancient world, Jewish law seemed to require an act of intercourse for a
betrothal to be recognised. The Mishnah said: "A girl three years old and one
day may be betrothed by intercourse […]" (Mishnah, Nid. V. 4). Maimonides
(A. D. 1180) states: "If she is three years and one day old she may be betrothed by
an act of intercourse, with the consent of her father. If she is less than that, and her
father has her betrothed by an act of intercourse, she is not betrothed"


([1972:p18][78]). Edwardes (1967a:p168)[79]: "The early-marriage tradition of
Israel found acceptance in Christendom, whose precocious children bedded and




wedded at or even before puberty...At the time of St. Paul, girls were married
at puberty or a little before.


(G.U.S.: A World Reference Atlas, https://www2.rz.huberlin.
de/sexology/GESUND/ARCHIV/GUS/MIDDLEEASTOLD.HTM)
Although twelve was set as the recommended age, Jewish fathers were marrying their
daughters off well before that. We read:
Although the Talmud recommended that a daughter be given in marriage when
na'rah, between the ages of twelve and twelve and a half, a father could marry her
off well before that time…16th century Jewish history reveals a prevalence of girl
"child" marriage, many of whom were between 12 and 14 years of age (Lamdan,
1996)[86]


The early marriage age may be attributed to several factors: an attempt to prevent
the temptation of sexual relations before marriage; the effort to arrange the best
possible match both socially and economically; the insecurity of diaspora
Jews during the age of expulsions from Spain and Ottoman expansion, moving
them to establish ties that would assure the children's financial future; and the
desire to raise a new generation of Jews as quickly as possible to assure the
continuity of their people.


(G.U.S.: A World Reference Atlas, https://www2.rz.huberlin.
de/sexology/GESUND/ARCHIV/GUS/MIDDLEEASTOLD.HTM)
According to many Jewish scholars, a girl should be married off as soon as she hits
puberty and no later. The Jewish Encyclopedia says:


Age for Marriage


The first positive commandment of the Bible, according to rabbinic interpretation
(Maimonides, "Minyan ha-Miẓwot," 212), is that concerning the propagation of
the human species (Gen. i. 28). It is thus considered the duty of every Israelite to

marry as early in life as possible…Some urge that children should marry as
soon as they reach the age of puberty.
(Jewish Encyclopedia,
https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/vi...er=M&artid=216)
In the journal entitled Women in Judaism, we find that Jews were still marrying at the age
of puberty up until World War I:


A Daughter’s Coming of Age


In earlier days, girls got married at the age of nine…[following the] custom
of marrying daughters at age eight to ten…if the maiden does not get married
until the age of fifteen she has no hope of marriage, because she would be
considered an old maid…At the end of the nineteenth century, despite these
regulations, families still married their daughters at the age of twelve and
thirteen…On the eve of World War I, the situation changed somewhat for the
better when the legal age for marriage was raised to fifteen.
(Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal,


https://www.utoronto.ca/wjudaism/jour...2/sehayek.html)


Jewish girls “got married at the age of nine”, a practice which continued up until “the eve
of World War I”. Why then are the Jews criticizing Prophet Muhammad (peace e upon
him) for marrying Aisha (peace be upon her) at the age of nine? Is this not hypocrisy? Is
this not a case of living in a glass house and throwing stones? Why is it that Christian
adversaries condemn Muslims but say nothing at all to their Jewish counterparts?
To conclude, we close with the words of Mark E. Pietrzyk:


According to the Talmud, the recommended age for marriage is sometime after
twelve for females, and thirteen for males. Marriage below these ages was
generally frowned upon. However, a father was allowed to betroth his daughter
to another man at an earlier age, and sexual intercourse was regarded as a valid


means of sealing a betrothal. The age limit for betrothal through sexual
intercourse was shockingly low. According to the Talmud, “A girl of the age of
three years and one day may be betrothed by intercourse.”
(Mark E. Pietrzyk, https://www.internationalorder.org/scandal_response.html)

Historical Age of Marriage in Western Countries

Age of Marriage During Biblical Times


It is ironic that Christian missionaries attack Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) for
his marrying Aisha (peace be upon her) at such a young age, but we find that this was the
normal age of marriage during Biblical times. Theology.edu, a website maintained by a
reputable Christian ministry, clearly mentions in an article entitled “Ancient Israelite
Marriage Customs” that the age of marriage was around the age of puberty:
The wife was to be taken from within the larger family circle (usually at the outset
of puberty or around the age of 13) in order to maintain the purity of the family
line.
(Jim West, ThD; https://www.theology.edu/marriage.htm)


In the book entitled Life in Biblical Israel, a Christian priest writes:
It is safe to assume the bride was considerably younger than the groom, and
childbearing would have begun shortly after puberty.
(Life in Biblical Israel, p.58,


https://books.google.com.pk/books?id=...+biblical+isra
el&pg=PP1&ots=k_Uryl4rgv&sig=gbiH8WI_FNKI7tA9nMra9m3LcLo&pre v=ht
tp://www.google.com.pk/search?hl=en&q=Life+in+Biblical+Israel+&btnG=Goo
gle+Search&sa=X&oi=print&ct=title&cad=one-book-with-thumbnail#PPR2,M1)


In the book Ancient Jewish Epitaphs, we read:


For Jewish women—as for women in antiquity generally—marriage was often
entered into early. We do not have many inscriptions recording the age at which
women were married, but the few who record it mention ages ranging from 12...
(Ancient Jewish Epitaphs, p.103-104,


https://books.google.com/books?id=F54...DFd8#PPA103,M1)

Age of Marriage in Rome



According to About.com:


In Ancient Rome…young girls were often married off when they were between
the ages of twelve and fourteen.


(About.com, https://marriage.about.com/cs/teenmar...enmarriage.htm)


In the book entitled The Age of Marriage in Ancient Rome, we read:


Traditionally in pre-modern societies, AAFM [age at first marriage] for girls
corresponded with the visible onset of puberty. In these early societies, high
mortality rates demanded an offsetting high-birth rate. As a result, younger
marriages were required to facilitate population growth.


(The Age of Marriage in Ancient Rome,


https://osdir.com/ml/education.publications.bryn-mawr-classical-review/2006-
05/msg00028.html)


In a scholarly article about the Roman Empire, we read that marriage would oftentimes
precede the onset of puberty:


Durry (1955a/b/c, 1956)[48] had argued that Roman girls were married before
puberty, that puberty was not important in fixing the age of marriage, and that
such early marriages were consummated before puberty…
Taking into consideration epigraphic and literary material, Hopkins concludes
that "[w]hether pre-pubertal or not, girl's age at marriage was by our
standards very young and marriages were generally immediately
consummated" …


At least one author believed that a girl "should be married and deflowered as soon
as she reaches puberty (i.e., the socially determined age of puberty)… "

Psychohistorians[66] cite Rouselle (1988:p33) in arguing that Roman
misconceptions about the hymen "could only be the result of girls being
deflowered before puberty", being lawfully married before puberty.
(Janssen, D.F.; Oct 2002. G.U.S.. Volume I: World Reference Atlas. Interim
Report. Amsterdam, The Netherlands, https://www2.huberlin.
de/sexology/GESUND/ARCHIV/GUS/HISTORYCHHS.HTM#_Toc26337
172)


In the article “The Age of Roman Girls at Marriage”, we read:


In fact menarche (onset of menses) was not always a pre-condition of marriage;


nevertheless marriages were usually consummated immediately…they (prepubertal
marriages) were not exceptional and were condoned.
(The Age of Roman Girls at Marriage, https://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0032-
4728%28196503%2918%3A3%3C309%3ATAORGA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-
Q&size=LARGE&origin=JSTOR-enlargePage)
The age of seven was in vogue:


Around AD 530, and at least as far back as the reign of Augustus, the legal
minimum age of marriage for girls was 12 and for boys 14 (Hopkins,
p313n22)…At least for the aristocracy, early ages are frequently mentioned.
Betrothal could take place within a poorly defined period before this age; at least
it must be assumed that a minimum legal age of seven was in vogue
(p313n23)[49] … Plutarche (historian, philosopher), and Soranus (doctor,
practising at Rome), both Greeks, implied that early marriage (12 or before) and
defloration would occur…
(Janssen, D.F.; Oct 2002. G.U.S.. Volume I: World Reference Atlas. Interim
Report. Amsterdam, The Netherlands,
https://www2.huberlin.

de/sexology/GESUND/ARCHIV/GUS/HISTORYCHHS.HTM#_Toc26337
172)


The great Roman leader Augustus fixed the minimum age of marriage at ten years old:


Roman children of the aristocracy married youngest (Hopkins, 1965:316ff;
1983[57]:p94; Weaver, 1986:p156)[58]. Roman marriage arrangements usually
began with a betrothal, which was possible before age ten[59], at least in the case
of the aristocracy, or when political gains were in vogue (Balsdon, p87,
275n18)[60]. Augustus (AD 9) had fixed the minimum age at ten (Rawson,
1986:p21)[61]…


(Janssen, D.F.; Oct 2002. G.U.S.. Volume I: World Reference Atlas. Interim
Report. Amsterdam, The Netherlands, https://www2.huberlin.
de/sexology/GESUND/ARCHIV/GUS/HISTORYCHHS.HTM#_Toc26337
172)

Age of Marriage in Greece


In the Ancient Greek civilization, the time to marry was at the onset of puberty:
Flacelière (59) also mentioned that girls could marry as soon as puberty hit.


(Daily Life in Greece at the Time of Pericles, https://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0075-
4269(1966)86%3C250%3ADLIGAT%3E2.0.CO%3B2-W ,
https://www.richeast.org/htwm/Greeks/.../marriage.html )


WomenInTheAncientWorld.com says:
Athenian men married out of a sense of civic duty and put off the fateful day until
the age of 30 or more, at which time they married girls of half their age whose
youth made them more easily controlled.
(WomanInTheAncientWorld.com,


https://www.womenintheancientworld.co...ent%20egypt.ht
m)

---

Age of Marriage in Christian Europe



In an article about Medieval times, Molloy College’s website says:
Women were marriageable right after puberty, marriage arrangements were made
while they were in infancy; they were wed at the age of twelve or fourteen to men
in their twenties or thirties.


(Molloy College, https://www.molloy.edu/sophia/med_ren/med_text.htm)
Puberty was linked to virginity, a highly sought after quality. We read in Judith M.
Bennet’s book Singlewomen in the European Past:


As Anthony Molho persuasively illustrates, the cultural imperative to marry
young women soon after they reached sexual maturity even prompted many
Florentine fathers to falsify their daughters' ages to give them more time to
negotiate a favorable marriage.


(Singlewomen in the European Past, p.44,


https://books.google.com/books?id=l6Y...4&lpg=PA44&dq=
nobility+married+early&source=web&ots=K6CD_RPNNC&sig=rug6ZIF REdsm
FAKkjPIboKsd2KI)


The History at Minnesota website indicates that the average age of marriage just 500
years ago was only 12.7 (https://www.hist.umn.edu/~rmccaa/NAHUAEN3/outline.htm)
This is an average, meaning that many girls were getting married much younger than that.
Why then are the Christians up in arms about Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)
who married Aisha (peace be upon her) more than 1,400 years ago?

Christian Saints


We have already clearly established that Jewish and Christian Law allowed for girls to be
married off at such a young age. We have also shown that such marriages were not only
allowed, but encouraged; they were in fact the norm. Yet perhaps a Christian polemicist
would argue that the matter is not about what the masses did but what the leaders did;
after all, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was the leader of the Muslims, not just
any follower. To refute this point, we first point to the Christian popes who sanctioned
such early marriages and actively encouraged them. But to further weaken their spurious
argument, we will cite the example of numerous Christian saints who married young
girls. Therefore, if the Christians attack Prophet Muhammad, then let them first throw
stones at their own revered heroes. Let us begin:


1. Saint Augustine: Saint Augustine, who is credited with having formulated Christian
theology, betrothed himself to a ten year old girl, and this was when he was thirty-one
years of age. He waited two years for her body to mature, after which she moved into
Saint Augustine’s at the age of twelve. How is it then that the Christians attack Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him) for marrying Aisha (peace be upon her) when she was
nine or ten, when their venerated Saint Augustine himself betrothed a ten year old girl?
We read:

One such example of betrothal between a mature male and young girl is that of St.
Augustine (354-439 A.D.). At the age of thirty-one, Augustine betrothed himself
to a ten-year-old girl.


(Mark E. Pietrzyk, https://www.internationalorder.org/scandal_response.html)


2. Saint Agnes: Another very famous Christian figure in history, Saint Agnes—who is
known as the patron saint of chastity—fielded marriage proposals when she was younger
than twelve years old. Yet suddenly the Christians turn their noses up when we Muslims
say that Aisha (peace be upon her) fielded marriage proposals at a similar age. Domestic-
Church.com says:
Saint Agnes' name means chaste or pure in Greek and lamb or victim in Latin.
She has always been regarded by the Church as a special patroness of purity.
Agnes was martyred early in the persecution of Diocletian, who began his
persecution of Christians in March of 303. She was only twelve or thirteen years
old at the time of her death (accounts differ). Even at that young age, her wealth
and beauty had attracted the attention of the young noblemen of Rome, who
competed with each other for her hand in marriage.
(Domestic-Church.com, https://www.domesticchurch.
com/CONTENT.DCC/19980101/SAINTS/STAGNES.HTM)


3. Saint Hedwig of Andechs: Saint Hedwig is revered by the Christians as the patron
saint of orphans. She was married off at the age of twelve to Henry I of Silesia.


4. Saint Rita of Cascia: She is considered by Christians to be the patron saint of
hopeless causes, and was betrothed at the age of twelve to a man named Paola Mancini.


5. Saint Mary of Jesus Crucified: She was betrothed at the age of thirteen.


6. Saint Elizabeth of Portugal, patron of the Third Order of St. Francis, was married off
at the age of twelve.


7. Saint Joseph, the supposed foster father of Jesus, was in his nineties when he married


the twelve year old Mary. Some claim that Joseph was in his thirties—and not his
nineties—but the fact remains that he was a grown man who married a twelve year old.
And there are many other examples from amongst the venerated Christian saints…

Christian Kings, Royals, and Nobles


The Christian royals were marrying girls as young as nine, according to an article written
by Professor Lynda Garland of the University of New England:


Child brides, whether Byzantines or foreign princesses, were the norm rather than
the exception, especially from the late twelfth century. Irene Ducaena, wife of
Alexius I Comnenus, was twelve at her marriage, and empress before she was
fifteen; the Byzantine princess Theodora, Manuel's niece, was in her thirteenth
year when she married Baldwin III of Jerusalem; and Margaret-Maria of Hungary
married Isaac II Angelus at the age of nine.
(Professor Lynda Garland of University of New England, https://www.romanemperors.
org/aggiefran.htm)


It should be noted that these Christian kings, royals, and nobles married with the blessing
and sanction of the Church. As such, the countless examples that we will provide serve
as a strong proof against the Christians and their insincere criticisms of Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him). In this article, we will only provide a few of the many
examples, as follows:


1. King Richard II, at the age of thirty, married a French princess named Isabella who
was only seven years old at the time.


2. Duchess of Milan, Bianca of Savoy, was married off at the age of thirteen.


3. Theodora Comnena was married off at the age of thirteen to King Baldwin III, who
was more than double her age.


4. King Adronikos I Komnenos, the valiant Christian leader of the Byzantine Empire,
married the twelve year old Agnes of France when he was sixty-four years old.


5. King Denis of Portugal married the twelve year old Saint Elizabeth of Portugal.

6. Girolamo Riario, Lord of Imola and Forli, married the nine year old Caterina
Sforza.


7. Jeanne III of Navarre was wed at the age of thirteen.


8. Giovanni Sforza married the thirteen year old Lucrezia Borgia.


9. King Haakon VI of Norway married the ten year old Queen Margaret.


10. Count Agness of Essex was betrothed at the age of only three years old and
married off at the age of twelve to a man who was almost fifty years of age.


11. Prince Edward of Wales married the French king’s daughter, Isabella, who was
only seven years old.


12. Romanos II married Bertha (renamed Eudokia), the daughter of the King of Italy,
when she was only four years old!


13. Stephen Milutin, the Kral of Serbia, married Simonis, the daughter of Emperor
Andronikos II, when she was only five years old. At the time of the marriage, Stephen
Milutin was fifty years old.


14. Edward I married the nine year old Eleanor of Castile.


15. Richard of Shrewsbury, King Edward IV’s son, married the five year old Anne
Mowbray of Norfolk.


16. Mary Stewart married Henry VIII when she was only six.
And there are many other examples…


Perhaps a Christian polemicist would argue that these Christian royals were individuals
and do not represent Christianity. Yet, this argument is weakened when we take into
account that no royal marriage was validated without the consent and approval of the

Christian Church! Papal consent was a prerequisite of the time. To illustrate this, we can
look at the example of the marriage of Prince Edward to the young Isabella:
Given that twelve was the canonical age for marriage, and that in 1298 the
Pope had stipulated that she should marry Prince Edward as soon as she
reached that age, these dates are viable. In the same document of June 1298, the
Pope describes Isabella as being 'under seven years', which places her birth at any
time from 1291 onwards. Furthermore, the Treaty of Montreuil (June 1299)
provided for Isabella's betrothal and marriage to take place when she reached the
respective canonical ages of seven and twelve. So she must have reached seven
before May 1303, and twelve before January 1308.
(Isabella,
https://bookshop.blackwell.co.uk/jsp/...es/choice/extr
act_isabella.jsp)


It is safe to say that if Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) had been Christian, then
the Church itself would have sanctioned his marriage to Aisha (peace be upon her)! But
because the Prophet (peace be upon him) is Muslim, the Church instead has levied
allegations of “pedophilia” against him! This is the two-faced nature of the Crusader
bigots.

Jewish and Christian Prophets



1. Abraham: When the ignorant Christians condemn Prophet Muhammad (peace be
upon him) for marrying a young girl fifty years younger than him, they are actually
attacking the Prophets in their Bible as well. Do they not recall the story of Prophet
Abraham (peace be upon him) who, according to the Bible, slept with Hagar (peace be
upon her) who was sixty or seventy younger than him? If the Christians have an issue
with Prophet Muhammad being in his fifties, do they not say anything when Prophet
Abraham was in his eighties? We read:


Sarai his wife took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar and gave her to her husband
to be his wife. He (Abram) slept with Hagar, and she conceived…So Hagar bore
Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. Abram
was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.


(Genesis, Chapter 16, verses 1–4, 15–16, NIV)


2. David: We read in the Bible that King David lay beside a young virgin, by which was
meant a girl who had just attained the age of puberty. We read:


When King David was old and well advanced in years, he could not keep warm
even when they put covers over him. So his servants said to him, ‘Let us look for
a young virgin to attend the king and take care of him. She can lie beside him so
that our lord the king may keep warm.’ Then they searched throughout Israel for a
beautiful girl and found Abishag, a Shunammite, and brought her to the king.


(1 Kings, Chapter 1, verses 1–4, NIV)


3. Isaac: According to the Judeo-Christian tradition, Prophet Isaac (peace be upon him)
was forty years old when he married Rebecca (Rivka) who was only three years old at
the time! And it should be remembered that Prophet Isaac is considered by the Jews to
be one of the most important of Prophets, and Rebecca is one of the four matriarchs of
the Jews. What is interesting to note is that just like there are some defeatist Muslims

who deny that Aisha was nine years old when she was married, there are also some
defeatist Jews who deny that Rebecca was three years old when she was married. We
refer the reader to the following defeatist website made by contemporary Jews who seek
to deny what their classical scholars say on the matter:
https://www.jewishlegends.com/displayExp.php?rumor=122
In this article, the Jewish writers admit that they are taught in Jewish schools that
Rebecca was three years old when she was married:


We all came home from school saying that Rivka was three years old when
she got married, and most of us had a hard time believing it. Our teachers
explained that people in those days matured faster, so 3 years old then was not
what 3 years old is now. What they did not tell us (probably because they did not
know), is that there is another opinion that says that she was 14.
(JewishLegends.com,


https://www.jewishlegends.com/displayExp.php?rumor=122)


How oddly similar is this claim made by these Jewish defeatists (“another opinion that
says she was 14”) to the claim made by some Muslim defeatists who claim that “another
opinion says that Aisha was nineteen years of age.” Jewish apologists further the
following argument:


Rivka, shortly before her marriage (Bereishit 24:16), is called NA’ARAH, which
refers to a girl of at least 12 years of age!
(JewishLegends.com,
https://www.jewishlegends.com/displayExp.php?rumor=122)


Muslim apologists use a strikingly similar argument. We cite the example of
Understanding-Islam.com, a Muslim website that takes unorthodox opinions:
All those who know the Arabic language, are aware that the word "bikr" in the
Arabic language is not used for an immature nine-year old girl. The correct word


for a young playful girl, as stated earlier is "Jariyah". "Bikr" on the other hand, is
used for an unmarried lady, and obviously a nine year old is not a "lady".
(Understanding-Islam, https://understandingislam.
com/related/text.asp?type=question&qid=375)


Both sites (Jewish and Muslim) engage in some simplistic mathematical arguments in
order to find discrepancies in dating. In fact, both groups use similar methodology to
question the historicity of these early marriages. What is not similar, however, is the
amount of ink wasted attacking Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) on the one
hand and on the other hand the silence on Prophet Isaac’s marriage to the three year old
Rebecca. The Zionists lead the charge in the attacks against Prophet Muhammad (peace
be upon him), so should we now expose their hypocrisy? If they argue that their classical
scholars were wrong for saying that the forty year old Prophet Isaac married a three year
old, then logic and fairness dictate that the Muslims are also absolved because they too
have defeatists who simply deny that Aisha was nine at the time of marriage!
4. Jesus: And if the Christians wish to stick a spear in our hearts by attacking Prophet
Muhammad, then what of Prophet Jesus’s mother Mary (peace be upon her) who was
only twelve years old when she was betrothed to the ninety year old Saint Joseph? The
Catholic Encyclopedia says:

the Christian East still accepts the idea that Saint Joseph was in his eighties and that Mary
was twelve. An Eastern Orthodox website says:
An Elderly Joseph


The New Testament Apocrypha speak of Joseph as an elderly man, a widower
with adult children, who was quite reluctant to be included among those from
among whom a protector for Mary would be chosen. Although the Apocrypha
were not included in the canon of Scripture their importance is great and much in
evidence in the liturgical texts of some of the great Feasts.
However the Gospels too give evidence for an elderly Joseph. For example he is
no longer mentioned after Jesus' trip to the temple as an adolescent. Note also
that as Jesus was dying upon the Cross He asked John to look after His mother.
That would have been unnecessary - and even insulting to Joseph had he been
alive. But as an elderly man he would have reposed well before Jesus' crucifixion
at the age of 32-33. Mary, however, would only have been in her middle age…
The Christian East's picture of Joseph as a courageous, faithful, God-centred
elderly widower rings true. It also tells us that "old people" are quite capable of
being chosen for and embarking upon extraordinary adventures in which they
obtain remarkable success by God's mercy and provision.
This picture may not be very attractive - particularly in a youth-fixated culture
such as ours in which "old" has become a pejoritive expression. One can
understand the appeal of the youthful Joseph. But truth may have an attraction
all its own.
(Ukrainian-Orthodoxy,
https://www.unicorne.org/orthodoxy/ar...s_a/joseph.htm)


Therefore, if the Christian West seeks to damn the Muslims for our belief in an elderly
Prophet who married a young virgin, then let them cast the first stone against their own

The priests announced through Judea that they wished to find in the tribe of Juda
a respectable man to espouse Mary, then twelve to fourteen years of age. Joseph,
who was at the time ninety years old, went up to Jerusalem among the candidates.
(Catholic Encyclopedia, https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08504a.htm)
According to the “Oxford Dictionary Bible” commentary, Mary was twelve years old
when she became pregnant. As for the age of Saint Joseph, the traditional opinion was
that he was a ninety year old widower at the time. It has only been very recently that
suddenly the defeatists have sought to deny this, claiming that Joseph was “only” in his
thirties. Whether or not Joseph was in his thirties or nineties is largely inconsequential,
since the fact is that he was a grown man who married a twelve year old girl. In any case,

brothers in the East first. In any case, even if we accept the claim that Saint Joseph was
in his thirties when he was betrothed to Mary (peace be upon her), does this change the
fact that Mary was twelve years old?
The priest of Saint Mary’s Catholic Church said: “Mary’s husband is believed to be
around 36. Mary was only 13 when she married Joseph. When she first was arranged
with Joseph, she was between 7 to 9 years old.” So even the Western Christians believe
that a grown man well into his thirties married a young girl and impregnated her. If the
Christians of today are shocked at Aisha’s age, then should they not be equally shocked
by the age of Mary? But we find that they are hypocritical in their attitude towards the
Muslims, and we know this is only because the people hate to accept the Truth, and we
recognize that all the Prophets were maligned and criticized by the disbelieving people.
God will deal with them just like God dealt with all those who maligned the Prophets.

Historical Age of Marriage in Non-Western Countries

Age of Marriage in Egypt


In the article “Marriage in Ancient Egypt”, we read:


Marriage contracts do not generally tell the age of the parties, but we know from
other documents that marriage almost always occurred after sexual adulthood.
The average age for girls to enter puberty was 12 to 13, and around 14 for boys…
we find documentation of brides being as young as 8… It was not all together
uncommon for older men who had usually lost their wife to either death or
divorce to marry very young "women". Qenherkhepeshef, a scribe from Deir El
Medina for example married a 12 year old girl when he was 54.


(TourEgypt.com, https://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/marriage.htm)

---

Age of Marriage in India


Jack Goody is a fellow of St. John’s College in Cambridge. In his book The Oriental, the
Ancient, and the Primitive, we find that girls were married off very early in Indian
households:
Srinivas writes of the days in India when ‘pre-pubertal weddings were the rule’
(1984:11): a girl had to be married ‘before she came of age.’ The father of a girl
was obliged by Hindu law and by custom of the country to marry her before she
attained puberty, though cohabitation was often delayed, an average of three
years…
(The Oriental, the Ancient, and the Primitive, p.208.


https://books.google.com/books?id=CZQ...A207&lpg=PA207
&dq=age+of+marriage+ancient+japan&source=web&ots=5WGazdlO6f& sig=rvR
tOggFs6yteb0Rks251bg-_k4#PPP1,M1)

---

Age of Marriage in Russia


In Russia, girls were being married off during childhood just some one hundred years
ago. We read:


DeMause (1990)[8] pointed to “child marriage [being] widespread in Russia well
into the nineteenth century.”


(G.U.S.: World Atlas, https://www2.huberlin.
de/sexology/GESUND/ARCHIV/GUS/RUSSIA.HTM#_Toc82813007)




And it is well-known that such early marriages remain prevalent in India today.

Age of Marriage in China


In Pre-Industrial China, girls were married around the age of puberty, or even before the
onset of puberty. We read:


Prepubertal Betrothal / Marriage


In the period till 771 BC, menarche indicated marriageable age…In 1855,
Huc[10] commented that “[n]othing is more common than to arrange a marriage
during the infancies of the parties, or even before their birth”… According to Fei
(1939:p40)[14], arrangements for marriage were made at age six or seven… The
usual age for affiancing children [i.e. betrothal] was between seven and fourteen
(Baber, 1934:p134)[15]. For an elaborate description of the custom of infant
betrothal as practised before 1911 in the conservative I-ch’ang districts, see Hanyi
and Shryock (1950)[16]… Most Lolo groups marry at puberty, although
“some Lolos marry quite early, even at the age of four to five years” (Siang-
Feng Ko, 1949:p491-2)[22], or are betrothed as infants (LeBar et al., 1964). In
general, “The age of puberty is a major juncture for youngsters of all
nationalities. However, many of the minority nationalities [of China] encourage
the marriage of their children before they mature, and thus follow the footsteps of
the older generations”[23].


…Among the turn-of-the-century Taiwanese, the practice of minor
marriage combined with a highly competitive marriage market drove the age of
the brides downward, below puberty (Ying-Chang and Wolf, 1995:p793)[24]


(G.U.S.: World Atlas, https://www2.huberlin.
de/sexology/GESUND/ARCHIV/GUS/CHINA.HTM#_Toc85469111)

---

Age of Marriage in Mongolia


The ancient Mongols married off their daughters at a very young age. Even today, it is
very common to see Mongol girls being wedded at the age of four or five years of age:
Among the Ordos Mongols, children are sometimes betrothed even before birth.
This custom, called eŭndege in swie (“Match-making before birth”), is thought by
the Mongols to be of very nacient origin. […] the actual age of marriage today
[1938] varies a great deal, from four or five years to sixteen or seventeen, the


average or ordinary age being fifteen (p66).


(G.U.S.: A World Atlas, https://www2.huberlin.
de/sexology/GESUND/ARCHIV/GUS/MONGOLIA.HTM)

---

Age of Marriage in Australia



The traditional Aborigines similarly married their daughters off during childhood:
In traditional Aboriginal society marriages are significant to the forging of
alliances, and often betrothal arrangements are made when the prospective bride
is very young, or possibly even unborn. A man may not marry until he has
undergone a significant part of the lengthy initiation process: thus, at marriage a
man will be in his twenties or even thirties. Often a man’s first wife is the widow
of an older man, and his subsequent wives may be much younger…
Among Yuwaaliyaay people, […] infant betrothal appears to have been the
norm”[28]. Among the aborigines of the Wheelman tribe a baby girl is betrothed
to a youth or man; he “grows” her, or supports her growing up (Hassell,
1936:p682)[29]…Calvert[32] mentions that “[…] a female child is betrothed, in
her infancy, to some native of another family, necessarily very many years older
than herself. He watches over her jealously, and she goes to live with him as soon
as she feels inclined”.


Spencer and Giller ([1927, II:p469-70) also mention betrothal of Aranda girls
“many years before the is born”. Radcliffe-Brown (1913:p184)[33] states that
“marriages are arranged before children are born”. Provis writes in Taplin
(1879:p93) of the Streaky Bay South aborigines that there can sometimes be
seen “the incongruous spectacle of a little child betrothed to a grown man. The
girl is called his Kur-det-thi (future wife). They sleep together, but no sexual
intercourse takes place till the girl arrives at the age of puberty”.
Schürmann writes in Woods (1879:p222)[34] of the Port Lincoln tribe that “long
before a young girl arrives at maturity, she is affianced by her parents, to some
friend of theirs, no matter whether young or old, married or single”. Howitt
(1904:p197) for the Wolgal tribe reports that “a girl is promised as a mere child to
some man of the proper class, he being then perhaps middle aged or even old”.


Betrothal occurred when “quite young”, states Bonney (1884:p129)[35]. Child
betrothal and marriage is noted for Arnhemland (Webb, 1944:p65)[36]. “A child
a year old will sometimes be betrothed to an old man, and it will be his duty to
protect and feed her, and (unless she is stolen by some one else) when she is old
enough she becomes his wife…The Yolngu practiced prenatal betrothal (Money
and Erhhardt, 1973 / 1996:p142)[43], and, together with eventual siblings, join
the husband at menarche, at age 12 or 13.
(G.U.S.: A World Atlas, https://www2.huberlin.
de/sexology/GESUND/ARCHIV/GUS/ABORIGINALAUSTRALIA.HTM
#_Toc82729383)

Age of Marriage amongst Native Americans


The practice of marrying girls at a young age was prevalent amongst Native American
populations as well, as we read in an article entitled “Living Arrangements Among
Native American Elders”:
Marriage was considered essential among all Navajos with polygamy, divorce,
levirate and sorarate being practiced. Marriages were traditionally not based on
romance but were arranged with the girls being married soon after puberty.


(Living Arrangements Among Native American Elders,
https://www.pop.psu.edu/general/pubs/...pri/wp9605.pdf.)
We read further:


A Delaware Native American girl who reached puberty may have had her
[marriage] union prearranged by her parents.
(WeddingDetails.com, https://www.weddingdetails.com/lore/native.cfm)
The first menstrual cycle was seen by the Native Americans as the coming of age, and
after a ceremony, the young girl was ready for marriage:


This following are accounts for the coming of age rituals of first young women
followed by that of the young men. The first occurred when the girl had her first
menstrual cycle… When this celebration [i.e. the coming of age] was complete,
joy of being accepted as a woman remained with the young girl as well as five
vertical red and black stripes painted onto her cheek. These strips would be
eventually removed and when the last of them was gone the young girl would be
ready for marriage.


(Native Americans,
https://edf3.gallaudet.edu/diversity/...e_american.htm)

The Aztecs married their daughters off “well before the age of puberty”:
“Most [Aztec] girls were married (cohabiting) well before the age of puberty”
(McCaa, 2003)[3]. Girls among the ancient Aztec (Nahua) married before age 15,
and in many cases before 12 (McCaa, 1997; cf. 1996, 1994)[4]: “Children became
adults upon marriage, and most children above the age of 10 years were married
(or widowed, separated or abandoned)”. Females married very young, according
to the narrative evidence from the Book of Tributes (Cline, 1993:p31-2)[5].
Quantitative analysis of these data places the average for females below the age of
thirteen
(G.U.S.: A World Atlas, https://www2.huberlin.
de/sexology/GESUND/ARCHIV/GUS/AZTEC.HTM)
The various South American tribes practiced early marriage, and this practice continued
well into the 1500s. It is sometimes referred to as a “rearing marriage”, i.e. the husband
raises his wife from childhood. We read:
Sumner (1906:p382) [29] cited reports that of child marriage where “girls of ten
are mothers”[30]. Child betrothal is reported among the Guaraní of the Paraná
River. “In some cases little girls were given to grown men, who lived with their
child wives, probably in the house of their future parents-in-law” (Métraux,
1948)[31]. Child betrothal is also reported among the Cainguá, but the girls were
said to remain with their parents, who receive presents from their prospective
sons-in-law (ibid.)…
For the Samaraka, “[i]n the past, girls were formally betrothed (kiiá) well before
puberty, and “betrothal in the womb” was an accepted practice, while today mean
age at betrothal is only a year or two below age at marriage and child betrothal is
unknown” (Price, 1975)[33]. Among the Warao, “[t]here were boys who were
betrothed to little girls who had not yet reached puberty” (Heinen, [1988])[34].
Among the Brazilian Yanomamo, “[p]arents may also betroth their children
while they are still infants” (Early & Peters, 1990)[35]. Among the Cuna, the
premarital four-day debut ceremony is even sometimes given before puberty in
the parents’ zeal to insure their daughter’s having it (Stout, 1947:p34). As for the
Asang, “[a] girl at a very early age, between eight and nine, is betrothed to a
young man, who at once takes up residence in the house of her parents, whom he
assists until […] [she] is old enough to be married, when, without ceremony, they
are recognized as man and wife (Pim and Seeman, 1869:p306-7)[36]…
The Aikaná practiced betrothal in childhood, marriage took place after menarche
(Becker-Donner, ?:p280)[38]. The same was formerly so in the Makurap (p290).


The Bororo practised rearing marriage (Levak, 1973:p77-8)[39].
(G.U.S.: A World Atlas, https://www2.huberlin.
de/sexology/GESUND/ARCHIV/GUS/SOUTHAMERICA.HTM)

---

Age of Marriage in Africa



Amongst the various tribes of Africa, we find that the practice of marrying off girls at the
age of puberty and even before that was very common.
Rohlfs reported mothers of ten or twelve at fesan (cited by Sumner,
1906:p382)[156]. The Akan custom of “Asiwa”[157] (infant betrothal) had almost
become the principal form of getting married until it was abolished, in 1918, by
the Okyeman Council[158]…


Among the Fanti, children could be betrothed before they were mature. The Masai
practiced fetal and infant betrothal. Infant betrothal was further said to be
practiced by the Azande, and Mbuti. Childhood betrothal was practised among the
Dogon. Yao girls would be betrothed as infants or small children. Betrothal before
birth or in early infancy was usual among the Kuranko. Among the Ewe, children
would be betrothed in childhood or before birth. Among the Tshi-speaking
people, a girl was publicly advertised for marriage at puberty (age 11-12) by


being paraded through the streets decked out in ornaments. Lateral betrothals
frequently took place before puberty and sometimes before birth.


Among the Yoruba-speaking peoples, girls of better class were almost always
betrothed when children, frequently when infants, the husband in futuro being
sometimes an adult, sometimes a boy. Among the Konkomba, a girl was
betrothed to a man of more than twenty years of age, sometimes to an elder who
may give her away for marriage.


Among the Ethiopean Galla, marriages were often arranged by betrothal at a very
young age. In the Uganda protectorate, “[a]t any stage of its infant life a child
may be betrothed to some other infant or to one many years older than itself”.
Among the Somali, infant betrothal may have been common in the past. Among
the Mambwe / Amambwe (Zambia), betrothal was common in childhood. Among

the Yahgan, little girls were betrothed to adult men; sometimes parents agree to
unions between little boys and girls. The Ila child was sometimes betrothed at age
four, or even earlier. Among the Mouktélé (Northern Cameroon), children were
betrothed in infancy, somewhere around age six. Among the Bangwa (Western
Cameroon), a baby was betrothed at birth, or in infancy. Among the Bali (Western
Cameroon), betrothal, but not marriage, of children could take place before
menarche or puberty.


The Fang were sometimes married before birth. Koalib girls were betrothed at
eight or nine years of age, and at twelve or thirteen the marriage was
consummated. Nuba men begin courting at age twenty and generally get betrothed
to a girl child. Among the Azande, infant betrothal was the rule. As for the Tshidi
Barolong (South Africa), infant betrothal is practiced. Among the nomadic Fulani
children were betrothed at ages seven to ten in the case of girls, and from three to
ten in the case of boys. The Shuwalbe Fulani practiced infant betrothal between
boy and girl. Infant betrothal and adoption marriage among the Mbaise Igbo.


Traditionally, betrothal in infancy or childhood was customary in Benin Kingdom
and among the Northern Edo. In case of the Igbira of Northern Nigeria, betrothal
often took place in childhood. Among the Igala, betrothal could occur at age four
to five. Among the Utonkon-Effium Orri, betrothal of girls occurred at birth.
Among the Luo, child betrothal or marriage could take place. Childhood betrothal
was noted for the Shambala. The Nkundo girl could be betrothed in infancy. In
Tanzania, immature girls could also be betrothed, but infant betrothal occurred
only in mock fashion…


Among the African Marutze, the children “are often affianced at an early age, and
the marriage is consummated as soon as the girl arrives at maturity[162]. The
Negroes of the Gold Coast, according to Bosman, often arranged for the marriage
of infants directly after birth[163]; whilst among the Bushmans, Bechuanas, and
Ashantees, children are engaged when they are still in the womb, in the event of
their proving to be girls[164]…


In Ethiopia, marriage occurs between age 12 and 15. Hausa women were married
just before puberty (villages) or after (rural dwellers), to adolescents some seven
years older. A Tuareg girl may have been married by age seven or eight. Fang
children were sometimes married before birth. In pre-1900 Nubia, girls were
married at the age of from eight to ten years. G/wi girls were married at age 7-9,
boys at about 14-15. Among the Kung, eight and nine-year-old brides would be
married to teenaged husbands. Bela would have been married before puberty.
Among the Kabyles, a father could marry his daughter before she has reached
puberty. Among the Igala (Northern Nigeria), the marriageable age was eight to
ten for girls…
Today[167], “very little country data exist about marriages under the age of 14,
even less about those below age 10”. In Ethiopia and in parts of West Africa,
marriage at age seven or eight is not uncommon. In Kebbi State, Northern
Nigeria, the average age of marriage for girls is just over 11 years, against a
national average of 17[168]. A 1991 UN Population Cart indicates legal ages of
marriage of 9 in Morocco (males, with parental consent, compared to 21 for
females) and 6 for Ghana (both sexes, with or without consent)[169].
(G.U.S.: A World Atlas, https://www2.huberlin.


de/sexology/GESUND/ARCHIV/GUS/AFRICA.HTM#_Toc86519743)
In many parts of Africa, girls continue to get married upon the commencement of
puberty. UNICEF recently surveyed six African countries:


A recent study by UNICEF in six Western African countries showed that 44 per
cent of 20-24 year old women in Niger were married under the age of 15. The
need to follow tradition, reinforce ties among or between communities, and
protect girls from out-of-wedlock pregnancy were the main reasons given.


(UNICEF, https://www.unicef-icdc.org/publicati...f/digest7e.pdf)