Early marriage linked to school drop out of girls — report

AMMAN — There is a connection between early marriage and dropping out of school among girls in Jordan, the Sisterhood Is Global Institute (SIGI) said on Sunday quoting a Department of Statistics report.

Regulations related to marriage of girls aged under 18 years old stipulate that it should be ensured that marriage does not lead to dropping out of schools, according to SIGI.

The institute noted that early marriage affects the education of girls at the school and  university levels, stressing that both primary and secondary education are basic rights.

According to the statistics, 33 per cent of the illiterate Jordanian women were married at the age of 17 or less.

Only 1.2 per cent of Jordanian women who have a bachelor degree, were married at 17 or younger.

The updated regulations governing the marriage of minors in Jordan were issued on July 16 and published in the Official Gazette.

The number of early marriages increased by 41 cases in 2016 compared to 2015, despite the efforts exerted by several institutes and agencies to raise awareness about the issue, SIGI noted.

Amman witnessed the highest number of early marriages of minors, with 3, 318 cases, followed by Irbid where 2, 265 marriages took place, while the lowest number was 51 cases in Tafileh.

Regarding cases of early marriages according to gender, SIGI indicated that 10, 907 girls were married before 18 in 2016, while the number of underage males was only 334.