JORDAN: CHILD MARRIAGE

UNCLAS AMMAN 002286

SIPDIS

FOR G/IWI (L KHADIAGALA)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM ELAB ECON PGOV SCUL SOCI KWMN JO
SUBJECT: JORDAN: CHILD MARRIAGE

REF: STATE 36341


1. Responses to reftel questionnaire on child marriage in
Jordan are provided below:


2. The Jordanian government introduced a provisional law in
2001 in the absence of parliament that, among other things,
raised the legal marrying age for both men and women to 18
years old. Islamic shari'a court judges, who have authority
over decisions in marriage and divorce, have the ability to
grant an exception in certain circumstances, but in no case
can one marry in Jordan under 15 years of age.


3. This provisional law, formally known as "number 82" but
dubbed the "personal status law," is currently under
consideration in the Jordanian parliament. In 2004, the
Lower House of Parliament rejected the law, although the
Upper House/Senate had approved it. It now must be
re-considered by a joint session of the Upper and Lower
Houses, but no date for this session has been set. However,
according to Jordanian law, provisional laws are in full
effect and legally enforceable unless both chambers of
parliament vote to reject the law.


4. According to Jordanian government statistics, the average
age of men who married between 1998 and 2004 was 29 years of
age; for women it was 26 years of age. Of the total number
of women who married in 2004 (33,365),15.4 percent of them
(5,150) were younger than 18 years of age. In 1998, 20
percent (7585) of the total number of women who married
(37,681) were younger than 18. Contrary to the common
perception, child marriage does not appear to be more
prevalent in rural areas than urban areas of Jordan.


5. Organizations advocating women's and children's rights
have included the issue of early marriage among their
priorities and credit the decline in child marriages to the
above-mentioned legislation. NGOs worked with the GOJ to
draft, introduce, and lobby parliament on the legislation,
and remain committed to seeing the legislation approved by
both chambers. Jordan is already party to most of the
international agreements regarding women's and children's
rights, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child
(CRC) and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of
Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW),and advocated the
personal status law to complement its international
obligations. Post contacts acknowledge that the biggest
challenge is changing the cultural tradition that accepts
marriage at a young age. Their priority is to increase
public awareness about the detrimental effects of child
marriage. They are working with the Ministries of Awqaf and
Religious Affairs, Health, and Education, among others,
towards this goal.


6. There are currently no U.S.-funded initiatives in Jordan
that specifically aim to reduce the incidence or address the
negative effects of child marriage.


7. Minimize considered.

Please visit Embassy Amman's classified web site at
http://www.state.sgov/p/nea/amman/ or access the site through
the Department of State's SIPRNET home page.
HENZEL