BAHRAIN: CHILD MARRIAGE

UNCLAS MANAMA 000391

SIPDIS

G/IWI FOR L. KHADIAGALA
STATE FOR NEA/ARPI

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

REF: SECSTATE 36341

Sensitive but unclassified (deliberative process); please
protect accordingly. Not for Internet distribution.


1. (U) Embassy Manama's response to reftel follows. Answers
are keyed to reftel questions.


2. (SBU) 1.A. There is no legal age of marriage in Bahrain.
Recently the King announced his support for a personal
status law, and the GOB and civil society organizations are
discussing a law, which would include a legal age of
marriage. In personal status cases involving marriage,
divorce, custody, etc., Muslims in Bahrain are subject to
Shari'a law. There are two Shari'a courts in Bahrain, one
for Sunni Muslims and the other for Shi'a Muslims. Sunni
Shari'a law in Bahrain, which is applied to approximately 30
percent of the citizens and is based on the rules of the
Maliki school of law, permits a guardian to authorize a
daughter's marriage without her consent. According to the
Shi'a Shari'a law in Bahrain, which is applied to
approximately 70 percent of the citizens and is based on the
rules of Jaafari Shi'ism, a female cannot be married unless
she gives her consent. There are approximately 420,000
Bahraini citizens and 280,000 foreigners living in Bahrain.


3. (SBU) 1.B. Underage marriage (under 18) exists only
rarely in Bahrain. The latest GOB statistics on marriage are
from 2003. In 2003, 18 girls and (and no boys) below the age
of 15 received marriage licenses. Of these, 13 were
Bahrainis and five were foreign. 1,077 females and 85 males
between the ages of 15 and 19 received marriage licenses.
Among the girls, 942 were Bahraini and 135 were foreign.
Among the boys, 73 were Bahraini and 12 were foreign. Our
contacts who commented on the issue were unanimous in their
assessment that most of the 15-19 year olds who were married
were at the older end of the category. According to a
women's rights activist, underage marriage in Bahrain is
often physically and psychologically damaging, especially in
cases where the marriage is forced by the parents. Girls who
are married at a young age could give birth to children
before their bodies are fully mature.


4. (SBU) 1.C. Currently there are no U.S.-funded initiatives
in Bahrain to reduce the incidence or address the negative
affects of child marriage. We have MEPI-funded education
programs, but these do not specifically target girls at risk
of underage marriage.
MONROE