TURKEY’S BLEEDING WOUND, CHILD BRIDES!
With Kader’s tragic death, a 14 year-old child bride who was married off at the age of 12 in Siirt making the headlines again, it has been reported that the issue of child brides, which Turkey fails to find a solution for, was also a violation of children’s rights. The latest news on 14 year-old Kader being found dead from gunshot wounds, who was married off at the age of 12 in Pervari, Siirt and lost her second child due to premature birth, once again brought the attention back to the child brides.
Prof. Dr. Ali Timur Demirbaş, Lecturer at IUE Faculty of Law, stated that they tried to raise awareness about child brides at the “Child Brides: A Legal Perspective” titled conference organized at Izmir University of Economics (IUE) two years ago and he said that child brides issue was the leading social problem of Turkey. Prof. Dr. Demirbaş, who indicated that the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Child refers to those who are under the age of eighteen as ‘child’, said, “Girls who are married of before the age of eighteen are defined as ‘child brides’ within the international law. The reality of child brides, a significant problem worldwide and in Turkey indicates that the child’s rights, which are legitimised through international agreements, are not being protected.”
'Age limit is ignored despite the law’
In Turkey the Civil Code states adolescence is over upon the completion of age eighteen, stated Demirbaş and continued, “Even though the marriage age is arranged in parallel to this, the fact that seventeen year old girls are allowed to get married with their parents’ consent and at their own will, and get married at the age of sixteen upon the ruling of the judge is still criticized. However, especially in rural areas, girls at very young ages are married off unofficially by violating even the criticized age limit.”
‘Abuse in the name of marriage’
Asst. Prof. Dr. Zeynep Şişli, Lecturer at IUE Faculty of Law, pointed out that Article 103 of the Turkish Penal Code, which took effect on June 1, 2005, states the parents and spouses would be held responsible for child abuse crime for marrying of a minor who has not reached fifteen years of age even though she has consent. Şişli stated the following about child brides:
“There are public institutions responsible for protecting the rights of children as pursuant to international declarations and legislation. However, almost every day we read sad news about young girls who are subject to abuse in the name of “marriage”, whose rights are violated. Kader Erten’s death in Siirt sadly brought the issue up again.”
