Child Marriages In Canada
By Jeevan Dhindsa
When you first think about child marriage, what comes to mind? Let me guess, third-world countries such as Nigeria, Bangladesh, and India? Well, you aren’t entirely wrong. However, did you consider Canada?
Before 2015, certain provinces had a 14-year-old minimum age for marriage. Since the United Nations, with whom Canada closely works, said that marriage under the age of 18 is deemed child marriage, Canada raised the marriage age to 16 or older in 2015. However, being able to marry at 16 is still considered child marriage.
According to a study conducted by co-author and McGill assistant professor Alissa Koski, in Canada, more than 3,600 marriage certificates were handed out to children under the age of 18 from 2000 to 2018. 85% of these marriage certificates were issued to young girls who were married to men older than them. How old? 35% of these men were at least 5 years older than the bride. The highest form of formal marriage was discovered in Alberta (0.03%) and Manitoba (0.04%).
Now you are probably wondering how these life-changing certificates were granted to children since, according to the Canadian court, most provinces require parental or guardian consent for marriages under the age of 18. This brings me to my next point, which is that child marriage occurs in Canada because of poverty, bogus promises, and intense parental pressures. Take Samar Zafar as an example.
At 16 (Grade 10), Zafar was brought to Canada from Pakistan to live with her 28-year-old husband and start a new life. Her parents believed that marriage would open up multiple opportunities for her. She begged her parents to cancel the engagement or marriage, but they refused. By 18, Zafar had conceived a child and had her dreams and freedom snatched from her bare hands. She had married an abusive man, and her mother-in-law would repeatedly tell her, “You should be grateful you got to the purpose of being a woman sooner rather than later.”
Fortunately, after conceiving her second child and earning her diploma after loads of hard work, she managed to escape the marriage. Today, she is a human rights advocate. She has mentioned working with multiple young girls and hearing stories of them being victims of child marriages in Canada due to pressure and religious traditions.
You might be thinking, “Okay, let’s just raise the age to 18 now”. However, as much as I’d like to conclude this piece by declaring that formal marriage law is the only issue, I can’t. There are some more. Recently, common-law marriage has been on the rise.
Common-law marriage varies depending on the province. However, common-law marriage is usually considered to be when two partners have been living together for at least three years. If they adopt or conceive a child, they must live together for only one year.
Approximately 2,300 youngsters aged 16 to 17 had informal marriages, making up 98 percent of all child unions at the time. The highest estimate of common-law marriage is in Saskatchewan (0.5%) and the territories (1.7%).
Common law marriage is just as bad as formal marriage since, according to studies, zero security will be provided. You can feel secure knowing when you sign a contract, how much spousal or child support you will pay, how your property will be divided, and who will leave the house in the event of a divorce. With common-law marriages, there’s a lack of certainty.
Now, let’s not be too critical of Canada, as they have made significant efforts to prevent child marriages. In November 2022, Canada led two resolutions at the United Nations to end early or forced child marriages. Furthermore, in July 2023, Canada donated 35 million dollars to the Global Programme, a programme dedicated to ending child marriages around the world.
Of course, many citizens and foreigners applaud Canada for their awareness and understanding of international issues, but they believe Canada would be more credible if they first focused on eliminating child marriages in their own country.
Advocates, not only in Canada, are working hard to eliminate child marriages by protesting for the increase in the age to marry. However, clearly, simply changing the law is not the answer. Common law will just gain more popularity. Rowena Pinto, chief programme officer at UNICEF Canada, said, “Children need to be informed in school about their rights, and families should be made aware of the harmful effects of child marriage.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Hi, my name is Jeevan! In terms of politics, I particularly enjoy discussing underrepresented groups, especially women of colour and one day hope to be a voice for the voiceless