Marriage, particularly in terms of its criteria, varies a lot from place to place and country to country, with some countries imposing strict rules on how it must be performed, while others make it very easy for their citizens.
Aside from the lifespan of the marriage, there is the question of what the right marriageable age is.
In some cultures, a girl must decide when she wants to marry, usually when she has matured past the stage of adolescence, and is old enough to be considered an adult. In other cultures, however, the appropriate ages are determined not by the lady or man’s choice, but by society and, of course, their parents.
In these countries, the age of marriage is often between 10 and 13. As barbaric as it may sound, and as strange as it may appear, they still exist in today’s world.
Here are a few examples:
1. Angola:
Angola has always been in the news for its beautiful landscape and culture as much as for its controversially acceptable or appropriate age for marriage. According to sources, people in Angola are not particularly concerned with age structure or bracket; rather, the physical structure and growth of a young girl usually informs their decision, at least in some communities. Over there, girls must be at least 12 years old to be considered acceptable. What’s more, there are laws in place to punish people who have contact with girls under the age of 12. This essentially means that 12 and above is the appropriate age for intimacy.
2. Sudan
On Sudan, the appropriate age for marriage is determined not by what one might call a western standard, but by Muslim standards or status law. This law states that once a child reaches puberty, she may be ready and able to enter into marriage. This means that the child will be at least 10 years old as children continue to enter puberty at earlier ages. Intriguingly, the Marriage of Non-Muslims Act of 1926 was enacted to counter what would initially appear to be unacceptable to others who were not Muslims in the same society. This law stipulated that non-Muslims in Sudan must be 13 years old or older to marry.
3. Japan
Perhaps the most surprising country on the list is Japan, where the legal age of consent is at least 13. In this case, the age of consent is different from the age of marriage. The age of consent specifies that a girl must be at least 13 years old to engage in sexual activity or intimacy. Sources claim that when it comes to marriage, girls as young as 16 and boys as young as 18 can marry with parental consent, and girls as young as 20 can marry without parental consent.
