Talk:Child marriage/Archive 1

Archive 1

Archive 2

Dead Links

Links 44 (http://www.yementimes.com/DefaultDET.aspx?i=1207&p=report&a=1), 47 (http://www.yementimes.com/defaultdet.aspx?SUB_ID=33771), 48 (http://www.yementimes.com/defaultdet.aspx?SUB_ID=33673), 49 (http://asharqalawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=15361) and 50 (http://current.com/items/89653009/child_marriage_in_saudi_arabia.htm) appear to be dead — Preceding unsigned comment added by Phlexonance (talk • contribs) 11:19, 15 August 2013 (UTC)

[Vandalism]

The article of merging unauthentic books into the entire corpus of Islam is clearly vandalism. Though it might have been posted due to limited knowledge regarding the sources that portrays stories about child marriage. The stories do not have much historical validity and therefore they cannot be posted on a page that deals with true historical information. Please see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Hadith#Alleged_frequency_of_false_Hadith

The authenticity of one or more books is purely a matter of opinion. If but a single sect of Muslims choose to believe Mother Goose was a prophet and Mother Goose books are authentic Hadith then that is their belief. Every denomination of any religion believes it is the only authentic version and their holy books are the only authentic ones and all else is false. The only thing that matters is if a particular sect believes a particular book to be authentic and they use it as justification for a particular activity that other sects don't believe in. This is common to virtually all major religions. Your claim that a list of books should not be included in the article due to being invalid is no more valid than my claim that the Q'ran is invalid because Mohamed was not a valid prophet. We both are equally sincere in our beliefs but neither one can claim superiority over the other since neither of us can prove superiority. Historically, Mohamed married a child and had sex with that child prior to the completion of puberty. That is not disputed by any valid scholar. Excluding books that describe such historic events simply because it is your opinion that they are inauthentic is not a valid argument since when it comes to religion such matters are always a matter of opinion and never supported by any facts. Therefore the list of books as originally published should be restored. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.190.53.6 (talk) 02:06, 27 March 2016 (UTC)

New section proposal:

puta has made statements about child marriage. "Forcing children, especially girls into early marriages, can be physically and emotionally harmful," Unicef executive director Carol Bellamy said. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/1206979.stm

We should add a section to the page on the UN position. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Konagold808 (talk • contribs) 08:27, 2 October 2009 (UTC)

IP contribution

pokpok kayo!!! The following text was inserted at the bottom of the article by an IP user. It is relatively POV and unencyclopedic, so I've moved it here. — Timwi 16:40, 13 November 2005 (UTC)

India has no law on child sexual abuse though we have a legislation loosely drafted under the Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929. The Child Marriage Restrain Act has only cosmetic value. For effective implementation compulsory registration of marriages should be made and violation of the Act be made in recognized offence.

Child marriage is nothing but the practice of giving away children especially minor girls by their parents in order to be rid of the economic burden which will arise in the form of her marriage once she is a major. These girls are sent to the matrimonial homes as soon as they are married, thus providing ample opportunity to any member to abuse her for the purposes of domestic work, bonded labour and sexual violation, all under the garb of marriage and custom.

Gripped by a number of superstitions and low literacy rates as the laws restraining child marriages are violated year after year on auspicious days and festivals like Ram Navami, Akshaya Tritiya, Karma Jayanti and Basant Panchami. Hundreds of people flock to the site of these mass weddings and take pride in celebrating these marriages. In Rajasthan on the festival of Teej, the most auspicious time of the year, it is customary in the Gurjar, Jat and Rawat castes to solemnize child marriages en masse.

Traditionally, after a minor girl is married off, she is meant to remain in her parental home until she attains puberty. Once it is deemed appropriate, she is given a ceremonial send off to her matrimonial home (this practice is called ‘Gauna’). In reality, the tradition is rarely observed among the Baiga, Marrar and Kanwar tribes of Chattisgarh. The people of the Gond, Kewat, and Rajak communities also indulge in this discriminatory tradition. As soon as the marriage takes place, the girl who may be anywhere between 2 -14 years old, is sent away to her matrimonial house. The reasons for this vary with each family, dowry being the most common. The belief is younger the girl, the lesser the demand for dowry. Other factors that fuel this practices is the responsibility involved in rearing an unmarried daughter, as well as the attached social stigma.

Raising the literacy level of adolescent females should receive an overriding priority. Investments and improvements in educational sector including its vocationalization could open the alternative avenues to marriage through expanded work and other options for adolescent boys and girls at the same time up grading their literacy and personal empowerment levels.

In public solemnisation of en masse marriages are presumed to be in the knowledge of the authorities, as to who should be held accountable. If individual child marriages take place without the knowledge of the authorities and they are brought to their knowledge and if no action is taken by them then authorities equally accountable. Registration to be done by Panchayat secretaries in every village. Panchayat Secretary will only register marriages between adults, in the presence of witnesses (beyond family). If Panchayat Secretary is aware of any child marriage being taking place/ to take place or having taken place, he shall be bound to immediately i.e. within 24 hrs report the matter in writing to the police, collector etc and take steps within the village to prevent child marriages. Registration of births, deaths as per the Registrar of births and deaths Act.

• Generate awareness programmes by broadcasting the order on television/radio /local media/school curricula
• Superintendent of Police & SHO to be held accountable

Collector, BDO or equivalent officer, panchayat secretary in rural areas

• In urban areas registration of child marriages under Municipality offices
• Registration by District/sub registrar under the Special Marriage Act.

By: Ms. Vaishali Sood is a Women’s Rights Advocate based in New Delhi

I think the above contribution, although quite one-sided, is a good representation of how quasi-modern society in India is dealing with the problem. Very specific to the perceived ills of Indian child marriages, it deserves to be part of a seperate article along with the opposite POV of course. Pranab 21:28, 16 December 2005 (UTC)

I also agree that the above was a clearly opinionated, but also very well writen. If Ms. Vaishali Sood is the anon I.P., we would be lucky indeed to have her as a contributer. Either way, an excellent read, thank you. Sam Spade 05:49, 30 December 2005 (UTC)

grammar

"Child marriage is a practice in which the parents of a small child (even infants) arrange a future marriage with another child's parents." So Susie's parents arranger for her to mary Mr. and Mr. Johnny? I changed this.

Globalize tag

Please see the reason for my edit at Template_talk:Globalize#Examples_vs._Perspectives. Xiner (talk, email) 00:50, 2 January 2007 (UTC)

Child Marriage Prevention Programs

I'm a relatively new wikipedia user, so please excuse any lack of protocol.

Would this be an appropriate page to post a list of child marriage prevention programs that are operating in the developing world? I could make a new section above the "See Also" section labeled "Child Marriage Prevention Programs" with a current list of programs, listed by region and including Web sites if they are available.

Or would it be more appropriate to create a seperate wikipedia page? Thanks for any input or ideas you may have.

Breadintern 19:12, 11 June 2007 (UTC)

Please verify your data on child marriages in the Philippines. I know that the Philippine Family Code does not condone marriages before the age of 18.

"results" of child marriage

Feel free to disagree with me, but I don't believe you can really claim that "particular problems which child marriage has resulted in," include "obstetric fistulae, prematurity, childbirth mortality, sexually transmitted diseases, including cervical cancer, and malaria."

Those (at least some of them) are results of sexual behavior and early childbirth, neither of which are always results of marriage, especially child marriage. Being married doesn't mean you have sex, and it certainly doesn't mean you give birth. What's more, I would say that STDs are, if anything, more often prevented by marriage than caused by it.

Certainly it's possible that one could demonstrate a higher incidence of these things in child marriages, but they are not direct results of the marriages.

Also, last I checked, malaria is not an STD. It is caused by mosquito bites, and very occasionally blood transfusions, but I don't think those are results of child marriage, either.

I am not comfortable with doing major edits yet, but if someone else agrees with me, perhaps they might do so. Thanks! RB3 17:14, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

It doesn't say that malaria is an STD. Malaria continues the list of "prematurity, childbirth mortality, STDs, and malaria". Cervical cancer is given as an example of an STD. Anyway, I was also goofed by how malaria can be caused by child marriage, but I found a pretty good source for it that explains it well and is credible, so added that. Therefore, I don't think this should be removed. Jenste (talk) 15:01, 8 April 2008 (UTC)

---

Well, i will disagree with part of what you say. You are correct in saying that child marriage, in and of itself, does not result in fistula, maternal or infant mortality or anything else. However, child brides are more likely to suffer from these conditions than women who marry in their 20s (see either of the ICRW references).

As to STDs. Unfortunately, many child brides are married to much older men who are likely to have had previous sexual partners. And child brides are not usually allowed to demand that their husband use a condom, as one would in this country. There was a small study in Kenya, i believe, that showed that girls who have sex outside of marriage are actually less likely to contract HIV because, in part, they are able to negotiate condom use. Again, simply being married does not cause STDs, but in many parts of the world, it is certainly not a protective factor. And i agree that malaria is certainly not an STD.

While marriage does not demand that sex occur, it is common in areas where child marriage is common that the girl begin intercourse soon after menarche. As described earlier, gender and age dynamics limit the ability of child brides to resist sexual debut, sometimes by force of their husband.

Much of this information can be found here (http://www.icrw.org/html/getinvolved/aboutchildmarriage.htm) 209.183.203.210 19:29, 24 July 2007 (UTC)

cleanup/list of groups

Of course all groups trying to stop this practice are lovely, but that part of the article is sort of in list form and not very wikified. Merkinsmum 00:38, 20 January 2008 (UTC)

Well its been months since this tag was on. And any rate it should not read like an advert to specific programs. Citations to show opponents are working hard against it are good, but one must also have the proponent view. Lihaas (talk) 17:50, 9 September 2008 (UTC)

Definition of child

The definition of child varies throughout the article and may vary in the references cited. A reader who does not pick up on this can come away with an incorrect interpretation of the article. In places, it also conflicts with the definition of the word in the country or culture under discussion and/or conflicts with the definition the reader may have in mind.

I recommend adding text to the opening stating that the definition of "child marriage" varies with country and culture, and spelling out the definition in use in each part of the article. In places, the article will need to be changed: For example, in the United States, "child marriage" is generally considered marriage before age 16-18, which is generally not allowed without a court order. The current wording of that paragraph states that "Child marriage is legal in the United States." This should be changed to "In the United States, the term child marriage generally refers to marriage before the age of 14-16. In most of the United States the age of marriage is 16 or older with parental consent except under special circumstances such as a court order or pregnancy." This will reflect the usage in the United States. Similar changes should be made in other parts of the article. davidwr/(talk)/(contribs)/(e-mail) 18:44, 6 September 2008 (UTC)

Its 16 in the US? i didnt know that. except maybe utah, and Yearning for Zion. but yeah, with variations it makes perfect sense to do so. maybe a map of the definition would be best. can someone make this? Lihaas (talk) 03:23, 7 September 2008 (UTC)

US laws vary by state, but according to Marriageable_age#Americas even with parental consent you have to be 16 or a judge's approval in almost every state. California, Georgia, Hawaii, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, and Ohio appear to be exceptions but most of those you have to be 15, pregnant, or a father-to-be to marry without court approval. davidwr/(talk)/(contribs)/(e-mail) 05:15, 7 September 2008 (UTC)

As the previous contributor stated, the age at which marriage can take place varies by state. In Rhode Island, for example, the law is somewhat ambiguous. Rhode Island law makes 18 the minimum age but there is another place where the law permits a judge to "order" a person under 18 to marry. I have heard of that law used to make it possible for girls as young as 14 to marry. Historically, many states permitted marriage of 12 year old girls though in most circumstances that required parental consent. I would like to point out that there are three definitions, each valid in their own context, for the word "child." First there is a legal definition which varies by jurisdiction. Second there is a clinical definition which varies by individual but generally is defined as a person who has not yet completed puberty. Finally there is a social definition which varies by culture. In the U.S. culturally 18 is considered that age at which a person stops being a child, however in some colonies before the formation of the U.S. a child was anyone under 20. Also historically there have been places and periods of history where any girl who could reproduce was not considered a child by the community. In Spanish culture, for example, a girl was considered available for marriage at 15. In my own high school in the 1970's there was a married couple in my class. They married at 16. But in that state the minimum age for marriage is now 18 with no exceptions. The definition of child and of child marriage has been fluid throughout history. It would be very important for there to be a discussion of the definition of child within the article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.190.53.6 (talk) 02:21, 27 March 2016 (UTC)

On the other hand, this article is not about the legal definition of a minor. Short mention could be made of the age a person is considered a child per religion, for example, but regarding civil law, I'd suffice with a general mention that there are various definitions, and then continue with the general rules that apply. Debresser (talk) 18:06, 27 March 2016 (UTC)

child marrige in michigan

I am pretty sure in mich a person can marry at 17 with permission from either the parents or caregiver (caregivers)all across the country it is 18 without permission--Sweetheart2009 (talk) 01:10, 10 July 2009 (UTC)sweetheart2009

Yemen?

Yemen is not listed as practicing child marriage. Am I wrong in saying that they do? I thought that 12yo girl that recently died in childbirth was from Yemen, as well as the 10yo -- Nujood Ali, I think it was -- that got a divorce by herself? Sapiencia (talk) 19:56, 2 December 2009 (UTC)

See Nujood Ali and Anti-Slavery International. I hope someone takes the initiative to check the resources available from the internet and develop the Nujood Ali article, so that some justice is done to her efforts. Regards Wotnow (talk) 03:09, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

Canada

added a section on Canada. from what I understand in Canada you have to be 16-18 to get married at all unless your pregnant. Can someone confirm that's true? Also should the Mormon colonies like Bountiful, British Columbia be mentioned? I know that they tend to have the Canadian and US governments investigating them because of child marriages.

Tydoni (talk) 00:09, 5 January 2010 (UTC)

Europe and Christianity

What about Europe and Christianity? Why are those topics missing from this page? Child Marriage was widespread in Europe in the middle ages and only condemned by the catholic church it involved an adult and a child under 7 yrs. Way to go Medieval catholic church! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jamesbrummel100 (talk • contribs) 19:06, 6 May 2010 (UTC)

Indeed it is quitte shocking that this part of European history is omitted (on purpose?) here. Child marriage was especially widespread among the ruling families of Europe, dukes, counts, earls and such, and almost inevitably kings and emperors from Byzantium to Scotland and from Iberian Peninsula to Russia for at least 1100 years (500-1600 common era). To wit: it was a model by the ruling classes that hoi polloi could only aspire to mimick (but didn't, ever, to such an extent).

The way this article is written, ommitting European significant involvement in child marriages, it becomes racist, as it denigrates all other cultures, whgile hiding thios shameful part of European history. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.33.247.11 (talk) 07:37, 21 June 2012 (UTC)

This article is not about the history of child marriage but describes the practice as it stands today. The article documents those countries where it is still practiced, legally or not, which also includes, by the way, the United States. Therefore this article's tone is not racist nor is it a "denigration" of culture but sums up what is fact. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.23.105.146 (talk) 09:13, 24 April 2013 (UTC)

Reference to "Main article: Child marriage in Judaism"

There is no such main article in Wiki!

New Article Proposal

As part of an assignment for my Gender and Economic Development in the Third World class, I plan on creating a new child marriage page specifically dedicated to India. I felt I needed to create a new page rather than contribute to this one because child marriage is such a prevalent issue in India, and I wanted to get into the specific details of this country, whereas this page seems to be more of an overview of child marriage across the world. These are the sections I hope to include: the definition of a child/child marriage, the history of child marriage in India, the laws against child marriage in India, why parents choose child marriage, the consequences, and prevention programs. Any other sections I've left out that need to be included? Chelseygruber (talk) 16:06, 19 March 2012 (UTC)

Iran

I noticed that, in another Wikipedia article Marriage, information - not added by myself - about a push (by Mohammad Ali Isfenani) to legalize marriage to girls as young as nine, with a citation from Front Page Magazine [1], was removed for being "POV" and backed by an 'unreliable' source. Having just today received a petition against the threatened change to Iranian law, I've checked and found another article, this time in the International Business Times, which suggests that this may be true [2]. I'm tempted to put this information in the Child marriage article, but would be grateful if anyone can tell me if IBT is also 'unreliable'. Alfietucker (talk) 18:37, 11 September 2012 (UTC)

Systematic issues

It seems to me that there are some systematic issues with this article:

• The statistical data focuses on a small subset of countries. Larger subsets are covered at [3] and [4]. I suggest the statistics could be combined with independently referenced legal status columns and maybe a 'notes' column for links to notable instances (such as the YFZ situation)
• In the regional breakdown there is an mingling of modern and 100 years old information, without clear separation. Note that the long historical section on Marquesas Islands, actually falls under France in the official stats.

HTH. Stuartyeates (talk) 23:56, 18 October 2012 (UTC)

More generally, this article is rife with a mish-mash of statistics that muddle and/or exaggerate the serious problem of underage marriage. The primary sources are UN Children's Fund and Population Council, with WHO brought in only occasionally. Thus, we see "ages 15-19" and "under 18" cited in a large fraction of statistics, despite very clear examples in the text that many countries allow marriage under 18 (e.g., US) or even legally declare a person an adult at 17 (e.g. Indonesia).

Cleanup should focus on citing studies of marriages under the local age of majority (legal adulthood) rather than presume a universalist moral code determined by the United Nations. References to "under 18" in the context of "child marriage" need to be qualified as based on "global consensus" not absolute truth (see my edit of the first sentence of lead).Martindo (talk) 07:51, 19 October 2016 (UTC)

What you ask for is not always realistically possible. Often the UN statistics are the only reliable source available. Debresser (talk) 20:04, 19 October 2016 (UTC)

European Judaism section seems out of place

The section on European Judaism seems to differ from all other sections in dealing primarily with historical, rather than contemporary practices. Therefore, I am going to "be bold" and move it to a new article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Davidhof (talk • contribs) 19:55, 8 January 2013 (UTC)

I agree. In fact, this topic was already discussed in Jewish views on marriage#Child_marriage, although the discussion here was more expansive. I moved the material to the Jewish views on marriage page and am removing it from this page, where it does not belong. I am, however, adding a "see also" at the bottom. Scarletfire2112 (talk) 07:19, 17 March 2013 (UTC)

incorrect figures

incorrect figures: "About 22% of Indonesian girls experience child marriage every year" So at the age of 5 all girls are married? Or do they remarry? What is 'experience'? Do they marry them self as a child or do visit a child wedding ceremony of a relative? 193.89.221.64 (talk) 12:26, 7 October 2013 (UTC)

Definition of Child Marriage

Thank you Flyer22 for your comments. The reason I removed "18" was because I thought it unnecessary to include a precise age as part of the definition of child marriage in this general article.

There are various interpretations as to when childhood ends and therefore what constitutes child marriage. When specific ages are important, such as in statistics, these are already referred to in their definitions.

The UNICEF definition of "child marriage", as a formal marriage or informal union before age 18 is their definition and, although 18 is generally accepted these days as the age when a child becomes an adult, it not universal. This Wikipedia article itself includes references to the Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929 which made the legal minimum age of marriage in India for girls 18 and boys 21. The Wikipedia article Marriageable age shows a range of legal ages.

I should really have removed the citation of UNICEF when I removed "18" but I felt the link contained some useful information on the subject.Felann96 (talk) 15:51, 1 February 2014 (UTC)

I still disagree with removal of "18," per the reasons I cited in the edit summaries shown here. I stated, "The source says age 18; age 18 is also the age of majority in most parts of the world (by a vast majority). ... And given that the age of majority can go all the way up to age 21, we certainly don't need anyone thinking that we mean people older than 18 (including as old as 21) [when we state 'child']." I don't know of any WP:Reliable source that considers 18 and/or 18 to 21-year-olds to be children when they are in a marriage. And rarely are people in that age range even considered to be non-adults; when they are, it's usually psychology discussion about whether or not 18 and 19-year-olds and/or early 20s-somethings are adults mentally. Flyer22 (talk) 16:03, 1 February 2014 (UTC)

And like the lead of the Marriageable age article currently states, "The marriage age should not be confused with the age of majority or the age of consent, though in some places they may be the same." I would not mind rewording the lead of the Child marriage article so it states "usually 18" or something like that, but we should add an additional WP:Reliable source for "usually" or similar, since the UNICEF source does not use such qualifiers for "18." Flyer22 (talk) 16:09, 1 February 2014 (UTC)

On a side note: Pinging Legitimus; maybe he can help with this matter. Flyer22 (talk) 16:14, 1 February 2014 (UTC)

Thank you Flyer22 for your prompt response. I just didn't think it necessary to include a specific age as part of the definition of Child Marriage; I saw "child" as an adequate term. But I can see now that a child could mean a person of any age, for example your parents are still children of their parents no matter what age they may be.Felann96 (talk) 18:24, 1 February 2014 (UTC)

Well, I'm sure that people know that we don't mean legal adults, and especially not people in their late 20s and over, when we state "child" regarding this topic. Anyway, I just now read your latest reply because I was waiting to see if Legitimus would comment...which I would have seen from my WP:Watchlist; I guess that he doesn't have anything to offer that would help this discussion. Flyer22 (talk) 13:15, 2 February 2014 (UTC)

I do also feel that a chronological age needs to be specified due to the linguistic ambiguity of the word "child" for the reasons stated above. Even the individual person requires some clear context when the word "child" is used to understand what someone means by it.Legitimus (talk) 16:11, 2 February 2014 (UTC)

Thank you Flyer22 and Legitimus. If there has to be a specific age when a child becomes an adult, most people, at least where I live in England, see it as 18. I have some questions and points to ponder. Were 20-year-olds called children (before 1970 in the UK) when the voting age was 21? Because, before 1973, all those aged over 14 using buses and trains in London had to pay adult fares; and children's fares on airlines were only available to those under 12. The voting ages in many South American countries and Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man have been reduced to 16 in recent years. If 16 became the international norm for voting would those over 16 no longer be considered children and would it effect the definition of this article?Felann96 (talk) 04:14, 3 February 2014 (UTC)

The matter of concern of concern in child marriage is equality and often this hinges on being old enough to be able to make legal decisions for oneself and enter into legal contracts. If one partner in a marriage is completely dependent on the other for all matters that require the legal autonomy of an adult, it is not equal. In the overwhelming majority of countries this is age 18. Voting age is a poor example because choosing candidates for public office is a long way away from, for exampling, buying a car, getting a loan, or signing a lease (practical matters that would permit the partner to leave the union if they were mistreated or unhappy). Similarly, age at which adult fare is charged is also a bad example because that is based on how much room the person physically occupies in a seat combined with the conflict of interest with transit entities to charge people more money if they can get away with it.Legitimus (talk) 14:04, 3 February 2014 (UTC)

File:Legality of child marriage.png

@M Tracy Hunter: Can you explain what you mean by teenage mother; what does that have to do with child marriage? Also, the map should stay on the article but if you have any problems with the map you should discuss them at the map's talk page. --Prcc27 (talk) 21:29, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

@Prcc27: - Please see this UNICEF page. Informal unions of teenagers are widely considered by reliable sources as a form of child marriage, and teenage motherhood is considered evidence of such informal unions. Informal unions are not "fully outlawed/abolished and criminalized" in EU and USA as alleged by the map. That map does not cite its source, it appears to be a violation of WP:NOR policy. Can you provide the data source behind the map? M Tracy Hunter (talk) 17:04, 24 June 2014 (UTC)

@M Tracy Hunter: Please see [5] for sources. --Prcc27 (talk) 18:36, 24 June 2014 (UTC)

@Prcc27: - Wikipedia articles are not acceptable source/cites, see WP:WPNOTRS. I checked sources cited in that wiki article for several countries. I see no mention of "child marriage" or the color code captions alleged in the map, for example "fully outlawed/abolished and criminalized". See the case of Kenya and Algeria for example - both coded brown, but there is no support for "child marriage commonly practiced despite laws against it". Please provide a reliable published source for data in this map and caption claims alleged therein. M Tracy Hunter (talk) 19:47, 24 June 2014 (UTC)

Let us continue the discussion here. Let us avoid repetition. M Tracy Hunter (talk) 19:51, 24 June 2014 (UTC)

Fringe opinion on Aisha's age of marriage

@Flyer22: For NPOV, we should not express or imply WP:FRINGE opinions as mainstream. (1) Muhammad Ali's fringe views have been published by Ahamadiyya Anjuman Ishaat Islam. This is from Ahmadiyya sect of Islam, representing a fraction of 1% of the global Muslim population. Sunni (majority), Shia (next largest) and smaller sects of Islam consider Ahmadiyya views as wrong, fringe and contrary to mainstream Islamic thought - they even persecute the Ahmadiyya for Ahmadiyya views. Clearly Ahmadiyya views are not mainstream Islam views. (2) Sahih al-Bukhari is considered an authentic hadith, and one of the most trusted books in mainstream Islam (99%+). Show me one respected Islamic scholar who claims Sahih al-Bukhari is unauthentic, false and does not reflect the views of vast majority of Muslims. Wiki articles are not a proper, WP:RS source for other wiki articles.

@Legitimus: Removing Sahih al-Bukhari and inserting an opinion of Ahmadiyya scholar from a persecuted minority sect that mainstream Islam disagrees with, is unconvincing for this article, as well as in other Islam-related wikipedia articles. The 13th century Ibn Khallikan is also WP:FRINGE - he is rarely cited in 20th or 21st century publications on Islam. Our goal here should be to summarize the mainstream scholarly sources, with NPOV summary of all major sides.

I have revised the article for balance and NPOV. Let us discuss this here, then update that part per consensus. LukeNancy (talk) 15:47, 18 August 2014 (UTC)

Well that exceeds my knowledge of Islam. I was going on what it said in the main article about Aisha and merely copied over the source. If what you say is in fact true, you have much bigger fish to fry over at Aisha#Age_at_marriage. I imagine you will find much more knowledgeable editors there.

Regardless, I felt the phrasing of the text was a bit heavy-handed by taking the time to specifically quote the text. Readers don't need to be bludgeoned with this information, especially when the other stated religions and cultures are give a sentence or two at most. I may not be Muslim but I don't think very highly of picking on anyone's religion.Legitimus (talk) 17:36, 18 August 2014 (UTC)

This article needs to be WP:COMPREHENSIVE, with truthful and complete information. The quote provides truthfulness and completeness - in historical context, in context of possible causes, and in context of the current debate in Islamic countries (see the cited quoted from Yemen). The discussion of WP:FRINGE opinion of Muhammad Ali in this article is WP:UNDUE - Ahmadiyya sect views are not mainstream; majority sect Muslims have called Ahmadiyya as non-Muslim heretics. The earlier version was shorter, better. LukeNancy (talk) 19:42, 18 August 2014 (UTC)

LukeNancy, thanks for bringing this matter to the talk page. I'm not well-versed in religious topics, but as someone who works on medical articles, is a part of WP:MED, I don't need to be informed that we should follow the WP:FRINGE guideline. Neither does Legitimus, another editor who works on medical articles and is familiar with WP:FRINGE. As for Ahmadiyya, I was not simply going by Ali's beliefs; I was going by Legitimus's knowledge of the subject (what he has stated before; for example, see Talk:Pedophilia/Archive 18#Muhammed: Notable historical examples section) and the fact that, like the Marriage to Muhammad section at the Aisha article currently points out, and pointed out before your changes there, some scholars disagree on Aisha's age at the time of consummation of the marriage. That section currently states, "Some traditional sources disagree.", and points to sources other than Ahmadiyya; in other words, Ahmadiyya is not the only one cited as having the belief that Aisha was not under age 10 at the time of consummation of the marriage. In the section's final paragraph, for example, it currently relays, "American historian Denise Spellberg states that 'these specific references to the bride's age reinforce Aisha's pre-menarcheal status and, implicitly, her virginity. They also suggest the variability of Aisha's age in the historical record.'" Muslim scholars are not the only scholars permitted for citation on this topic. And considering how controversial this topic is, with a variety of different views, as is all religious topics, I don't know that your presentation on this matter is the way we should go (well, I know that we don't need the quote and that it is not hefty enough for WP:Blockquote). Therefore, I'll alert Wikipedia:WikiProject Religion and Wikipedia:WikiProject Islam to this discussion.

For others, this debate started with this edit that Master931 (talk · contribs) made. He removed the unsourced Aisha text. In this WP:Dummy edit, I stated that I did not revert him on that...considering that the text was unsourced and is debatable. LukeNancy showed up days later to add the text back, but with sources and more material. With this WP:Dummy edit, I stated "Sources or not, the Aisha matter is still debatable, as is indicated at Aisha#Marriage to Muhammad." Legitimus showed up to make this edit, stating, "rm added text and source that this is contested by scholars, per main article on the subject. rm quote as it is unnecessary and potentially misleading." And here LukeNancy partly reverted Legitimus and added more material. Flyer22 (talk) 08:56, 19 August 2014 (UTC)

I alerted the aforementioned WikiProjects to this discussion here and here. Flyer22 (talk) 09:10, 19 August 2014 (UTC)

@Flyer22: Thank you. The only source I have not addressed so far is the Denise Spellberg reference (ISBN 978-0231079990) mentioned in Aisha article. Denise discusses Aisha's age at marriage on pages 39-40, wrapping it with this statement, "these specific references to the bride's age reinforce Aisha's pre-menarcheal status and, implicitly, her virginity. They also suggest the variability of Aisha's age in the historical record." If we read "these specific references" of Denise Spellberg, she is identifying Aisha's age at marriage as 6 or 7; age when that marriage was consummated as 9 or 10, predominantly nine. For convenience, I quote Denise Spellberg from her two lists:

Quote 1 (list 1): Page 39, Denise quotes the Sahih al-Bukhari sunnah. It is also the quote in this article, with Aisha's age at marriage as 6, consummation as 9.

Quote 2 (list 2): Page 40, Denise quotes the sources as, "Aisha was seven (7) when she married the Prophet and nine (9) when the union was consummated."

Quote 3 (combined lists): Page 40, Denise writes, "Aisha's age is a major pre-occupation in Ibn Sa'd where her marriage varies between six and seven; nine seems constant as her age at the marriage's consummation."

Quote 4 (exception): Page 40, Denise identifies only one exception in her review of literature. This is from Ibn Hisham's, "Aisha's age may have been ten (10) years old when the Prophet consummated the marriage."

Nowhere does Denise Spellberg suggest any mainstream Islam source suggesting Aisha age as nineteen (19). For this child marriage article, there is a huge difference between marriage and sex with a girl of age 10 or less, and one where she is 19 year old. I am herewith adding the Denise Spellberg reference to this article as well. If you or anyone else has any other reliable mainstream Islam sources on this subject, please share. I will read them and return with comments on this talk page. LukeNancy (talk) 12:41, 19 August 2014 (UTC)

Thanks again, LukeNancy. What made you address the 19 years old bit? I don't see that age mentioned above, besides your post. And in the aforementioned linked discussion with Legitimus, he doesn't state "19" either; he states "Some sources indicate she was age 16-18 when they were married." Other than the commonly cited age 9, it seems that some sources suggest that she was one year or a few years (rather than several years) older than age 9 when the marriage was consummated. Since the vast majority of sources state age 9, I understand your point about giving WP:Due weight to that age. As for "there is a huge difference between marriage and sex with a girl of age 10 or less, and one where she is 19 year old," that applies to more than just the Child marriage article of course.

Anyway, since I don't have a lot of knowledge in this religious topic, and since no one else has yet weighed in on the matter, I'll leave it to you, such as this and this latest edit you made. I have the Child marriage article on my WP:Watchlist, though, and can help with other matters regarding it, so no need to ping me to this talk page per WP:Echo. Flyer22 (talk) 13:55, 20 August 2014 (UTC)

The entire history section is contradicted by another Wikipedia article

The article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_ancient_Rome claims that girls in Ancient Rome were not often married before or at puberty but rather that most girls married in their late teens and early twenties. Another article about women's right in Greece also on Wikipedia says women rarely married before the age of 20 in Ancient Sparta which is a part of Greece. This means that a lot of the history section is going to need to be changed because clearly child marriage was not nearly as common in Ancient Times as the section's author assumes.

Average ages of marriage varied widely in the ancient world and between different tribes and groups. Unlike the Ancient Spartans, Athenian girls usually married soon after their menarche. Felann96 (talk) 06:57, 12 February 2016 (UTC)

Revisions

I am a student in Feminist Economics and Public Policy and am making revisions to this page as part of a class assignment. I plan to make additions to existing sections with more detailed or current information. I am also planning to add information about a) research on the effects of child marriage on economic development and b) refugee policy and child marriage among Middle Eastern refugees. I am making these revisions because there are various aspects of this page that have not yet been updated with current issues and research on this topic, particularly since the UN held its first panel on this topic in Sept. 2014.

The following are some of the sources I will be citing in my revisions: Peer-reviewed journal articles: Chacko, Elizabeth. 2003. “Marriage, development, and the status of women in Kerala, India.” Gender & Development 11: (2). http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/741954317#.VTFq9Uu9X8E

Field, Erica and Attila Ambrus. 2008. “Early Marriage, Age of Menarche, and Female Schooling Attainment in Bangladesh.” Journal of Political Economy. http://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/3200264/ambrus_earlymarriage.pdf?sequence=2

Nour, Nawal. 2006. “Health Consequences of Child Marriage in Africa.” Perspectives 12: (11). http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/12/11/06-0510_article

Raj, Anita. 2010. “When the Mother Is a Child: The Impact of Child Marriage on the Health and Human Rights of Girls.” Archives of Disease in Childhood 95 (11): 931–35. doi:10.1136/adc.2009.178707.http://adc.bmj.com/content/early/2010/10/07/adc.2009.178707.short

Raj, Anita, Niranjan Saggurti, Donta Balaiah, and Jay G Silverman. 2009. “Prevalence of Child Marriage and Its Effect on Fertility and Fertility-Control Outcomes of Young Women in India: A Cross-Sectional, Observational Study.” The Lancet 373 (9678): 1883–89. http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(09)60246-4/abstract

Nour, N. M. 2009. Child Marriage: A Silent Health and Human Rights Issue. Reviews in Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2(1), 51–56. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2672998/

Raj, Anita, Lotus McDougal, and Melanie L. A. Rusch. 2012. “Changes in Prevalence of Girl Child Marriage in South Asia.” JAMA 307 (19). doi:10.1001/jama.2012.3497.

Lee-Rife, Susan, Anju Malhotra, Ann Warner, and Allison McGonagle Glinski. 2012. "What Works to Prevent Child Marriage: A Review of the Evidence." Studies In Family Planning 43, no. 4: 287-303. EconLit with Full Text, EBSCOhost.

Nguyen, Minh Cong, and Quentin Wodon. 2012. "Measuring Child Marriage." Economics Bulletin 32, no. 1: 398-411. EconLit with Full Text, EBSCOhost.

Gaffney-Rhys, Ruth. 2011. “International Law as an Instrument to Combat Child Marriage.” The International Journal of Human Rights 15 (3): 359–73. doi:10.1080/13642980903315398. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13642980903315398#.VTM0iUu9X8E

Singh, Kirti, and Diviya Kapur. 2001. Law, violence, and the girl child. Health and human rights 5, (2): 8-29, http://search.proquest.com/docview/60453490?accountid=14657.

Charles, Lorraine, and Kate Denman. 2013. “Syrian and Palestinian Syrian Refugees in Lebanon: The Plight of Women and Children.” Journal of International Women’s Studies 14.5: 96–111.

Berti, Benedetta. 2015. “The Syrian Refugee Crisis: Regional and Human Security Implications.” Strategic Assessment 17 (4).

Additional Sources/Reports: Rabi, Amjad. 2014. “Cost of Inaction: Child and Adolescent Marriage in Nepal.” UNICEF Nepal Working Paper Series. http://girlsnotbrides.theideabureau.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/UNICEF-Nepal-Cost-of-Inaction_WPo1_2014.pdf

Parsons, Jennifer; McCleary-Sills, Jennifer. 2014. Preventing child marriage: lessons from World Bank Group gender impact evaluations. enGender Impact : the World Bank's Gender Impact Evaluation Database. Washington, DC : World Bank Group. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2014/08/20105853/preventing-child-marriage-lessons-world-bank-group-gender-impact-evaluations

Warner, Ann, Stoebenau, Kristen and Allison M. Glinski. 2014. More Power to Her: How Empowering Girls Can Help End Child Marriage.” International Center for Research on Women. http://www.icrw.org/publications/more-power-her-how-empowering-girls-can-end-child-marriage

Early Marriage: Child Spouses. 2001. UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre. http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/digest7e.pdf.

Ending Child Marriage in a Generation: What Research is Necessary? Ford Foundation.http://www.fordfoundation.org/pdfs/library/EndingChildMarriage.pdf

Nguyen, Minh Cong and Quentin Wodon. 2012. “Child Marriage and Education: A Major Challenge.” http://www.ungei.org/files/Child_Marriage_Edu_Note.pdf

Jain, Saranga and Kathleen Kurz. 2007. New Insights on Preventing Child Marriage. International Center for Research on Women. http://wpfpak.org/pdfs/GBV-RH/ProgramResources/2007-new-insights-preventing-child-marriage.pdf

Malhotra, Anju, Ann Warner, Allison McGonagle, and Susan Lee-Rife. 2011. Solutions to End Child-Marriage. International Center for Research on Women. http://www.icrw.org/files/publications/Solutions-to-End-Child-Marriage.pdf.

Please let me know if you have any comments or feedback on these proposed revisions. Thanks!

Keareid (talk) 11:50, 30 April 2015 (UTC) Keareid

Hi Kearied! I think your additions were very helpful and significant to the article. I might suggest adding more blue links throughout your section and proofreading one more time for a few minor grammar issues. Emeyer76 (talk) 15:37, 13 May 2015 (UTC)

Suggestions

Kearied - I like your contributions of the Development and International initiatives sections as well as some of the nuances added to existing sections. To counter some of the inherent bias in the article that child marriage is bad, it might be useful to create a section on views in favor of child marriage, or an explanation of why certain cultures came to practice it. This could also be included under the History section. Moreover, given the changes to the body of the article, I might consider making the overview of child marriage more concise, as it is now redundant with other sections. Dthim (talk) 15:48, 13 May 2015 (UTC)

The lead of this article and WP:BRD discussion

I have reverted some unreferenced and grossly incorrect claims in the lead that violated WP:OR, WP:NPOV and WP:LEAD guidelines. For example, "On a global scale, rates of child marriage are highest in South Asia followed by West and Central Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa" is simply not true, is inconsistent with the main article and inappropriate. The lead needs to be short summary of main points of the article, and not an editorial and an opinion soapbox per WP:WWIN. Lets discuss concerns with the previously stable lead in light of the main text. LukeNancy (talk) 22:20, 14 May 2015 (UTC)

I haven't yet looked at all of the disputed text, but Keareid and Park Lexington (talk · contribs) are the editors to most recently significantly expand the article. Keareid explained above (see the #Revisions section), while Park Lexington has not been communicating with other editors (as seen and noted on Park Lexington's talk page). Flyer22 (talk) 00:05, 15 May 2015 (UTC)

Keareid's edits are fine. I like the addition of Development and International initiatives section. LukeNancy (talk) 15:46, 15 May 2015 (UTC)

Thanks for your feedback to my edits, LukeNancy! I agree with your concerns about the recent changes to the intro section. I also think it would be valuable to move some of the content from the intro to main text sections of the article and make sure that the intro text is not overly repetitive with main text content. Keareid (talk) 00:51, 18 May 2015 (UTC)

Keareid, as noted above, LukeNancy already reverted the changes that were made to the lead, and made other changes. As for detail in the lead, per WP:Lead, the lead should adequately summarize the article. So the lower part of the article should be redundant to the lead.

On a side note: Regarding this edit you made, I fixed your username with this post, and WP:Pinging only works with new signatures. Flyer22 (talk) 01:12, 18 May 2015 (UTC)

That stated, I do understand about not having the lead be overly redundant. Flyer22 (talk) 01:17, 18 May 2015 (UTC)

Recent sourcing; see WP:Reliable sources

As seen with this edit, I reverted Brianboatman (talk · contribs) on using a jewishencyclopedia.com source because it does not qualify as WP:Reliable, and Zero0000 reverted me, stating, "You need to have a better reason that claiming that a very eminent source is unreliable." Rh73 came along after posting to my talk page about a different matter, and added a different source for Brianboatman's content; this is seen here and here. I take it that Rh73 followed me to this article. Since then, Brianboatman has added more poorly sourced text to the article. I don't see how this newadvent.org source qualifies as a WP:Reliable source. That stated, I have seem newadvent.org used on Wikipedia for religious material; I could ask about that at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Religion.

Zero0000 is incorrect that I "need to have a better reason that claiming that a very eminent source is unreliable." It is his opinion that the source is "eminent." If it's WP:Unreliable, it's WP:Unreliable, and it should not be used. I have no issue at all taking this matter (meaning these two sourcing aspects) to the WP:Reliable sources noticeboard for wider input. And, clearly, that is what I'm going to have to do in this case. Flyer22 (talk) 06:14, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

Looking at the Jewish Encyclopedia article, it does seem this encyclopedia is reputable. But looking at the WP:Reliable sources noticeboard's archives, I don't see where it or its online counterpart's reliability has been discussed there before. Flyer22 (talk) 06:23, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

By contrast, the Encyclopædia Britannica, which is widely considered reputable, has been discussed more than once at the WP:Reliable sources noticeboard. Flyer22 (talk) 06:27, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

The reason it has not appeared at RSN is that nobody has questioned its reliability despite it being cited in thousands of articles. That proves the community consensus to be that it is reliable. Nevertheless, as a general principle, old sources should be replaced by modern sources where possible. The treatment of the Jewish experience in this article is quite deficient, and the new addition while true doesn't help very much. In fact, child marriage was a regular feature of Jewish society until the modern period, especially in Arab countries. It is quite misleading to cite rabbinical advice against it then immediately jump to Islamic society with "In contrast". I have a lot of modern scholarly sources on this subject but finding the energy to digest and summarise them isn't easy. Incidentally, I can tell you that the particular matter Rh73 cited from the JE came almost word for word from the 1884 book "The Jewish Law of Marriage and Divorce" by Rev. Dr. M. Mielziner (in those days rabbis as well as Christian clerics were called "Reverend"), who was "Professor of the Talmud and of the Rabbinical Disciplines at the Hebrew Union College". Zero^talk 10:44, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

What's the rationale behind Jewish Encyclopedia being considered as a clear case of not WP:Reliable here? It seems to be so obvious to Flyer22 that it seemed necessary to link an unrelated edit done by me which happened to occur on the same day, trying to make a point that I 'followed Flyer22 to this article'. To my eyes, Leopold Löw seems to be reputable enough as an editor, that encyclopedia is a printed source, albeit a century old. I do agree that modern sources should be preferred for many reasons, but I disagree with the reason "it's not reliable because it was never discussed on the noticeboard". Rh73 (talk) 20:41, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

Zero0000, I'm not going to WP:Ping you again in this section since you are clearly watching this article. Anyway, just in case you or someone else stated "The reason it has not appeared at RSN is that nobody has questioned its reliability," I noted that the reputable Encyclopædia Britannica has been taken to the WP:Reliable sources noticeboard; my point on that, if it's not already clear, is that a source being thought of as reputable by one person doesn't mean that it's reputable to another person. Furthermore, in the same vein that a reliable source being taken to the WP:Reliable sources noticeboard doesn't mean that it's unreliable, a source never having been taken to the WP:Reliable sources noticeboard doesn't mean that it's reliable. Furthermore, it's clear that an online version of an encyclopedia is not the same thing as a printed version.

Rh73, I never stated that Jewish Encyclopedia is a clear case of not being WP:Reliable. As for stating that you followed me to this article, you did. And I felt like mentioning it, pointing where you came from in what can be seen as an attempt to help. And now that I think about it, I wonder how you even found that obscure article, and so soon after I edited it. That you showed up at both articles I edited, soon after I did, with a new account that doesn't edit like a WP:Newbie, is no coincidence. But I'll save that for another day. Yes, I am suspicious of your account, and, with as many stalkers and harassers I've had at this site, some of which continue to pop back up with new accounts, I have every right to be. And I never stated that the Jewish Encyclopedia is "not reliable because it was never discussed on the noticeboard." But I will be taking the matter to the aforementioned noticeboard in a few minutes; that source and the newadvent.org source. The latter source was taken to the noticeboard, and compared to the Jewish Encyclopedia; see Wikipedia:Reliable sources/Noticeboard/Archive 8#Newadvent.org. Flyer22 (talk) 05:44, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

Link to the current discussion: Wikipedia:Reliable sources/Noticeboard#Are jewishencyclopedia.com (the Jewish Encyclopedia) and newadvent.org WP:Reliable sources?. A WP:Permalink for it is here. Flyer22 (talk) 06:24, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

No, that is not a correct analysis. It isn't one person who considered it reliable, but a large number of people. Otherwise it wouldn't be in more than 2000 articles. Zero^talk 11:02, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

Zero0000, if you are going to cut into my comment, then copy and paste my signature for that part of my comment so that it's not confusing as to who you are responding to. I prefer that my comments are not cut into; I was going to copy and paste my signature for your reply (as seen here), but I decided to move your comment down instead. As for my analysis, I did not state that one person considered that source reliable; I stated, "if it's not already clear [...] a source being thought of as reputable by one person doesn't mean that it's reputable to another person." This is currently ringing true in the WP:Reliable sources noticeboard discussion I started about this matter. Some people consider jewishencyclopedia.com (the Jewish Encyclopedia) reliable; others don't. Also, you should be well aware that references being used in many Wikipedia articles doesn't mean that the sources are reliable. Various sources used in many Wikipedia articles have been WP:Blacklisted, for example. Flyer22 (talk) 04:41, 27 August 2015 (UTC)

Since that discussion link doesn't work anymore, what was the consensus? Rh73 (talk) 05:23, 9 September 2015 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:Reliable sources/Noticeboard/Archive 196#Are jewishencyclopedia.com (the Jewish Encyclopedia) and newadvent.org WP:Reliable sources?. The opinions were mixed. I should have requested a closure for that discussion via WP:Administrators' noticeboard/Requests for closure, like I thought about doing. But I stopped thinking about the discussion as much once it started to dwindle down, and the thread would have most likely been archived before closure anyway, given the regular backlog at WP:Administrators' noticeboard/Requests for closure. That is, unless I were to keep making a placeholder comment to keep it from being archived early. Flyer22 (talk) 05:32, 9 September 2015 (UTC)

External links modified

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Replaced it by a direct link to the article, which was moved. Debresser (talk) 08:02, 19 October 2015 (UTC)

What about boys?

Whilst it's clear the majority of children married across the world are female, there is little mention of the number of male children married (but for a short paragraph). If there is any data, should it not be included somewhere in the article? After all, a Wikipedia article about child marriage omitting boys is never going to provide the full picture. According to this Daily Beast piece, millions of underage boys are married off each year: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/09/18/the-sad-hidden-plight-of-child-grooms.html

If there are any experts out there who could contribute, more information of boys married off could be a way to improve the article. 80.193.25.91 (talk) 01:05, 11 May 2016 (UTC)

Content Gap: Sex Trafficking and Child Trafficking as a result of Child Marriage

While child trafficking is a result of child marriage that is referenced in the article, sex trafficking is a result of child marriage that is not written about at all. Both topics should be explored more thoroughly. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Claire.tranchino (talk • contribs) 21:08, 13 September 2016 (UTC)

Inconsistent demonym

Niger has one of the highest rates of early marriage in sub-Saharan Africa. Among Nigerian women between the ages of twenty and twenty-four, 76% reported marrying before the age of 18 and 28% reported marrying before the age of fifteen.

Someone who is from Niger is Nigerien. Could someone please check the relevant sources and figure out which is the correct demonym to use in this situation? 40.141.207.2 (talk) 04:55, 11 November 2016 (UTC)

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Recent changes

I disagree with the change to the lead image, and with the addition of "a definition which has a partial overlap with that of teen marriage." Changes were also made to other imagery, which I haven't yet analyzed/considered. These changes were made by Andreas Mamoukas, and I reverted. Debresser reverted Andreas Mamoukas at one point, as seen with this link, as well, but it's not clear how Debresser feels about the changes.

Andreas Mamoukas, you should not be adding material like "a definition which has a partial overlap with that of teen marriage" unless it is supported by a WP:Reliable source. Flyer22 Reborn (talk) 11:50, 3 February 2017 (UTC)

I reverted Andreas Mamoukas at Teen marriage (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) for similar reasons. Flyer22 Reborn (talk) 12:00, 3 February 2017 (UTC)

I re-instate my changes with references. Child marriage involves persons before their 18th birthday whereas teen marriage involves persons between 13 and 19 years old, so it is apparent that there is overlap in the definition, this means that when a marriage involves a teenager before their 18th birthday then it is both a child marriage and a teen marriage. The [child marriage]] article is about child marriage and we have a separate article about teen marriage but the lead image of the child marriage article was about a person who was 16 years old and therefore it is not a good lead image for an article focusing on child marriage, it is more appropriate for the teen marriage article. Furthermore, the lead image is eurocentric and we should have a more global outlook, which is why I believe that an image from Indonesia is better. In addition, the lead image was from the middle ages whereas the Indonesia picture is from the 1930s showing that the phenomenon is current, I thin we should focus on current images in the lead section and leave the historical images for the history section. In addition, the lead image is about royal marriage rather than commoners' marriage, but today the phenomenon is mostly observed among non-royals, an extra reason why the Indonesia picture is better. Finally, we really should merge the child marriage and teen marriage articles and focus the teen marriage article only to marriages involving persons that are 19 years old. Since you did not like the Indonesia picture I will find another picture to replace the lead image. Andreas Mamoukas (talk) 17:08, 3 February 2017 (UTC)

So I now put the India picture as the lead picture, while it still has issues at least it solves the Eurocentric bias which was a pretty serious problem with the previous lead picture, which I now put elsewhere in the article. Hopefully you will agree with this. Andreas Mamoukas (talk) 17:12, 3 February 2017 (UTC)

Andreas Mamoukas, if you keep making edits like these, I will be reporting you. Clearly, there are issues with your understanding of how things are supposed to work at this site. Child marriage and teenage marriage are not the same thing, and the source you added does not state that the two are the same thing or that they are equated. Mention of teenage marriage does not belong in the lead of this article. We go by what WP:Reliable sources state, not editors' interpretations. Flyer22 Reborn (talk) 18:55, 3 February 2017 (UTC)

If you talk again to me in that tone I will leave Wikipedia. I added references that show that teen marriage is a real phenomenon and that the expression is used in documents. Perhaps I had a wrong understanding of what the expression "teen marriage" means, I thought it meant a marriage where at least one person is a teenager, not necessarily a marriage where both partners are teenagers. English is not my first language and therefore it is easy to make mistakes. Andreas Mamoukas (talk) 18:35, 4 February 2017 (UTC)

Note: I have alerted the associated WikiProjects (the ones at the top of this talk page and an additional one seen at the top of the Teen marriage talk page) to this discussion. Hopefully, some of those editors weigh in. Otherwise, this matter will need to go to a noticeboard. Flyer22 Reborn (talk) 21:38, 3 February 2017 (UTC)

And as for a lead image, if it's of a teenage couple (which is an image you recently added as the lead image), I don't think it should be used since child marriage is mostly about minors being married to non-teenage adults. Flyer22 Reborn (talk) 21:43, 3 February 2017 (UTC)

The lead image has problems, one of which is that it is eurocentric, so I still believe we must change it. The Indonesia picture I had proposed as lead picture is much better, why don't you want to use the Indonesia picture as the lead picture? Andreas Mamoukas (talk) 18:36, 4 February 2017 (UTC)

If someone wishes to differentiate between child marriage and teen marriage, then what is required by wikipedia guidelines and policies is that they find a source which clearly and explicitly makes that differentiation. WP:SYNTH and/or WP:OR policies apply in the absence of such sourcing. Regarding the image, having not myself checked, if the matter of child marriage is in general with adults marrying minors, then any image here should probably display that scenario. John Carter (talk) 20:10, 6 February 2017 (UTC)

Actually, you are wrong. If whitefish and ale are separate species of fish, I don't need to show a source to be able to say so. It is still allowed to rely on common sense and the English language on Wikipedia. What I do need to make sure is that if I say that whitefish lives in the Atlantic, I should bring a source for that. Meaning that we need to be careful not to mix up the two in this article. But that is all. Debresser (talk) 22:38, 6 February 2017 (UTC)

Maybe. I do note that the article here, in the first sentence, refers to a specific definition by "global organizations," and that might be sufficient for determining the content of the whole article. However, there are two broadly academic fields, cultural anthropology and law, which may use or have used the same term (or variations thereof), and it might be useful to know if either or both do use the term, and, possibly, if the term or its variations is used in a consistent way by them. John Carter (talk) 14:05, 8 February 2017 (UTC)

I am all for clarity, so no problem with that. Debresser (talk) 18:13, 8 February 2017 (UTC)

John Carter, if you look at sources discussing teenage marriage, the sources are talking about teenagers. They certainly are not talking about a middle-aged man with a teenager. Flyer22 Reborn (talk) 06:04, 9 February 2017 (UTC)

Now I am getting confused. Do you mean to say that the difference between "teenage marriage" and "child marriage" is whether both or only one of the parties is legally a minor? Debresser (talk) 07:56, 9 February 2017 (UTC)

Merge with teen marriage

We should merge the child marriage article (which is about marriage involving persons before their 18th birthday) with the teen marriage article (which is about marriages involving teenagers between 13 and 19 years old), and focus the teen marriage article only on marriages involving persons that are 18 or 19 years old. Do you agree? Andreas Mamoukas (talk) 17:16, 3 February 2017 (UTC)

One more time. Child marriage and teenage marriage are not the same thing. Teenage marriage specifically concerns marriage between teenagers. So, no, the articles should not be merged. Flyer22 Reborn (talk) 18:58, 3 February 2017 (UTC)

I agree with Flyer22 Reborn and also think that Andreas Mamoukas should stop making edits that contradict the difference between these two articles. Debresser (talk) 16:38, 4 February 2017 (UTC)

I was under the impression that "teen marriage" can include marriage between a teenager and a non-teenager, but it seems I was mistaken and "teen marriage" is only for marriage between two teenagers. If that's right then I was wrong. Andreas Mamoukas (talk) 18:32, 4 February 2017 (UTC)

In Louisiana the youngest you can get married, with a parent's consent, is 16. However you can get married at the age of 18 without a consent from a parent. Teen marriage is teen marriage no matter how far apart the ages are. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Elisesmith99 (talk • contribs) 02:07, 13 September 2017 (UTC)

Hopefully this addition clears up the misunderstanding of the English meaning of the expressions

Hopefully this addition clears up the misunderstanding of the English meaning of the expressions. Do you agree? ""Child marriage" in English means a marriage in which at least one partner is a minor. In contrast, the expression "teen marriage" in English means a marriage where both partners are teenagers, not a marriage between a teenager and a non-teenager." Andreas Mamoukas (talk) 19:03, 4 February 2017 (UTC)

Lead picture

I propose to change the lead picture which is currently this image:

The above image is eurocentric and is about royalty and also about a very old era (about 1530). Incontrast, most child marriages today take place outside Europe and between commoners, which means the above image is more appropriate for the history or the Europe section of the article, rather than as a lead image.

I propose the following image to be the new lead image. Do you agree?

The image is much better as a lead image because it is about commoners, not royalty. Also because it is about the current era (1930) rather than an old era (1530). And also because it is about non-Europe (Indonedia) rather than Europe. This is in agreement with the fact that most child marriages today happen outside Europe and between non-royals.

Do you agree to change the image? Andreas Mamoukas (talk) 19:10, 4 February 2017 (UTC)

• Also another BIG problem with the lead image is that the child is shown smiling. We should choose an image where the child is shown being unhappy. Andreas Mamoukas (talk) 19:12, 4 February 2017 (UTC)

• So here it is what I did do right now: I placed TWO lead pictures, one is the Indonedia picture, the other is the old current lead picture with eurocentriness and historicity of it. This hopefully you agree with that. 19:14, 4 February 2017 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Andreas Mamoukas (talk • contribs)

• So here is another image we can use as lead image if you do not like the other of them:

[[:File:Dame (Alice) Ellen Terry ('Choosing') by George Frederic Watts.jpg|English stage actress Ellen Terry was married at age 16 to George Frederic Watts who was 46 years old, a marriage her parents thought would be advantageous; later she said she was uncomfortable being a child bride. Terry died at the age of 81, in 1928.]]

This image solves many problems. Do you agree? I added it as co-lead image. Andreas Mamoukas (talk) 19:18, 4 February 2017 (UTC)

You said the current lead picture is "eurocentric". How is the picture you propose not eurocentric? Reminder: "English stage actress..." Debresser (talk) 19:33, 4 February 2017 (UTC)

I agree with Andreas Mamoukas abiouot the 1st picture but I would extend his argument to all the pictures for this artticle. Almost ALL of them are pictures of European aristocracy from about 3oo years ago. This is obviously the work of somebody who is trying to blame Europeans for contemporary child marriage. Mumbo-jumbophobe (talk) 22:06, 1 June 2018 (UTC) Note to Debresser: The picture proposed by Andreas Mamoukas is not eurocentric because it portrays people who are not European, since Indonesia is not in Europe. Mumbo-jumbophobe (talk) 22:06, 1 June 2018 (UTC)

Mumbo-jumbophobe, that editor is indefinitely WP:Blocked for WP:Socking. Flyer22 Reborn (talk) 22:47, 1 June 2018 (UTC)

Ancient Greece is not modern Greece!

The article said "in Greece" and I changed this into "in Ancient Greece" because it talks about Ancient Greece and not Modern Greece! This is a BIG difference and it should be noted in the article. DO NOT revert this because it is wrong to say "in Greece" when the meaning is "in Ancient Greece" and it should be noted that when it talks about ancient era it talks about "Ancient Greece" and not just "Greece" because "Greece" can also mean "Modern Greece" which is another thing in entirely! Andreas Mamoukas (talk) 19:22, 4 February 2017 (UTC)

• This is in line with the reference: "Nancy Demand (1994), Birth, Death, and Motherhood in Classical Greece, Johns Hopkins University Press, pages 101-104". The reference said "CLASSICAL Greece"! "Classical" means "Ancient"! Not modern Greece. Therefore it is wrong to say "in Greece". It should say it explicitly "in ANCIENT Greece". Andreas Mamoukas (talk) 19:25, 4 February 2017 (UTC)

No problem. Just stop shouting, please. Debresser (talk) 19:26, 4 February 2017 (UTC)

If the reference says "classical", should not the link go to Classical Greece, which covers only the 5th and 4th century BC? Dimadick (talk) 15:00, 9 February 2017 (UTC)

You're probably right. Debresser (talk) 00:53, 10 February 2017 (UTC)

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"Legislative law"

In no country does "cultural traditions take priority over legislative law [sic]".203.80.61.102 (talk) 05:49, 1 September 2017 (UTC)

male child marriage

I feel like there may be more cases of child marriage or arrangements between adults and young male children? if there is, maybe elaborate on those cases 17:09, 10 September 2017 (UTC)Jarradk98 (talk)

Child_marriage#Religion_and_civil_law

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_marriage#Religion_and_civil_law

I'd like to split this up into multiple sections for the different religions, and add more information about the religious laws through history. Benjamin (talk) 21:48, 23 September 2017 (UTC)

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Recent Changes

I recently made some minor copyedits to this article. I made small grammatical changes, included some citations and some comments calling for develop of content.

Mariavalderrama (talk) 15:49, 21 January 2018 (UTC)

Removal of unsourced map

I removed the map. It is very outdated (eg. Canada, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, Ukraine, many Latin American countries etc) have changed their laws. It also has a very misleading legend with only three options: "no minimum age", "at least 9 years old", and "at least 16 years old". Most of the countries listed with the code "at least 9 years old" do not allow marriage at 9. A code such as "at least 14 years of age" for example, would have been much more appropriate. The map is also unsourced. 2A02:2F01:5CFF:FFFF:0:0:6465:4C52 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 18:20, 6 September 2018 (UTC)

Minor

@Flyer22 Reborn: I really don't care, but "minor under a certain age" seems redundant to me because a minor is by a definition a person under a certain age. Sizeofint (talk) 00:03, 29 August 2019 (UTC)

"Rights"

I find this statement to be dubious: "Child marriage violates the rights of children". It seems nonsensical or geocentric to the occidental world. Rights are just things that people wrote down; some rights are part of laws. One definition defines "rights" as "a moral or legal entitlement to have or obtain something or to act in a certain way." Therefore, in countries where children (as in "less than 18 years old") don't have the "right" to not be married then their rights are not being violated because the government/law enforcement never gave them those rights in the first place. Unless you write something like "Child marriage violates the rights of children (per the United Nation's set of Universal Rights)" then I think this statement should be removed. Rights are not some universal truth or religion, and I feel like the article is currently presenting it as they are; I feel like I just read that someone did a bad thing and made God unhappy, so maybe this should be rewritten with a neutral point of view. (Rights are not a universal truth because it is subjective. American society would argue that every person has the inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. However, a Nazi/tyrannical/socialist society may argue that not every person has a right to liberty or life, some should be forced to live elsewhere or be killed. Who's to say which one's view on "rights" is the correct one? Any answers to this would come from a non-neutral point of view.) --User123o987name (talk) 09:35, 26 February 2020 (UTC)

Rephrased it. Sizeofint (talk) 16:55, 2 April 2020 (UTC)

Regarding this? I reverted. The common definition/main focus of child marriage is adults marrying children/minors, not children being married to children. And the article is reflective of that, obviously. WP:Due weight must be kept in mind. Child-child stuff can have a place in the lead (although not in the lead sentence) once there is a section on it in the article. Flyer22 Frozen (talk) 04:56, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

And as for "and is considered"? It's WP:Weasel wording. Considered by whom? Look over sources and see what they state on the matter. Flyer22 Frozen (talk) 04:59, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

@Flyer22 Frozen: "Look over sources and see what they state on the matter." - This is a summary of the the Unicef source. "Considered by whom" - By the signatories of the international conventions; I assume most countries are participant. Also you reverted the source link fix.

Considering the major images of this article are child-child and a decent portion of the text covers that I think it odd to define the subject of this article to exclude it. Sizeofint (talk) 07:44, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

Like I stated with this edit (followup edits here, here and here), looking over the literature, I'm reminded that although it's clear that most of these marriages are between adults and children, the definition isn't always consistent; a few sources state that defining child marriage isn't clear-cut, and a number of the definitions focus on girls being married to adult men. So I went with the UNICEF definition for now; it states, "Child marriage refers to any formal marriage or informal union between a child under the age of 18 and an adult or another child." I removed your "child or youth under a certain age, typically age eighteen" wording. The sources, including the literature as a whole, simply state "child" and "under 18." I added that most child marriages are between a girl and a man right after that with sourcing. And it's not just a "most" case; it's a "vast majority"/"large majority" case, as made clear by UNICEF and this 2015 review I used. This piece immediately following the lead definition also lets readers know that although "or child" is used, the vast majority of these marriages are between an adult and a child.

That child marriage violates the rights of children and has widespread and long-term consequences for girls is stated as fact in sources, not as an opinion. And it's not challenged by the literature. So, per WP:WIKIVOICE, we should also state it as fact, and that's what I did. I changed "and has widespread and long term consequences for child brides and grooms" to "and has widespread and long-term consequences for child brides." The term "child brides" could also obviously be changed to "girls." The literature, including the 2015 review, is focusing on girls with regard to long-term consequences (as with the vast majority of everything else on this matter). That's why this 2020 "Child marriage in Canada: A systematic review." source states "is considered a violation of human rights with negative consequences for girls' health." It also states, "The practice is widely considered a violation of human rights that harms the health and development of children, most often girls." The "Effects on each gender" section in our Wikipedia article states, "Boys are sometimes married as children, although according to UNICEF, "'girls [are] disproportionately affected by the practice. Globally, the prevalence of child marriage among boys is just one sixth that among girls.' Research on the effects of child marriage on underage boys is small."

As for "the major images of this article are child-child"? That's because editors added them, likely also thinking of the related topic of arranged marriage. It's not like the images make child-child marriage as prominent as child-adult marriage. And the child-child marriages are carried out by adults anyway. And what are "major images"? I didn't see any content in the article on child-child marriage, but I haven't read the whole article and may have overlooked it. My concern was on neglecting to stress the adult aspect in the lead. Flyer22 Frozen (talk) 03:14, 4 April 2020 (UTC) Updated post. Flyer22 Frozen (talk) 03:25, 4 April 2020 (UTC)

With this edit (followup edit here here and here), I added a source/a bit of material for effects on boys and made it clear that barely any research exists on boys. Flyer22 Frozen (talk) 23:56, 4 April 2020 (UTC)

Let's simplify the definition by using the term "minor". The age of majority and the age of marriageability varies between nations and cultures, and there's no reason why the UNICEF definition ought to be the golden standard. --JulieR28309 (talk) 23:13, 17 May 2020 (UTC)

To repeat, "under age eighteen" is made clear by the sources in this article, and is the most common way the topic is defined. Various reliable sources, such as this 2015 review I cited above, go by it. So even if they are simply going by the UNICEF definition by stating "18", it can't simply be called "the UNICEF definition." Mentioning "between an adult and a child" is also important. The "or another child under" aspect is an aspect lower in the article. So it's in the lead. The lead is meant to summarize the article per WP:Lead. So your vague wording is not helpful. And you should refrain from WP:Edit warring on this. That the age of majority and marriageable age vary is already made clear in the lead and is no reason to forgo mentioning a common aspect of the definition in the lead sentence -- age 18. That the age of majority varies doesn't stop us from noting, in the Age of majority article, that age 18 is the most common legal adult age in the vast majority of the world. Yes, the lead of the Child marriage article states, "Although the age of majority (legal adulthood) and marriageable age are usually designated at age 18", but I think it's best to also mention age 18 in the lead sentence. As a compromise, we could state "under a certain age, typically age eighteen", like the article used to do (preferably with a source supporting that, like this one in the article essentially does). But I object to removing "between an adult and a child"...per what I argued above. Flyer22 Frozen (talk) 23:53, 17 May 2020 (UTC)

I like your "under a certain age, typically age eighteen" compromise idea. I'm still not certain why we shouldn't generalize the lead definition to include both adult-child and child-child marriages. Yes, adult-child is more prevalent, and we do mention that in the article. --JulieR28309 (talk) 02:11, 18 May 2020 (UTC)

What do you think of this: "between an adult and a child (or another child)". It encompasses all the different types of child marriages while emphasizing the more common adult-child type. --JulieR28309 (talk) 02:24, 18 May 2020 (UTC)

I objected to that: [6] I see no need for it. Crossroads ^-talk- 04:07, 18 May 2020 (UTC)

I tweaked the lead with this edit by linking "age of majority" early on. I considered stating "the age of majority" in place of "a certain age" instead of only pipelinking "age of majority" there, but it's obvious that someone who is legally deemed a child is under the age of majority. So going with "under the age of majority" instead of "under a certain age" seemed redundant and off to me. Despite WP:Overlinking, I left "age of majority" linked in the second paragraph for those who might overlook the pipelink in the lead sentence. Regarding age 18, I have more to state on that: Simply going with "age 18" without use of "under a certain age, typically" makes sense because even if a country has an age of majority higher than age 18, no source considers a 19-year-old or older to be a child in a marriage to someone older than they are; they don't label that child marriage. And any age of majority that is below age 18 is covered by stating "under age eighteen." Even the source I suggested adding for "typically" doesn't speak of child marriage as being defined by some other age, although it does note that the age of majority and marriageable age can vary. It's also questionable to lead with that source since it focuses on boys when child marriage, like the source notes, is overwhelmingly about girls. So I really can't see that "under a certain age, typically" needs to be or should be there, and I will support removing it in the future. I crossed out two parts of my post because I can see why "typically" would be added with regard to lower age of majority. Obviously, a person under 18 may legally be considered an adult, and so we wouldn't want readers to think that a 17-year-old who is married to an older person is automatically in a child marriage (legally-speaking). But still...like this aforementioned source states, "The age of 18 years is generally considered the age of majority, as codified in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (United Nations, 1989). Thus, unions involving any person younger than age 18 are considered to be child marriages according to international conventions." Crossroads, any thoughts on the "age 18" aspect?

JulieR28309, before you made this edit, the lead already stated "or another child." And, above, I stated, "The 'or another child under' aspect is an aspect lower in the article. So it's in the lead. The lead is meant to summarize the article per WP:Lead." Crossroads, the "or another child" aspect is covered in one or more of the sources. As seen above, I settled on "or another child" being included as a compromise with Sizeofint. If the article is to cover that aspect, the lead should mention it. All JulieR28309 did was place it in parentheses, which maybe does give it better (as in more appropriate) weight since child marriage is overwhelmingly about child-adult marriage. Flyer22 Frozen (talk) 00:00, 19 May 2020 (UTC) Added on to my post. Flyer22 Frozen (talk) 00:17, 19 May 2020 (UTC)

Sorry, I hadn't noticed the "or another child" bit had already been there. I guess it is fine. With age 18, I would think we should give priority to how the UN and academic sources like the one you gave define child marriage - which so far seems to be as "under 18" - regardless of what some legislatures say. Crossroads ^-talk- 02:28, 19 May 2020 (UTC)

I'm still very much opposed to simply defining it as "under 18", precisely because "what some legislatures say" is a reliable source in it of itself. As for the "or another child" part, would it be safe to say that there is consensus to add it back to the lead? (as per Flyer22 Frozen's compromise with Sizeofint?). I removed it in one edit in order to fix grammar, and added it back in parenthesis in the next edit (Flyer22 Frozen wanted to emphasize that most child marriages involve an adult). --JulieR28309 (talk) 04:53, 21 May 2020 (UTC)

Can I ask where in the article the marriage of two children is covered? Historically this was a very common phenomenon and it features in practically all of the 20-30 articles and books I have on this topic. It is notable that 2 of the 3 sources given for the definition in the first sentence include marriage between two children and the one which doesn't is concerned only with child brides by their choice. I looked above for an explanation but didn't find anything satisfying. The assertion of Crossroads that "or another child" is undue weight is frankly ridiculous. Zero^talk 05:53, 21 May 2020 (UTC)

Yeah, I'd stated before that I didn't see it covered in the article, but that I also didn't look closely. So when I later stated that "The 'or another child under' aspect is an aspect lower in the article.", editors should go ahead take that as referring to any child-child imagery. As for what Crossroads stated, it goes back to my initial comment in this section. His commentary makes sense when one considers that the vast majority of child marriages are adult-child marriages, and also that the article should first cover child-child marriages lower (beyond images) if we are also to mention this aspect in the lead.

JulieR28309 and others, no need to WP:Ping me since this article is on my watchlist and I prefer not to be pinged to articles I'm watching. Flyer22 Frozen (talk) 22:54, 21 May 2020 (UTC)

Lead image

File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Indonesisch huwelijksportret van een bruidspaar in Europese kleding met twee bruidsmeisjes TMnr 60019694.jpg

• How do we know that this is a child marriage? I looked into commons and I found nothing in the description that says that this is a child marriage. Here is the translation of the description from google translate, "Photo. Indonesian wedding portrait of a bridal couple in European dress with two bridesmaids" and here is the title translation, "COLLECTION TROPENMUSEUM Indonesian wedding portrait of a bridal couple in European dress with two bridesmaids TMnr 60019694". Also, I can't tell if the boy and the girl in the middle are children.
• My second point is that these two couples are probably still alive. Isn't it kinda rude to use their photos as an example of child marriage?. Thanks.-SharʿabSalam▼ (talk) 13:18, 21 May 2020 (UTC)
• Update: I have boldly replaced the image with one that was in the body of the article.--SharʿabSalam▼ (talk) 13:26, 21 May 2020 (UTC)

Alas, the drawing of "child marriage in the Middle Ages" has its own problems. Actually this is a drawing from a 19th century edition of The Ballad of Dick Whittington. See here. It portrays the historical marriage of Dick to Alice FitzWaryn. I have not been able to determine the age of his wife at marriage, but it was at least 19 years after her parents' marriage. The absurdity of interpreting this drawing as showing a child marriage, is that the groom was 48 (but looks like a teenager) and if the bride stood up she would be taller than the woman behind her. Zero^talk 14:35, 21 May 2020 (UTC)

I agree, how do we know indeed that they are children?VR _talk 23:27, 21 May 2020 (UTC)

• Zero0000, Vice regent and Crossroads, how about this File:Little girl wearing a white wedding dress 1.jpg or File:Child Marriage.png.--SharʿabSalam▼ (talk) 23:48, 21 May 2020 (UTC)

Both of these are no good. The first heavily romanticizes child marriage by showing the little girl smiling. The second seems to be untrustworthy WP:OR. The picture has no sources in its description, and was created by a user who has only made a handful of edits both here and at Commons. It also seems to conflate a bunch of countries that no doubt have varying minimum ages under the categories "At least 9 years old" and "At least 16 years old". I'm sure there are plenty of caveats in the allegedly "No minimum age" countries as well, because they almost all have ages of consent.

I think we could simply do without a lead picture. Not every article needs or has one. Crossroads ^-talk- 05:18, 22 May 2020 (UTC)

I agree. Until something better comes up. Zero^talk 05:31, 22 May 2020 (UTC)

Sometimes that's a better solution. But I think this one article can have an image. How about this File:The Marriage Of Richard Of Shrewsbury, Duke Of York, To Lady Anne Mowbray.jpg. According to the article. She married when she was 5 years old. So it is verified that it illustrates child marriage.--SharʿabSalam▼ (talk) 23:47, 22 May 2020 (UTC)

See Anne de Mowbray, 8th Countess of Norfolk.--SharʿabSalam▼ (talk) 23:48, 22 May 2020 (UTC)

But is that a picture of two children marrying? I would rather not lead with a child-child marriage image since the vast majority of child marriages are adult-child and the article is therefore focused on that. If the article doesn't yet at all covered child-child marriage beyond images, that's even more reason not to lead with such an image. Flyer22 Frozen (talk) 00:39, 23 May 2020 (UTC)

Yeah, it looks like two children. Since the topic is mostly about the problem of adult-child marriages, that picture would mislead the reader right away. Crossroads ^-talk- 03:46, 23 May 2020 (UTC)