The 14-year-old girl was forced to marry, reflecting the pain of the phenomenon of early marriage in rural areas

Jimu News commentator Xu Hanxiong

Recently, the Enhe Police Station in Zhongning County, Zhongwei City, Ningxia, received a report from a 14-year-old girl who said that she was forced to marry by her family. The police station, the joint judicial office, and the town women's federation immediately dispatched the police and rushed to the groom's home. After detailed questioning, the girl was skillfully and quickly taken away from the wedding scene, preventing a hidden illegal marriage. (According to the People's Daily client on December 8)

The police invited the parents of both sides to the police station to investigate and learned: the girl's parents promised the girl to the strange guy without the girl's consent, and received a dowry of 250,000 yuan, purchased gold jewelry, and held an engagement ceremony. After legal popularization education, the parents of both sides realized their respective mistakes, reached a settlement agreement, and the woman took her daughter back and returned to the man a dowry of 250,000 yuan, successfully resolving a marital property dispute.

This incident made netizens feel incredible: what age is it, and this kind of thing, is this a married woman, or a selling woman?

The forced marriage of 14-year-old girls is actually a projection of the phenomenon of early marriage in the countryside. In February 2016, an online post titled "A 13-year-old groom in Binyang, Guangxi, marries a 16-year-old bride" went viral on social media. The groom responded that he was from Mashan County, Guangxi, had reached the age of 16, and the 13-year-old was rumored, and the two were truly in love, but had no intention of having children. He also said that this marriage was recognized by the families of both parties, so he held a wedding banquet. The bride also confirmed this statement, saying that her boyfriend did not study after the second year of junior high school, had been working in Nanning for 2 years, and did not read after his first year of high school, "We have known each other for more than 1 year, and it is sooner or later to get married, so I will do the happy wine." Although the legal age to receive a permit is not yet reached, it will be collected when it reaches the age.

According to the provisions of the Marriage Law, a man may not be older than 22 years old, a woman may not be married before 20 years of age, and if a marriage is not of legal age, it is an illegal marriage and the marriage is invalid. Judging from the "boy marrying a 16-year-old bride", the person concerned seems to know this provision, but avoids this provision, that is, to marry first and then get a license. The same is true of "14-year-old girls forced to marry", which is only an engagement ceremony and no license is obtained.

This model is more common in rural areas, and the two sides follow traditional customs and go through certain procedures, such as the matchmaker's appointment, the order of the parents, telling relatives and friends, and setting up a wedding banquet, even if it is a marriage event. The marriage certificate is optional, and the approval of relatives and friends is enough. This disregard for the legal provisions of marriage is one of the reasons why the phenomenon of early marriage exists.

The law stipulates that "arranged arrangements, the sale and purchase of marriages and other acts that interfere with the freedom of marriage are prohibited, and it is forbidden to obtain property through marriage", "marriage is voluntary, divorce is free", "not of legal age, marriage is invalid" principles, etc., but these legal knowledge has not been well popularized in some rural areas, or it is known that there are legal provisions but still follows customs, and the marriage of children is decided by the parents. Among them, there are deep-rooted influences on traditional concepts, such as "planting fields early and harvesting grain early, getting married early, having children early and enjoying happiness early", for parents, children get married early, and they also complete a task early. Some people also believe that early marriage means early establishment, children and families, and the hope of a generation.

The hidden worries of early marriage are obvious, and both men and women still lack independent ability and are mentally immature, making it difficult to assume the responsibility of raising and educating the next generation. If it is an arranged marriage by parents, it also lacks an emotional foundation, and the risk of marriage failure is high. Therefore, early marriage is not advocated and optimistic.

To avoid things such as "14-year-old girls forced to marry", it is necessary to do a good job of publicizing the rule of law at the grass-roots level, and prevent, detect and resolve them as early as possible, so as to ensure the freedom of marriage and the happiness of young men and women.

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