Insights of Underage Marriage in Morocco

Abstract

Under-age marriage is linked mainly to the socio-economic status of the family, the educational level, and the legislative awareness of the girl. Boys may have the choice while girls are forced to engage in such marriage. This study aims at gaining a deep understanding of different reasons behind early marriage, and its impacts and provide solutions for underage marriage in Morocco. The study's respondents are females and males aged between 15 and 52 years from different rural villages in Tafilalet. 62,3 % of them are females and 37,7 % are males. 63% of the respondents are aged between 15 and 25, 24% are aged between 25 and 30 and 13% have more than 30 years old. 52,4% of the participants are undergraduates while 47,6% are graduates. The data of this study were gathered through the use of both qualitative and quantitative data-collecting procedures including interviews and questionnaires. The findings of the study indicate that poor girls and non-educated ones are more likely to engage in underage marriage in Morocco. The quantitative results illustrate that 73% of the respondents agreed that non-educated girls are more likely to marry at an early age. While highly educated and economically independent females are not engaged in such marriages. Only a few respondents (8%) consider early marriage not common at all, while 18 % believe that it is nearly common, and 20% think that it is very common in the area.

Keywords

• girls
• early
• underage
• marriage