The COVID-19 pandemic has increased poverty, which could lead to an increase in underage marriages among migrants in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) according to a recent report published by the UK-based charity Save the Children.

The report, titled “Married by Exception: Child Marriage Policies in the Middle East and North Africa,” consists of studies conducted on 75 young girls in Turkey, Egypt, Iraq and Lebanon. According to the report, underage marriages are higher among migrant groups in these countries than the national average.

The report said many migrant families had lost their income during the pandemic and that many children had lost their access to education. Moreover, the anxiety of families concerning the security of their children’s futures had increased during the pandemic. These conditions had led to the increase in underage marriages.

Ezgi Şahin Dabbagh from Save the Children said migrant girls were not aware of the laws that protected them from forced marriages. “Migrant girls are in the greatest risk group in Turkey when it comes to underage and forced marriages,” she said. “Neither the girls nor their families are aware of the law, which makes it easier for them to be exploited.”

The report said revisions in Turkey’s civil law also caused an increase in such marriages. Until 2015 religious marriages were permitted only if a civil marriage had already taken place. Religious authorities who conducted marriages without a civil marriage certificate could be sentenced to prison. However the Constitutional Court abolished this requirement in 2015, and two years later marriage certificates issued by religious authorities were also recognized by the state.

Critics slammed the decision, saying religious authorities were more prone to turning a blind eye to underage marriages.

Pandemic could be increasing underage marriages among migrants – Stockholm Center of Freedom