Children aged below 16 years will not be able to marry in the US state of North Carolina. The state legislature has given its nod to ban such unions. The Bill will now be sent to Roy Cooper, Governor of North Carolina, to be approved and signed off. The amendment, however, does not apply to children aged 16-17 years.

Last month, New York had raised the age of consent to 18 years. Meanwhile, a majority of the states in the US -- 44 to be precise -- still allow child marriages in some cases.

The children in the 16-17 year age group will require parental permission or a judge’s approval to get married. Also, the age difference between the youth and their spouse cannot be more than four years.

Mary Scott Winstead, a spokesperson for the North Carolina governor, told Forbes that while the legislation falls short of raising the age for marriage to 18, the governor fully supports this step to end child marriage in North Carolina and hopes to implement more protection for children.

House and Senate legislatures joined women’s rights advocates and child protection groups this year to raise the marriageable age to 18 with no exception. However, some lawmakers do not mind marriages involving children in certain cases.

A study by the International Centre for Research on Women revealed that around 8,800 minors were listed on marriage licences in the state in 2000-2015, placing North Carolina among the top five states in child marriages during that period. The research added that around 93 percent of the marriages were between a minor and an adult.

Child marriage map in US

At present, states like Delaware (2018), New Jersey (2018), Pennsylvania (2020), Minnesota (2020), Rhode Island (2021), and New York (2021) have banned child marriage without any exception.

However, 44 US states still allow marriage of minors in at least some circumstances.

#ICYMI: We celebrated #NewYork becoming the sixth U.S. state to #EndChildMarriage! But 44 more states still have to end this #humanrights abuse. #6Down44ToGo #EndChildMarriageUSA #ChainIn @ZontaIntl @SalazarSenate @NAminFoundation @FootstepsInc @hrw pic.twitter.com/2Ht5P28ht9

— Unchained At Last (@UnchainedAtLast) August 15, 2021

States like Hawaii, Kansas, Maryland, Utah, and Mississippi allow children as young as 15 to marry, of course with the permission of their parents and a judge. Massachusetts has no age limit for marriage provided the child’s parent and the judge allow it. Alaska allows marriages of 14-years-olds.

(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)

First Published:Aug 18, 2021 5:57 PM IST