Child marriage is a practice that violates fundamental rights and limits the integral development of minors. For this reason, local deputy Hilda Zulema Montoya García called for the explicit prohibition of this practice, proposing to reform the Law on the Rights of Girls, Boys, and Adolescents of the state of Nayarit.
"It is to strictly prohibit the marriage of minors since they are not in suitable conditions to make a decision that will have effects throughout their lives," stated the legislator when presenting her initiative in parliament. She emphasized that girls, boys, and adolescents should focus on studying, having a family that protects and cares for them, and above all, deserve to be happy.
Montoya García pointed out that these unions, which are often forced or premature, are related to issues such as teenage pregnancy, gender violence, school dropout, and the reproduction of cycles of poverty. The goal is to eliminate harmful practices such as early and/or forced child marriage.
At a national forum on early unions in Mexico, held on April 30 by institutions such as the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), UNICEF, the National Population Council, and SIPINNA, the aim was to generate a dialogue space to promote actions against this serious problem that disproportionately affects vulnerable girls and adolescents.
According to the 2020 Census by INEGI, in Nayarit, at least 2,800 adolescent girls aged 12 to 17 were living in marriage or union. Nationally, 20.5% of women aged 15 to 18 were already married or united, mainly in regions with indigenous populations. In Mexico, 10.9% of 17-year-old adolescents, 6.6% of 16-year-olds, and 3.0% of 15-year-olds were in a union or marriage.
The states with the highest absolute number of indigenous women married or united before the age of 18 were Chiapas, Oaxaca, and Guerrero. According to the Marriage Statistics, between 2014 and 2023, 20 marriages were recorded in the country where at least one of the persons was underage, being the lowest figure in that period. Among the entities with unions of minors are Chihuahua, Durango, San Luis Potosí, and Michoacán. In some cases, both parties were minors, while in others only one of the parties was.
