Article 16
(1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality, or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during the marriage, and at its dissolution.
(2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
(3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.
I firmly believe that men and women at the age of 18 and older can marry anyone from any race, nationality, or religion. Both individuals have the right to consent to the marriage willingly, and an individual has the right to separate. I would not change anything in this article. Article 16 is beneficial worldwide because many victims are forced to marry. Marriages that do not consent are still happening today, and it has not been discussed more than it should.
Force marriages lead to an increase in domestic violence,
abuse, and sexual abuse. In the article, Suicide and Force Marriages, “Amina was 15 years of age when she was raped, in
Morocco, by a man 10 years her senior. The matter went to court, and the judge
ordered or recommended (depending on reporting source) that the couple marry.
By this mechanism, her honor would be restored and her rapist could avoid a
lengthy jail sentence…married her rapist and lived at his family home. Her
mother (Zohra) reports that he beat her severely, and shortly afterward, Amina
completed suicide by ingesting rat poison.” (Suicide and Forced Marriage)
Lastly, everything about forced marriage is wrong—the abuse, the rape, and not consenting of an individual’s body and choice. We have the right to our own bodies and our life.
Pridmore, Saxby, and Walter, Garry. “Suicide and Forced Marriages” The Malaysian journal of medical sciences: MJMS, 20 March 2013, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3743999/
