At this age, adolescents reach the stage of their ability to reproduce, their sexual feelings towards the opposite sex develop, bonding between the sexes heightens, sexual feelings deepen, and feelings of sexual desire are mixed with love, appreciation, care, and kindness. Feelings and emotions imposed by this stage are often dominant and affect the adolescent's ability to make a sound, logical decisions. Adolescents need to be shown reason on how to make rational and sound decisions by explaining to them clearly the basis on which marriage is founded and the consequent financial, moral and social responsibilities.
There is no set rule to be applied to males and females to determine the right age and time to go into matrimony. There are many aspects on which the eligibility of a man or woman for marriage depends on, such as reaching a certain level of maturity, and the ability to deal with the radical changes that follow the transition into married life in a positive manner, in addition to individuals’ aspirations for academic achievement. Moreover, the determining factors of the right age for marriage differ according to lifestyles, the environment and communities where individuals live.
Marriage before eighteen, according to the law in countries parties with the Convention on the Rights of Woman and Child, is considered ‘early marriage’, where most countries have established strict laws and regulations for this ‘early marriage’ for many considerations, the most important of which are: the psychological, social and health impact on spouses, such as depriving the girl of the opportunity and the right to continue her education leading to her inability to form her own independent personality; exposing the girl to many health crisis because of her frail young body; immaturity of the spouses where they will be unable to hold responsibility, start a family, raise children and bear the psychological and economic burdens; undermining their prospects and potential, deprivation of the right to development and building a well-balanced personality as a result of the violation of the right to education, denial to the right to protection, as the girl may be subjected to abuse or exploitation. Lastly, the negative impact of early marriage on family relations in the future, as the chances of divorce increase and the multiplicity of family problems spike.
"When a girl, still a child herself, is coerced into marriage, she faces immediate and long-lasting consequences. Chances of continuing her studies diminish while the odds of being abused by the husband and complications during pregnancy increase."
According to UNICEF evidence indicates that girls who marry at an early age drop out of formal education and more often than not end pregnant. Also, childbirth and pregnancy-related deaths are important factors of deaths of girls between the ages of 15 and 19 worldwide, in addition to the risk of death of babies born to young mothers, or their exposure to several diseases if they survive.
UNICEF recognizes that “child marriage separates them from family and friends, and curtails their freedom to participate in community activities, which can have significant impacts on girls' mental and physical wellness.”
The Jordanian Personal Status Law (No. 36 for the year 2010) stipulated provisional completion of eighteen years of age and kept the exception for those who have completed fifteen years of age. For the eligibility of marriage, the Law stipulated that the engaged couple be of sound mind and that each of them had completed eighteen years of age. The Law, however, allowed the judge, with the approval of the Chief Justice, to authorize in special cases the marriage of a person who has completed fifteen years of age ‘According to instructions issued for this purpose, if the situation necessitates marriage for the general interest, and according to that, whoever gets married acquires full capacity in all what is related to marriage and separation and their effects.
