Marriage

====Age====
Most jurisdictions set a [[marriageable age|minimum age for marriage]]; that is, a person must attain a certain age to be legally allowed to marry. This age may depend on circumstances, for instance exceptions from the general rule may be permitted if the parents of a young person express their consent and/or if a court decides that said marriage is in the best interest of the young person (often this applies in cases where a girl is pregnant). Although most age restrictions are in place in order to prevent children from being forced into marriages, especially to much older partners – marriages which can have negative education and health related consequences, and lead to [[child sexual abuse]] and other forms of violence<ref>[https://www.hrw.org/news/2013/06/14/q-child-marriage-and-violations-girls-rights Q & A: Child Marriage and Violations of Girls' Rights | Human Rights Watch]. Hrw.org (14 June 2013). Retrieved on 5 September 2013.</ref> – such [[child marriage]]s remain common in parts of the world. According to the UN, child marriages are most common in rural [[sub-Saharan Africa]] and [[South Asia]]. The ten countries with the highest rates of child marriage are: [[Niger]] (75%), Chad, Central African Republic, Bangladesh, Guinea, Mozambique, Mali, Burkina Faso, South Sudan, and Malawi.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130314073138/http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2013/child_marriage_20130307/en/ WHO | Child marriages: 39,000 every day]. Who.int (7 March 2013). Retrieved on 6 April 2013.</ref>