Germany’s Baden-Württemberg state has recorded 358 child marriages since April 2012, including cases involving girls as young as 11. The data emerged after politicians from the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party questioned the state government. Only eight of the marriages were formally annulled.
One case involved an 11-year-old Iraqi girl who married a 17-year-old Iraqi boy in 2020, while another involved a 14-year-old Afghan girl who married a 30-year-old Afghan man in 2018. Details about when or why the marriages were annulled remained unclear.
Since 2015, authorities have recorded 350 cases of child marriage, with many involving people from Syria, Iraq and Pakistan.
Nikolaos Boutakoglou, an AfD politician who requested the data, claimed on X that nearly 40 per cent of child marriages involved Syrians, while marriages between two Germans accounted for only 0.3 per cent.
The state government reportedly said there were no ongoing legal proceedings to annul any of the marriages.
Emely Knoll, another AfD politician who raised the issue, said child marriages were incompatible with their values and called for stronger protection, early intervention and decisive action against forced marriages. She stressed that children deserved safety, education and the freedom to determine their futures.
The data showed that most underage spouses were female.
Globally, the United Nations estimates that nearly one in five women married before turning 18. The rate rises to 32 per cent in West and Central Africa, while one in 25 women worldwide marries before age 15.
UNICEF describes child marriage as a fundamental human rights vi%lation, warning that it can lead to early pregnancy, social isolation, interrupted education, limited career opportunities and domestic violence.
