The Senate voted unanimously to abolish the practices of child marriage in indigenous communities in Mexico, shedding light on issues of gender inequality in rural areas where customs and traditions prevail over state legislation.
With 76 votes in favor and none against, the Senate approved a constitutional reform to Article 2 of the Magna Carta on February 13th which refers to the right of indigenous communities to self-determination and autonomy to apply their regulatory systems. Although the right to govern by customary law will remain, the best interests of minors will now be prioritized and are protected as paramount above tradition.
Constitutional reforms in Mexico must be agreed on by the full Congress of the Union and require approval of the majority of state legislators, and the approved opinion was therefore sent to the Chamber of Deputies for ratification. If successful in the lower house, this reform will represent a significant advancement in safeguarding the rights of children in Mexico.
Forced marriages in Mexico remain a practice in the states of Oaxaca, Chiapas, and Guerrero; 300,000 girls under the age of 18 were sold into marriage in Guerrero alone in 2023. Senator Josefina Vazquez Mota, President of the Commission on the Rights of Children and Adolescents, emphasized her support of the decision to abolish customs that harm and violate women, stating that “nothing and no one is above the rights of children.”
Harmful indigenous practices
Girls Not Brides, a global partnership seeking to end child marriage throughout the world, explains that these Child, Early and Forced Marriage and Unions (CEFMU) are most prevalent in rural areas among indigenous communities. They report that 21% of women in Mexico are married before the age of 18, and 4% before their 15th birthday.
Even more concerning is the widespread occurrence of “juntarse” (“to get together”), a term used to refer to informal unions with minors where paperwork is not filed until much later in order to avoid legal obstacles. These unions are reportedly four times more common than official marriages, but are no less harmful to the girls involved. The brides are oftentimes at least 6 years younger than their partners, and in 65% of cases, they are at least 11 years younger.
Causes of child marriage in Mexico
According to Human Rights Watch, the prevalence of increased drug cartel warfare, devastating humanitarian difficulties, and harsh migration policies from the United States and Mexico have worsened the conditions of an already vulnerable population, forcibly displacing them along migration routes in Central America. A report published by Girls Not Brides in 2018 states that child marriages rise at alarming rates in humanitarian settings.
Spanish daily newspaper El Pais uncovered another effect of changing migration patterns in Central America. The arrival of new wealth to Mexico as a result of increased migration to the United States has resulted in girls being sold for as much as 200,000 pesos (12,000 dollars) in the country. This dowry, known as “milk rights”, is used to pay for the costs of pregnancy, childbirth, and the cost of raising the bride into adulthood.
The General Law on the Rights of Children and Adolescents in 2014 established 18 years as the minimum age of marriage in Mexico, but differing state legislation and ancestral custom left many girls vulnerable to the practice of informal unions. Child marriages in indigenous communities stem from the “Uses and Customs” — customary laws protected in the Mexican constitution. Until now, no steps had been taken to erase this practice.
For Girls Not Brides, these practices are driven primarily by gender inequality that permeates traditions and customs. Further, the lack of education and poverty in these rural areas exacerbates the problem: 50% of uneducated women were married before the age of 18, as well as 38% of women from impoverished households.
