With a change in regulations, the Ministry of Education has allowed middle and high school children (aged 12-18) to become engaged. Some have argued that this is meant to prevent parents from taking their daughters out of school because they have been engaged, while others have protested that it encourages early marriage.

Gender gap in education

In any case, it is clear that an interrupted education because of an engagement or marriage affects girls the most. According to the educational Eğitim-Sen trade union’s women’s secretary Gülçin İsbert, the change in regulations is misguided. She argues for a higher age of marriage.

According to a Family Structure Study carried out by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) in 2006, 32 percent of married women are under 18, that is, they married as children. For men, this rate is at 7 percent.

According to data from the Ministry of Education’s strategical presidency, 99.21 percent of boys go to primary school (years 1-5), while only 93.37 percent of girls go. In 1998, this rate was 82.4 for girls and rose to 94.5 in 2002.

When one looks at middle school (years 6-8), the gender gap widens. 96 percent of boys continue to high school, while only 77 percent of girls do.

Article 153 changed

The former Article 153 of the High and Middle School Regulations read: “Married and engaged individuals cannot be accepted as school pupils. When pupils marry or get engaged, they sever relations with the school.”

The Ministry has taken out the term “engaged” and published the change in regulations.

Engagement is also dealt with in the Civil Code, but there is no age limit. The law states that “engagement is a promise for marriage” and that children can get engaged if their parents agree. It is not possible for under-17-year-olds to marry, but if there is “a very important reason”, a judge can give permission for 16-year-olds to get married.

Early marriage was discussed during the debate on Presidential elections in 2007. Current President Abdullah Gül’s wife Hayrünisa Gül was 14 when they got engaged, and got married at 15 years of age, thus giving up her education.

Rights activists had called on Hayrünisa Gül to become active in the area of girl's education and child marriage. (EÜ/AG)