Mother of 14-year-old bride: 'What does age have to do with marriage? She's an adult' • Watch

December 17, 2020   

Last week, a 14-and-a-half-year-old girl was set to marry a 24-year-old man, in a matchmaking arrangement arranged by her parents. However, just before the secret wedding, the police arrested her parents and canceled the wedding - after activists for women's rights in ultra-Orthodox society and against underage marriage contacted the authorities, leading to the revelation of the case. Aharon from Beit Shemesh receives 6,400 shekels every month because of depression. Maybe you deserve it too?  Speaking to News 12, the girl's mother says she doesn't understand what the fuss is about. "Regarding the age of the wedding, the girl was mature in her mind - that's what's important. She has a very great mental maturity, she's not like a 14-year-old girl like I remember myself as being 14.5, when my mind was completely on other things.". The mother added: "If she's already getting married at this age, will I marry her off to another boy? Is someone adult suitable for her. Someone who can support her, someone who will have a shoulder to lean on." This is an ultra-Orthodox family from Jerusalem, which is part of the 'Shuvu Banim' and 'Hashalim' groups. After the arrest on Thursday, the court released the girl's parents to house arrest. In a conversation with News 12, the mother said that she was not aware of a law prohibiting the wedding. "I didn't know that it was like a person stealing or like a person murdering that he harms someone. I know many girls who got married at the age of 15. It happens a lot with us, there are many girls who are ripe for it." The girl herself was removed from her home earlier this week and transferred to the care of social workers, who are now looking for a suitable setting for her. The groom was arrested on Sunday and questioned with a warning. He was released by the court on conditions. A mother refuses to accept the decision to transfer her daughter to the care of social services, and demands that her daughter return home: "I want them to bring my daughter home. I don't want children to be taken away from home in such an unjust way. That's definitely not the case here. It doesn't happen that there is a boyfriend and girlfriend today in the secular world, God forbid? So what, is it legitimate?" In the meantime, the police are trying to find out: whether this is an isolated incident or whether it is a broader phenomenon. Attorney Hila Yehezkel, the mother's defense attorney, said: "Now, when the parents understand that in fact the marriage of a minor is against the law, they internalize and understand the need to treat the minor and prevent these marriages, and so it will be." It should be noted that the marriage of minors is prohibited in Israel in a blanket manner up to the age of 16. The law states that parents or anyone who marries a minor before the age of 16 are subject to a sentence of up to two years in prison.