Cablegate: Vietnam: Child Marriage
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
170946Z Mar 05
UNCLAS HANOI 000660
SIPDIS
STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV
STATE FOR G/IWI L. KHADIAGALA
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON ELAB PHUM PGOV SCUL SOCI KWMN
SUBJECT: VIETNAM: CHILD MARRIAGE
REF: STATE 36341
1. The legal age for marriage in Vietnam, according to the
Law on Marriage and Family, is 20 for men and 18 for women.
There is no lower legal age for marriage even with parental
consent. In practice, most marriages in urban areas conform
to the national law; however, in rural areas, underage
couples may live together in a "marriage" accepted by the
community, but not recognized officially.
2. Underage marriage is not a significant problem, but the
practice persists among ethnic groups and in poor rural
communities. Forced marriage is a related problem where
parents in some rural areas believe they have the right to
choose a suitable spouse for their child. None of the
government offices or NGOs contacted by Post was able to
provide statistics on child marriage.
3. Post is unaware of any U.S.-funded initiatives to reduce
the incidence of or to address possible negative affects of
child marriage. The Government of Vietnam recognizes the
adverse conditions relating to underage marriage, such as
lack of education and awareness, reproductive health issues
and psychological immaturity. The Commission for Population,
Family and Children sponsors Information, Education and
Communication Campaigns (IECC) in rural areas. The
Commission is initiating a new three-year project aimed at
reducing the incidence of underage marriage in the northern
mountain provinces. Currently this issue is approached most
often in terms of legal awareness programs. The 1999 Inter-
agency Resolution Number 9, by the Ministry of Justice, the
Ministry of Culture and Information, the Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ethics Affairs
Committee and the Peasants Association, develops programs
which educate the rural population about the laws and
provide legal aid and training. The Vietnam Women's Union
and the Youth Union also sponsor programs targeting young
people for education on legal affairs and pre-marriage
issues.
BOARDMAN