Moroccan Authorities Halt Illegal Marriage of 14-Year-Old Girl in Sefrou

It all started with a complaint from an association. In its complaint, it reported that the family of a 14-year-old girl "was preparing" to organize the celebration of a customary marriage and requested an intervention from the public prosecutor near the court of first instance of Sefrou. The latter instructed the judicial police to conduct an investigation into this matter.

Complying with the prosecutor’s instructions, the investigators interviewed the mother of the young girl. She stated that a man had asked for her daughter’s hand in marriage and that she had informed him that she was barely 14 years old. In response, the suitor allegedly told her that he would complete all the formalities. During his interrogation, the fiancé explained that the girl’s father had accepted the union before his death, and that the young girl was consenting. Heard in turn, the teenager, accompanied by her mother, confirmed the facts.

After the case was brought before the public prosecutor, new hearings took place. The magistrate informed the mother of the young girl of the risks that such a marriage represents for her daughter’s psychological and social health, as well as for her rights, and informed the fiancé that "any attempt at a customary marriage with this young girl without exhausting the legal remedies beforehand exposes him to legal proceedings."