Why are Muslim girls and boys forced into marriage?
From an Islamic point of view, boys and girls should never be forced into marriage. Islam gave women and men the right to reject a marriage proposal free from pressure. In fact, in Islamic marriage law, the girl’s consent is a condition for the marriage contract to be legal – otherwise the contract is void. It is reported that a young woman came to the Prophet Muhammad and complained that her father had forced her to marry a man without her agreement. The Prophet annulled her marriage. On a different occasion, a guardian who had adopted an orphan girl came to the Prophet, and said that he received two offers for her hand in marriage, one from a rich man and one from a poor man. He added that he likes the rich man, but that the girl likes the poor man. The Prophet answered, “For those in love we don’t see anything better than marriage”. From 1400 years ago, Islam has given men and women the right to divorce if the marriage really doesn’t work out. Women can file for divorce just on the
