Hundreds of Child Marriages Revealed in Germany

Official statistics from Germany show that since 2012, 358 cases of child marriage have been registered in the state of Baden-Württemberg, but only eight have been annulled by a final court order [1] [3]. The German newspaper “Welt” reported on Monday, October 12, that these cases include marriages of girls as young as 11 and 12. In 2018, the marriage of a 14-year-old Afghan girl to a 30-year-old man was annulled.

Another annulled marriage was that of an 11-year-old girl from Iraq who had married a 17-year-old boy in 2020. Registered cases include the marriage of a 12-year-old Afghan girl to an 18-year-old man in 2020, and another 12-year-old Afghan girl to a 21-year-old man in 2023. This comes as German law prohibits marriage under the age of 16 and considers such marriages performed abroad to be void The “Yasmin” counseling center handled 271 cases in 2025, with 80 individuals facing the risk of forced marriage.