Naomi Wiseman of the Garden Court Chambers Family Law Team is advising the Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation (IKWRO) in relation to their campaign (with other groups) to introduce legislation to end child marriage in England and Wales.
On 29 October 2019, Naomi Wiseman formed part of delegation of campaigners who met with Sarah Champion MP (Lab) and Pauline Latham MP (Con) to discuss a draft bill to raise the legal age of marriage to 18 and criminalise child marriage in England and Wales. Both these MPs are sponsoring the bill. Naomi Wiseman is providing expert family law advice in connection with the draft bill to legislate this change into law.
Campaigners attending the meeting included IKWRO, Karma Nirvana, Forward UK and Dr Charlotte Proudman.
IKWRO is part of the Girls Not Brides Global Partnership seeking to end child marriage around the world. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, a 16 and 17 year old can marry with parental consent and in Scotland the minimum marriageable age is 16. Activists believe consent can mean coercion.
To protect children, Girls Not Brides are calling for the minimum marriageable age to be raised to 18 in Scotland and parental consent in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to be abolished.
To find out more about the campaign and how you can support these organisations, visit the IKWRO and Girls Not Brides websites.
