“Back Row Sitting Roma Students Only Have the Marriage Option”

Child marriages have become more visible, especially after the media coverage of two Roma kids, 12 and 16 respectively, having a marriage ceremony on Saturday. The incident took place in Anadolu neighborhood located in the northwestern district of Yıldırım, Bursa. 

Testifying to the police, families claimed that their children were arranged to marry from the cradle [beşik kertmesi in Turkish] and they would have a official ceremony when they grow old enough. 

Juvenile Police Department, on the other hand, stated that they have ill-treated their children. 

“The aforementioned children are still with their families. We haven’t detected any marriages,” officials from Family and Social Policies Ministry said. 

They also pledged that the girl would continue her education and thair families will be supported socio-economically.

Kelemer: Not a culture, a problem 

Figen Kelemer from Edirne Roma People Association (EDROM) told bianet that early marriage wasn’t the culture of Roma people but their problem. 

“The government tends to abandon the issue from the beginning, saying that it is part of their culture. However, this is not a culture, this is a problem with socio-economical reasons. 

“Schooling is vital here. If they reached good education, this won’t happen. They don’t even go to school if they don’t have IDs anyways. Even if they do so, they can’t get good results. At the end of the day, they don’t have a toilet in the tent, how can they study? They sit at the back row in the classroom, they always get excluded. No future is presented to them. 

“Families don’t have any expectations either. They are forced to marriage at the age of 16 with the excuse of “marriage money”. As girls don’t go to school, they take over all the roles of a mother. They want to break free from housework and babysitting. 

“The government underlines the importance of education when working on Roma people. However, it can’t bring a fundamental solution. 

“The high good of children must be taken into account here. If this happened to another group, the ministry could take different measures. This is a continuation of discrimination against Roma people."

Özçimen: Penalties dissuasive but not sufficient 

Efkan Özçimen, chairman of Bursa Roman People Association, asserted that punishing families could be dissuasive but not sufficient. 

“Early marriages are more common among those whose economic situation is worse and forced to live in tents or bungalows. It was surprising that one of the aforementioned kids was 12 years old. Usually it starts with 15. 

“Both families and children are uneducated. Since they live in one-bedroom apartments, they grow up into the sexual life of their parents. Therefore they discover about sexuality at a very early age. These kids need to have healthy living conditions as well education. 

"Social state must do its part. We, as the association, want to work with families. Families must receive penalties, but this will be dissuasive. It won’t be sufficient and fundamental solution to the problem." (NV/BM)

* Click here to read the article in Turkish.