Taipei Times
Date: Sep 23, 2016
By: Hsiao Ting-fan and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writer

The legal age of marriage for women should be raised from 16 to 18, just as it is for men, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀) said at a legislative question-and-answer session on Tuesday.

Describing Taiwan’s laws as “highly discriminatory and a legal relic from the 1930s,” Lin said that under the Civil Code, the minimum age for engaging in a marriage contract is 15 for women and 17 for men, while the legal age of marriage is 16 for women and 18 for men.

She said that distinguishing civil rights by gender symbolizes inequality.

The UN International Bill of Human Rights defines people under 18 as children, and as a result the WHO and the UN Children’s Fund enacted international laws that forbid child marriage, Lin added.     [FULL  STORY]