Why does the US have so many child brides?

[L. Coyote]

Video by Franz Strasser; produced by Ashley Semler

Angel was 13 when her mother forced her to marry and start a family. "I felt like a slave," she says of her childhood.

While countries like Zimbabwe, Malawi and El Salvador have recently banned child marriage, it remains legal in the US - and half of states have no set minimum age below which you cannot get married.

For the BBC's America First? series the BBC's Aleem Maqbool is exploring health and social issues where the US, the richest country in the world, does not perform well in international rankings.

[JI7]

1. which are the states without minimum age requirement ? i'm guessing utah might be one of them

[Angleae]

5. AZ, AR, CA, CO, DE, FL, ID, KY, LA, MN, MA, MI, MS, MO, NV, NJ, NM, OH, OK, PN, RI, TN, WA, WV, WY

The states that have minimum ages are
13: NH
14: AK, NC, ND
15: HI, IN, KA, MD, UT
16: AL, CT, DC, GA, IL, IO, MN, MT, SC, SD, TX, VT, VI, WI
17: NE, NY, OR

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_marriage_in_the_United_States

[Laffy Kat]

2. Fundy religious sects.

They tend to incorporate sexual abuse. The U.S. tolerates this shit.

[get the red out]

4. Been saying that for years

This country coddles its own abusive religious extremists, I have raised this issue online, even on liberal message boards and been SHUT DOWN, and told that women born into abusive cults with no way to leave are choosing this. I can't stand that this country pretends to be about human rights but calls institutionalized abuse of women and children "freedom of religion". Sickening!

[betsuni]

3. Saw that on TV and it shocked me that there still aren't laws making under 18 marriage illegal.

The Utah woman was expected, but the Florida woman who was forced to marry her rapist at 11 and had five children by the age of 16, ugh.

[no_hypocrisy]

6. Being a child bride isn't romatic like Loretta Lynn.

She got married to Doolittle when she was 14. If it weren't for poverty in WV, her parents might have hesitated letting her leave them. She had four children before she was 18.

Also Jerry Lee Lewis marrying his 14 year old cousin. Just because it's been done in certain regions of this country doesn't make it appropriate for girls who aren't ready for the responsibilities that come with marriage, let alone childbirth and psychological development into adulthood.