Married at 15, Palestinian Ahmed Soboh and his bride Tala, 14, started their lives together last Friday.

Just teenagers, they embark on a journey that most of us think insane. At fourteen, we were in the ninth grade, getting ready for high school, wondering about the boys who have cooties, what clothes we’ll be wearing the next day, but not a mature relationship let alone marriage.

In Alberta, no one under 16 can get married, but ages 16 and 17 may get married with parental consent. Anyone over 18 can get married, of course.
But what would someone be thinking if they wanted to get married at such a young age? 

The divorce rate in Canada as of 2008 is 210.8, most of which because one or both parties have committed adultery, or because the marriage has simply fallen apart. When I was in the 11th grade, my parents got divorced, and they were married very young as well. Does the age where we get married have anything to do with how our marriage life turns out?

According to Stats Canada, 59 per cent of marriages for women under the age of 18 end in divorce within 15 years and the divorce rate drops to 16 per cent for those married at 20 or older.

Amanda Scott, mother of four and married for eleven years was married when she was eighteen, right out of high school. She says that getting married at that age was the best decision of her life.

“It gave me a chance to learn from my husband, we matured together, we grew together, and we were both so innocent at the beginning. We are and still are partners.” 

When I was younger, I told myself that I was going to be like my mum, getting married and starting a family at 18. But seeing Ahmed and Tala start their new lives together, and the fact that neither of them know how their marriage will turn out, I’m completely content with waiting. 

We shouldn’t be in such a rush to grow up. Non-credible studies show that being an adult isn’t as fun as it seems.