Oman

4% of girls in Oman marry before age 18 and 1% marry before age 15.

Child marriage is driven by gender inequality and the belief that women and girls are somehow inferior to men and boys.

There is limited information on child marriage in Oman. There is anecdotal evidence of girls being trafficked from India and Yemen to be married off in Oman.

Oman has committed to ending child, early and forced marriage by 2030 in line with target 5.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The government is due to submit a Voluntary National Review at the 2024 High-Level Political Forum.

Oman acceded to the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1996, which the Committee on the Rights of the Child has interpreted to recommend the establishment of a minimum age of marriage of 18, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 2006, which obligates states to ensure free and full consent to marriage. However, Oman has entered a general reservation to CEDAW, against all provisions of the Convention not in accordance with the provisions of the Islamic sharia and legislation in force in Oman, as well as a specific reservation to Article 16 regarding equal rights for women and men in marriage.

In 2023, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended that the government strengthen the National Centre for Statistics and Information, in an effort to collect data on child marriage, child protection, violence against children, education and children living with disabilities. The Committee recommended that the government amend its legislation in order to ensure that children who were subjected to any form of sexual abuse are treated as victims and not subjected to Zina (a confession of sexual relations outside of marriage) sanctions.

In 2024, the CEDAW Committee expressed concern at the lack of concrete efforts made to address female genital mutilation and cutting (FGM/C) in rural areas of Oman and the prevalence of child marriage. The Committee recommended that the government ensure that Article 67 of the Child Law is adequately enforced to criminalise FGM/C and that efforts are made to prevent the practice of FGM/C. The Committee recommended that the government enforce the legal minimum age of marriage of 18 years, with no exceptions, and ensure that appropriate measures are established to criminalise, prosecute and punish perpetrators of child marriage.

In 2020 the CEDAW Committee expressed concern at the persisting practice of child marriage and FGM/C, especially in rural areas. The Committee recommended that the government take measures to eliminate harmful practices such as FGM and child marriage. This Committee and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child both recommended that Oman enforce the legal minimum age for marriage and implement regulations that impose sanctions on perpetrators of FGM/C and child marriage

During its 2017 review, the CEDAW Committee highlighted that child marriage was on the decline in Oman and welcomed Article 7 of the Personal Status Law, which set the minimum age of marriage at 18 for both girls and boys. It raised concerns, however, that child marriage is still allowed by some judges in rural areas.

In 2011 the CEDAW Committee raised concerns about the requirement of a wali (male guardianship permission) for a woman to enter into marriage, drawing attention to patriarchal norms in Oman and the lack of space for women and girls to influence decisions affecting them.

The minimum legal age of marriage in Oman is 18 years, this is established under Article 7 of the Personal Status Law.

However, under Article 10 of the Personal Status Law, marriage under the age of 18 is allowed if it is considered to be in the bride’s best interests, if her guardian consents, or with permission from a judge. There is no minimum age of marriage when all exceptions have been considered.