Customer Cases
What is the legal age for marriage for Chinese women？
Time:2025-09-01 Views:1010
In ancient China, women around the age of 12 were considered eligible for marriage and could seek matchmakers. But now, getting married at this time is prohibited by law. There is a minimum age requirement for women to get married in our country. Article 6 of the Marriage Law stipulates that the age of marriage shall not be earlier than 22 years for males and 20 years for females. For more information, please refer to the following text.
1、 Basis for determining the legal age of marriage for women
The marriage age stipulated in the Marriage Law has universal applicability, but in certain special circumstances, the law also allows exceptions to be made to the marriage age. For example, considering the multi-ethnic characteristics of our country, Article 50 of the Marriage Law stipulates that "the people's congresses of ethnic autonomous areas have the right to formulate flexible provisions based on the specific situation of local ethnic marriage and family." Currently, some legislative bodies of ethnic autonomous areas in China have made flexible provisions on the statutory age of marriage in the Marriage Law. For example, in Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Xizang and other autonomous regions, as well as some autonomous prefectures and autonomous counties, the minimum age for marriage in this region is 20 for men and 18 for women. But these flexible regulations only apply to ethnic minorities and do not apply to the Han people living in the region.
The determination of the legal age of marriage requires consideration of natural factors such as physical development and intellectual maturity, as well as social factors such as political, economic, and demographic development. Therefore, the regulations on the legal age of marriage vary from country to country: Denmark, Poland, and some states in the United States set it at 21 years for men and 18 years for women; Switzerland and Vietnam stipulate that the age limit is 20 for males and 18 for females; Germany, Russia, and Singapore require both men and women to be 18 years old; Japan, Romania, and Pakistan set the age limit at 18 for males and 16 for females; In the Philippines, the age limit is 16 for males and 14 for females. In the feudal era of our country, there was a custom of early marriage. In the Tang Dynasty, when men were fifteen years old and women were thirteen years old, they were allowed to marry; During the Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties, a man of sixteen and a woman of fourteen were allowed to marry; According to the Civil Code of Taiwan, "Men under the age of 18 and women under the age of 16 are not allowed to get married." In 1950, the legal age for marriage was set at 20 for men and 18 for women. This was in line with the level of political, economic, and cultural development at that time, as well as the level of consciousness and acceptance of the people. When the Marriage Law was amended in 1980, on the one hand, it was considered that appropriately raising the legal age of marriage would benefit the physical and mental health, work and study of young people, as well as family planning work; At the same time, it is also noted that the legal age for marriage is too high, which does not meet the requirements of natural laws and is detached from the masses and rural reality. Therefore, it is stipulated that 'men shall not be earlier than 22 years old, and women shall not be earlier than 20 years old'.
2、 Changing the legal age of marriage for women is not very meaningful
In this amendment to the Marriage Law, a member of the National People's Congress proposed to change the legal age of marriage for women to be greater than men or equal in age, in order to adapt to the reality that women have a longer average life expectancy than men. The fact that men are older than women is one of the reasons why men in Chinese families are in a dominant position. Some experts believe that this proposal is not very meaningful for the following reasons:
Firstly, although the marriage age for men and women stipulated in China's Marriage Law is very low, there are very few eligible men and women in urban areas who get married at this age. Even in rural areas, the average age of marriage for men and women is still higher than the legal age. The regulation of the legal age for marriage only sets a minimum age limit for marriage, and this age limit is not the optimal age for marriage for both men and women. It is difficult for young seeds to bear fruit.
Secondly, the fact that men are older than women as stipulated in the Marriage Law does not have a biased effect on the majority of men being older than women in real marriages. Whether men and women can fall in love and get married is not related to age, but only to the degree of love. There are people who truly love each other, some men are older than women, and some women are older than men. The key is whether the two are suitable.
Thirdly, in real marriages, the majority of men are older than women, not because of the age limit set by marriage laws, but because of the social and personality differences between men and women. Gender equality refers to the equal social status of men and women. In actual life, men's physiological structure determines that they are stronger and have a stronger ability to withstand social pressure. Therefore, there has been a saying since ancient times that women lead internally and men lead externally. This also determines the dominant position of most men in the family.
Fourthly, the Marriage Law stipulates that the age of marriage for males is higher than that for females, which is entirely determined based on the time of sexual maturity between men and women. Females tend to reach puberty earlier than males, so there is a scientific basis for stipulating that the age of marriage for females is lower than that for males, and there is no need to question this.
Of course, from a lifespan perspective, women do have a longer average lifespan than men. If a woman in a marriage is slightly older than a man, it is a good thing for a perfect marriage. But most men hope that their women are objects to be cared for, and men are willing to be the protectors of women. But how can a naive man protect a mature woman? Similarly, most women also hope to find a strong man as a strong support, and it is evident that women put in more effort in sibling relationships.
The Marriage Law only provides the minimum age limit and serves as a reference for people's actual age of marriage. Therefore, it is of little significance to change or not change the legal age of marriage.
The above is a comprehensive introduction to the legal age of marriage for Chinese women. With the rapid development of China, women have become more independent economically, and more and more Chinese women who have reached the legal age for marriage are delaying marriage or simply not getting married, especially those with university degrees and white-collar jobs. Although the law advocates for late marriage, it is not mandatory, nor does it mean that getting married later is better. According to relevant surveys, women between the ages of 25-29 have already fully developed and matured, with the best conditions in all aspects, making it the optimal period for reproduction. Therefore, it is best for women to get married and have children between the ages of 25-29. If you have any other legal questions that you don't understand, please feel free to consult a lawyer from Fanneng Law Firm! Sichuan Faneng Law Firm is dedicated to serving you.