Your right to get married (or not)
You can get married in Germany at the age of 18 without your parents having to give their consent. Exceptions must be granted by the family court upon application and are only possible if either of the two partners is an adult.
Everyone has the right to freely decide whether and whom he or she marries. This holds applicable to both girls and boys, irrespective of origin, religion, skin colour or age. No one may be married against his or her will.
If you are to marry without wanting to, and you want to defend yourself against it, contact a counselling centre, a teacher, or a social worker. It can be very difficult to find a solution in such a situation by yourself. It is therefore always a good idea to get help from contact points that specialise in helping people, who are threatened by forced marriage.
Telephone numbers
If you would like to have more information or a personal consultation, contact a telephone helpline such as Jugend- und Mädchennotdienst (Youth and Girls Emergency Service) (Tel: 030 - 61 00 62 and 030 - 61 00 63), or
www.zwangsheirat.de
www.papatya.org (Online consultation)
www.terredesfemmes.de (provides addresses of local contact points