Amid worries about the arrival of millions of migrants from regions known for Islamic terrorism and doubts about their integration, former Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, confidently declared in August 2015, “We can do it.”
However, public sentiment regarding Merkel’s optimism has shifted quite dramatically over time.
‘Child marriages are incompatible with our values.’
The surge in migrants from the Middle East has not only coincided with a notable increase in Islamic terror attacks but has seemingly also contributed to a rise in crime rates, particularly sexual violence, and has left Europe facing issues related to child marriage.
In response to questions from two members of the Alternative for Germany party, known as the AFD, Baden-Württemberg’s interior ministry disclosed in September that the region has witnessed numerous child marriages since Merkel’s controversial proclamation.
Martin Rothweiler, the AFD leader in the state parliament, expressed concern on X, translating his statement as, “Our country and our values are being abolished before our very eyes.”
The Tübingen Regional Council has been tracking incidents of child marriage in Baden-Württemberg, which constitutes approximately 13.46% of Germany’s total population, since 2012. Between 2017 and 2026, the council reported 358 cases of child marriage, with some victims as young as 11.
Under German law, children are defined as individuals aged 14 years and younger, while those between 15 and 18 qualify as adolescents. This classification aligns with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which stipulates that “a child means every human being below the age of eighteen years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier.”
The majority of men involved in marrying these minors are from Syria, Turkey, Bulgaria, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
Since 2012, only eight of the documented child marriages, such as between a 16-year-old German girl and a 25-year-old Pakistani man, and a 14-year-old Afghan girl married to a 30-year-old Afghan man, have been legally annulled.
The government acknowledged that there are no ongoing legal actions to annul the remaining marriages.
The report also indicated that out of 271 cases documented last year by the state-funded counseling service YASEMIN, 80 involved individuals at risk of forced marriage. Within these forced marriage cases, 33 individuals were minors—four under the age of 12, five were 12, and two were 13.
Emely Knorr, one of the AFD politicians who posed the inquiry, stated on Instagram, which was reported as being translated by Euronews, “Child marriages are incompatible with our values. Children have a right to safety, education, and a self-determined future. Therefore, we must implement effective protection, early intervention, and decisive action against forced marriages.”
Nikolaos Boutakoglou, another AFD figure behind the inquiry, remarked earlier this month on X, “Almost every single child marriage in Baden-Württemberg since 2017 can be traced back to mass migration!”
Boutakoglou added that “nearly 40% of child marriages were contracted between Syrians, while child marriages involving two Germans account for only 0.3%!”
