Even though Turkey raised the minimum age of marriage to 17 in 2007, the country currently has one of the highest rates of child marriage the highest in Europe. the legal age is 17, and under a legal "exceptional circumstances" provision, a family can seek court consent to legally marry a child who is younger than the established legal age. However, what is considered an “exceptional circumstance” is rather vague. Although Turkey already has laws in place to protect children, countless underage girls are married off by their families every year. Child marriage is not just a family problem: it is a violation of human rights and must be treated as such by the legal community in Türkiye. In 2011, Turkey signed the Council of Europe convention to combat violence against women, which includes the adoption of laws making child marriage a crime. Even though Turkey is a signatory to the agreement, the rate of child marriages in the country continues to increase every year. Even if families are aware of the laws regarding marriage, many prefer to avoid these legalities by marrying their children in religious ceremonies. , which are often not reported to the authorities. It is therefore difficult to find an accurate account of the number of child brides in Türkiye. According to reports, there are around 180,000 child brides in the country. However, this statistic does not reflect the unknown number of religious marriages that are not legal or reported to the state. Some reports estimate the true figure to be as high as a third of all marriages in Türkiye involving at least one partner who is under the legal age of consent. One has to wonder how many illegal and underage marriages...... middle of paper ... legal marriages should be forced, without exception, to accept the legal consequences of their actions. Communities must stop turning a blind eye to this form of child abuse and start speaking out. By depriving a girl of her childhood, her life and dreams are considered unimportant. All children deserve an education. They all deserve the opportunity to have financial stability in their lives. Every child should have the chance to experience a childhood and not be sold, traded or bought into child brides. By law, a child cannot be forced into marriage if he or she is under the legal age of consent. However, too many people turned a blind eye and looked away for too long as young girls were sent to new homes as "gelin" or brides. This attitude must change if women are ever to take their rightful place in Turkish society. Anything less is an insult to all women.