eighteen is the minimum legal age for marriage for women without parental consent in countries unfpa however in countries state or customary law allows girls younger than to marry with the consent of parents or other authorities in countries girls under age can marry with parental consent a recent unicef paper reported for example that in india where per cent of girls are married before only people were convicted of perpetuating children marriage in despite a law forbidding it unicef la such interventions seek to equip girls with knowledge and skills in areas relevant to their lives including sexual and reproductive health nutrition and their rights under the law