Baden-Württemberg has officially registered 358 child marriages since 2012, according to a state government response to a parliamentary inquiry submitted by AfD lawmakers Nikolaos Boutakoglou and Emely Knorr. The Interior Ministry, whose remit covers marriages contracted abroad, provided the response, while the Tübingen regional authority maintains the records. Eight marriages were legally annulled between 2018 and 2024. Among them was the marriage of an 11-year-old Iraqi girl to a 17-year-old Iraqi boy, which was annulled in 2020.
The remaining 350 proceedings were closed through other routes, without legally binding annulments. The government cited circumstances including a spouse's death, reaching adulthood, a decision not to pursue annulment, and a subsequent marriage abroad. The records include a 12-year-old Afghan girl married to a 21-year-old Afghan man in the entries for 2023. Germany's legislation combating child marriage has been in force since summer 2017; in 2024, the national parliament adopted additional protections for minors whose marriages were contracted abroad. Marriage in Germany is permitted only upon reaching adulthood, and forced marriage constitutes a separate criminal offense.
Alongside the marriage records, the inquiry addressed support for people facing forced marriage. The state-funded YASEMIN counseling center registered 271 counseling cases in 2025. Of these, 80 involved people at risk of forced marriage, including 33 minors. Four of those minors were younger than 12, five were 12, and two were 13. The lawmakers said their inquiry followed an emergency checklist published in late July 2026 by the women's rights organization Terre des Femmes, primarily for teaching staff.
