Marriage
In the traditional family, marriage is still a family rather than a personal affair. Marriages are not conducted by the imam anymore as they were before the republic. By law they have to be civil. Approximately 40% of marriages are only civil, 50% are both civil and religious, 10% are only religious which means they are not legal. Polygamy is very rare and only in some villages with a rate of 3%.
Civil Marriage
In recent years, Marriage can be performed by Muslim clerics or civil officials. But, Turkish laws recognize only civil marriage in Turkey. The legal age to marry is 18 years old. Also 17 years old can get married with permission of parents both for boys and girls. If the girl or boy is under 16 years old, They can get married with permission of parents and a court decision.
The average age for girls to marry is around 17-18. Early marriages are more frequent in rural areas. For young men in big cities the problems of receiving an education, military service and acquiring a job are among the reasons that delay marriage.
According to region, culture, and education, forms of marriage change. In local regions especially in less educated areas, the tradition is much stricker than cities. And arranged marriages are much more popular.
But There is a quite modern life in west of Turkey. So If the woman is educated well and has a job to make life, the story totally changes for everyone
Divorce
Man and woman are equal according to laws in Turkey. Turkish laws accept only civil marriage and civil divorcing. So Woman has rights as much as man. But because of having quite strict tradition in culture especially on the eastern part of Turkey, Divorcing is not easy for a woman. Especially if a woman doesn’t have any job to continue life, she doesn’t prefer to divorce.