Turkey's ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party is withdrawing a proposed bill on underage marriage for further consultations, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said on Tuesday.
He has said the plan, which will be withdrawn from parliament's general assembly and taken back to a commission, aims to remedy the situation of men who are in jail and are married to women under 18 in a religious ceremony and with the consent of their family.
"Our aim is to solve problems; that was our intention in proposing this bill," Turkish PM added.
The legal age for marriage in Turkey is 17, but under Civil Code Article 124, a judge can allow a 16-year-old to marry.
In cases of sexual abuse where the victim is under 12, the minimum prison sentence is 10 years and for victims age 12 to 18 the sentence is eight to 15 years.
The minimum jail term for raping someone under 12 is 18 years; and for raping someone aged 12 to 18 the term is 16 years.
