In a victory for the rights of Arab and ultra-Orthodox women, the Knesset has raised the minimum age of marriage from 17 to 18. The amendment to the 1950 Age of Marriage Law passed its final vote with 55 in favor and 11 against. The vote follows a ten-year campaign by NIF grantee the Working Group for Equality in Personal Status Issues. Previously, religious parties had managed to prevent this legislation from being implemented.