MARCH 23 — Just this week, Datuk Seri Rina Mohd Harun and the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development came under attack for not banning child marriage in the country.

I think she did the right thing as far as this matter is concerned. Hang on, I am, hands down, against child marriage too.

For the record, Rina’s written reply in Parliament started by stating that the government has every intention to prevent and curb child marriage.

In other words, the government of the day does not support child marriage. The difference merely lies in the approach to the subject matter.

On one hand, the Opposition’s solution is to propose a ban right now. On the other hand, we have Rina citing four key elements that need to be tackled first; namely, education, advocacy, strengthening of the family institution, and socio-economic support in the community.

Education, not surprisingly, is top of the list and is probably the most effective way to curb child marriage.

When access to quality education is given to children, they will be more equipped to make informed decisions that can have life-long impact on their lives.

I for one believe that there is a direct link to why statistically speaking, there are more dropout girls involved in child marriage than those who stay in school.

Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rina Mohd Harun attends a programme at Chean Ai Disabled Welfare Association in Kelana Jaya January 29, 2022. — Picture by Shafwan Zaidon

Apart from education, Rina correctly points out advocacy as an important element. The issue is not one that can be tackled without the co-operation of the public and community as a whole.

Meanwhile, a subject matter that relates to a child’s well-being cannot be approached without also focusing on the institution of family.

Lastly, the harsh reality is that many children are married off due to socio-economic reasons.

It is easy to stand on our moral high ground to say what everyone wants to hear and preach, that child marriage is still wrong while the only two options available for some children is to either starve or get married unless these socioe-conomic issues are addressed.

But why not implement the ban immediately and tackle these four key elements later?

Potential legal issues involved may cause further delays

As we all know, marriage in Islam, albeit involving children, comes under Syariah law. Any federal legislation that contradicts it will just give rise to legal issues involving the Federal Constitution.

Instead of solving the matter at hand, this will just shift the entire battlefield to the court of law.

Instead of going headlong into a legal battle, more so, arguably an unfavourable one, Rina, or rather her ministry, is taking the diplomatic approach by getting the buy-in of the Islamic Development Department and the Syariah Judiciary Department first.

Formulating policies is more than just saying "no”

Rina has reaffirmed in her written reply that Putrajaya remains committed to implementing the National Strategic Plan in Handling the Causes of Child Marriages.

This will lead to better formulation of laws when the root cause of the issues is better understood.

For example, do we currently have enough of a support mechanism if the girl is already pregnant? What if the girl is no longer wanted by her own family after being married off?

Conclusion

I started off by saying that I, too, am against child marriage. However, I do not think Rina deserves all the backlash.

Perhaps, for anyone who is still skeptical otherwise, they should ask: why did the Opposition not introduce the ban immediately when they were in power if the solution was that straightforward and simple?

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or organisation and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.