KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 19 — The federal government should stop child marriages by conclusively raising the legal marrying age to 18, the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) said today.
Expressing grave “concern” over a United Nations (UN) report that about 82,000 married women in Malaysia were aged as young as 15 to 19, Suhakam said Putrajaya must step in to intervene and change laws that have been turning children into “victims” of child marriages.
It highlighted the fact that Muslim girls may even be legally married in Malaysia under current Islamic laws, even if they have yet to turn 16 - which is well below the legal age of 18 where one is considered an adult .
“The authorities must also address the legislative inconsistencies between religious, customary and civil marriages.
“Although the minimum age for marriage of Muslim girls is 16, which is consistent with the Penal Code on the age of consent for sexual intercourse, a Syariah Court judge may nevertheless give permission for the marriage of a girl below 16,” the commission said in a statement today.
“Therefore, the Commission also recommends that the government amend domestic laws to raise the legal age of marriage for all to 18 years, to be in compliance with the Child Act 2001 which defines children as those below the age of 18,” Suhakam added.
Suhakam sternly criticised child marriages as violating the internationally-recognised rights of children.
“The Commission opines that child marriage is a grave human rights violation, which could significantly impact a child’s rights to health, education, equality, non-discrimination and to live free from violence and exploitation,” it said.
It added that Malaysia itself had signed off on several international conventions that protect children’s rights - Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
Suhakam said the “best interests of the child” must always prevail, and that “traditional practices” must never be allowed to “supersede” their fundamental rights, also reminding Putrajaya of its commitment under the CRC to ensure the protection and well-being of children.
On December 16, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) representative for Malaysia, Michelle Gyles-McDonnough said that more than 150,000 Malaysians married too early at age below 19, compromising their ability to get an education and be part of a productive labour force in a high-income nation, and instead relegated themselves to a life of dependency and under-employment.
Child marriages are largely frowned upon in Malaysian society but do occur here as the country’s Islamic judicial system — which runs alongside the civil courts — has laws that allow a Muslim girl below the age of 16 to marry, though only with the consent of the Shariah Court. Permission is granted on a case-by-case basis.
Under civil law, sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 16 is a crime, whether or not she consents to it.
Civil laws, particularly the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act — which applies to non-Muslims — allows for marriage between couples aged 18 and above, but exemptions are also made for girls aged 16 and above, whereupon the consent of the state’s chief minister or mentri besar, must be obtained first.
