KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 5 — G25 today urged the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais) to close any loopholes that would give Shariah Courts the power to allow conditional child marriages.
In a statement, G25 commended Mais for their decision to raise the marriageable age to 18, but at the same time said that it still fell short of what civil society has been demanding, which is a total ban on child marriages.
“In this regard we are disappointed that the statement by Mais falls short of what we G25 and civil society, as well as the many voices around the world, aspires to, which is a total ban on child marriage,” said the group of retired senior civil servants.
“We take note with deep concern that the contents in the third paragraph of the statement seem to suggest that if the conditions are right, permission may be given for marriage below the age of 18,” it added.
G25 said that it is “unacceptable” to have any condition where child marriage can be considered as right and legal.
“Whatever the rationale for this ancient practice or its religious origin, it cannot remain as legal,” it added.
It stressed that marriage before the age of 18 is a fundamental human rights violation and “impacts every aspect of the child’s life.”
Mais said recently it would propose an amendment to the Islamic Family Law (Selangor) Enactment 2003 in the state legislative assembly as soon as possible to raise the minimum marriage age for Muslim women to 18 from the previous 16, making it uniform for both genders.
Mais did not mention about amending the requirement that would allow Shariah judges to give the green light to child marriages under certain circumstances, under Section 8 of the Enactment.
Instead, it said it has agreed to make the requirements for marrying a child stricter to safeguard the child’s interest and prevent harm, rather than abolishing child marriage altogether.
