AUGUST 1 — While neighbouring Indonesia has decided to ban child marriage, in Malaysia we have people protesting in defence of it.

A child activist once told me, “We don’t protect our kids.”

Time and time again she has been proven right.

I have seen the arguments for child marriage online from Malaysians, with some saying that being gay is worse than marrying a child.

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The worst bit is some people saying that their religion technically allows it, so banning it is “going against” their religion.

Dear Malaysians: the year is 2018. The world, and people, have changed.

Decades ago, girl children got married earlier because they simply had no choice.

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In the 21st century, minors have options. Marriage is no longer a means of survival, a securing of a future.

It is proven that little girls suffer when forced to marry and bear children at too young an age. Yet there are men arguing that they should be allowed to marry young girls to “help them.”

Making a young girl your indentured sex slave isn’t saving her — someone needs to save her from anyone who thinks that way.

Why is there so much public support for grown, middle-aged men to have the right to marry 11-year-olds? 

I know there are plenty of voices of condemnation but they are stronger in civil society than our government.

PAS members have even gone public with their opposition to bans of child marriage. Who is going to protect little girls then, from PAS?

It is simple — children shouldn’t be married. There needs to be a minimum age, with, at most, a “Romeo and Juliet” clause to cover cases where sex happens between minors or where one party is a minor but the other is just a year older.

Malaysia needs to get over its puritanism — sex happens. Sex happens between people who are unmarried, of differing or similar genders. 

Consenting sex between adults should be no one’s business but legalising sex with minors shouldn’t be happening. 

Our kids deserve better than politicians who sanction paedophilia.

* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.