AUGUST 8 — The words child bride have been causing a stir lately. Because of one man who married a 11-year old and had wanted to marry her since she was seven. Surely there had been many cases in the past but it was not brought to our attention probably because the child was not as young.

What went on in this man's mind when he had that desire when she was seven is anyone's guess.

Our new government has yet to take concrete action to rescue the girl and nullify the so-called marriage albeit saying they are trying to address the issue but it will take time. But is time on our side?

In the case of a girl being coerced into marrying her rapist, refugee kids being forced or sold into prostitution and children being convinced that marriage to an older man is fine, time is not on their side.

How to stop all these is not merely punishing the culprits. We need to address the root cause — poverty and lack of education. Education is the key out of poverty.

In most cases, either the girls or their family are poor. They are not educated. So they do not know better. And they see these avenues as their only way out. Or their only hope if they are to survive.

To ensure more families come out of B40 is not merely giving them handouts. It is to ensure their kids get quality education. The education ministry should focus on giving more opportunities for children from impoverished families not just to have access to good schools but have the environment to learn.

PTPTN loans are flawed in its execution as it gives anyone access to just about any tom, dick and harry type of learning institutions which have low admission criteria. As a result, you get graduates who by right should not even be admitted into university the first place.

Instead of focusing on black shoes, car plate numbers, the education ministry should look deep into our current education system. Why is quality education not accessible to all?

The words child and bride do not belong together. Putting these words together and treating it as a normal day-to-day utterance is abhorrent. Issues like these should be given the utmost attention and priority

But without education, can these girls and families have a way out?

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