This year marks the 5th year of the 5-year action plan and national strategy in handling the causes of child marriages in Malaysia. The national strategy was launched on the 16th of January 2020 by the then Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia and Minister of Women, Family and Community Development Datuk Seri Wan Azizah in line with the National Child Policy, National Child Protection Policy, Child Act 2001 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). It is crafted based on the notion guided by the core principles of CRC; survival, protection, development and participation. It contains programmes and actions to address six factors identified as the causes of child marriage. The Plan that was supported by 27 Government ministries, agencies and departments, 14 Majlis Agama Islam, 14 Jabatan Agama Islam Negeri, local NGOs and international bodies reflects cross-sectoral issues addressing issues such as law, parenting, family support, education, health and awareness. https://www.kpwkm.gov.my/kpwkm/uploads/files/Dokumen/Pelan%20Strategi%20Perkahwinan%20Bawah%20Umur/EXECUTIVE%20SUMMARY.pdf
The national strategy outlines 6 factors that contribute to child marriages which are:
Ø Low household income and poverty,
Ø Lack of access to sexual reproductive health education and parenting skill,
Ø Lack of access to education and poor school attendance,
Ø Stigma and social norms on child marriage chosen as the best solution in community to address problems,
Ø Loose laws that provide for marriage under the age of 18 and
Ø Coordination of underage data and underage divorce.
Five years on, where are we at? Where do we stand as a nation as far as preventing and managing child marriages is concerned? Last year Colombia, Sierra Leone and Malawi had successfully banned child marriages through congresses and Parliaments but will that bring the change that is needed?
While it is true that there seems to be a decline in the number of registered child marriages over the years in Malaysia from 1,467 in 2019, 1,354 cases in 2020, 1,086 in 2021, 1,035 in 2022 and 923 in 2023, but one case of an underage marriage is one too many.
While positive strides have been made, for example in ensuring children remain in school up to the end of their secondary school term by the tabling of the compulsory secondary education in June by the Ministry of Education, and the possible tabling of papers soon to Cabinet by the Sabah state government on the issue of child marriages among indigenous communities, what other ongoing efforts have been made across agencies and ministries as well as the current status of the 5 year plan in managing contributing factors to child marriages.
In the ASEAN region, Brunei’s age for marrying is set at 14, Cambodia at 18 for women and 20 for men but allowed in special cases by the parents or guardians where the man or women are below the legal age or if the woman becomes pregnant, Indonesia raised the minimum age of marriage for women from 16 to 19 in 2019, the same as for men but parents can still ask religious courts or local officials to authorise marriages of underage girls, in Laos the minimum legal age to marry for men and women is set at 18 but in special and necessary cases the limit may be lowered to 15, Myanmar set 18 as the age of marriage for both men and women but it is hard to track and there are many other laws that contravene others, in the Philippines under the Family Code 1988, the legal minimum age of marriage is 18 for both girls and boys but under the Muslim Law on Personal Status girls are eligible to be married as soon as they reach puberty (but not below the age of 12) and with permission of the Court, whereas Muslim boys can be married at age 15, in Singapore the minimum of age of marriage is 18 but the Ministry of Social and Family Development can grant a special marriage licence with the necessary parental consent so that a minor can marry and under the Muslim Law Act the kadi (official of religious standing) may solemnise the marriage of a girl under the age of 18 who has attained puberty, in Thailand the minimum legal age of marriage is 20 but individuals are able to marry at 17 years with parental consent and the Court may approve the marriage of individuals under the age of 17 when there is an “appropriate reason” to do so, as well the power of local mosques that can marry girls and boys below 17 with the permission of the Islamic court or the parents and in Vietnam the legal age of marriage is 18 for girls and 20 for boys with no exception although 15% of girls below 18 and 1% of girls below 15 are married off whereas 2% of boys are married below the age of 18.
These 9 ASEAN countries, including Malaysia have laws in place on the minimum age of marriage but there needs to be greater initiatives to not only improve marriage laws setting 18 or 19 as the minimum age of marriage with no exception but to also alleviate poverty in rural areas and amongst the urban poor, make information available and campaigning and outreach at grassroots levels with community leaders, keeping boys and girls in schools, providing practical information on reproductive health, sex education and the law, spreading the negative impact child marriages on the child from a health perspective, active engagement with custodians of customs and cultures on the matter of child brides, the strengthening of civil, shariah and native courts on greater care in deciding on child marriages and the collection and corroboration of accurate data on underage marriages.
As Chair of ASEAN, the eradication of child marriages must be on the agenda alongside matters like trade, finance, investment and international law. After all, if we cannot safeguard and protect our children who will be the next generation of leaders in ASEAN, then we are setting up ourselves to fail in terms of human rights, equality, good governance and justice.
It is evident, looking at all the contributing factors to underage marriages that it is not on the Government alone to work out a solution but that each and every one of us have a role to play as well. But how can we help if we do not have enough information on where we are at on underage marriages in Malaysia?
Therefore, it is timely for the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development to table a progress report – made available not only to Members of Parliament but also for the public and civil society. That way, all of us can participate, collectively to help in combating child marriages in Malaysia.
Ending child marriages is not a legal obligation alone but a moral imperative, a moral compass by any Government.
Kasthuri Patto
DAP Central Executive Committee Member
DAP Secretary for International Affairs
DAP Women Vice Chairperson
