It was reported in media that a 35-year-old man has pleaded guilty over two charges of raping his 11-year-old sister-in-law.[1]
Words cannot describe my angry and sadness over the incident, as such tragedy should not have happened in the first place.
The accused is married to a 14-year old disabled person. Not only he made his under-aged wife capture the alleged rape episodes on a video camera, he even copied the recording to VCDs and then sold them to his friends.
First of all, why was a 14-year old disabled girl allowed to marry a 35-year old man? Is it not obvious that she is an easy target of abuse?
The legal age for marriage for non-Muslims is 18. However, marriages are allowed for those between 16 and 18 with written consent from the chief minister. For Muslims, the legal age of marriage for males is 18 and females, 16. With the permission of the Syariah court, however, Muslims can marry at any age.
I have raised it repeatedly in the Parliament, that study has shown that girls between 10 and 14 years of age are five times more likely than women aged 20 to 24 to die in pregnancy and childbirth. In addition to that, child brides are less likely to complete their education, and more vulnerable to physical, sexual and mental abuse.
And this is exactly what happened in the case before us. Not only the under-aged wife has been manipulated by ter husband, but even her 11-year old sister has become a victim of sexual violence.
Not only our Government has removed its reservation to Article 16(b) of CEDAW, we have also adopted a United Nations resolution to end child, early and forced marriage at the UN Human Rights Council in October 2013.
When will we see action from the Government to fulfill their words and obligation?