Signing campaign to end child marriages

KUALA LUMPUR: More than 12,000 people call for the end of child marriages in Malaysia through a signature campaign on change

Record recorded after the marriage of a 41-year-old man to an 11-year-old Thai girl who became viral, seeks to move the government and her cabinet to end marriage marriages people aged 18 and under

The campaign, launched by Jeffery Seow, cites a letter from the Sisters of Islam published in a newspaper at the beginning of the year, claiming that it only There was no minimum age for Muslims to marry.

He indicated that the minimum age for non-Muslim marriage was 18 years for boys and girls. However, an exception to the rule may be made with the approval of ministers and chief ministers.

"For Muslims, the minimum age for the marriage of boys is 18 years and 16 years for girls.However, may approve the marriage of a child at any age.This means that the law does not provide minimum age for Muslims, "reads in the extract reproduced on the petition page

Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim, education lobbyist, told the New Straits Times that Deputy Prime Minister Datin Seri The first order of the day of Wan Azizah Wan Ismail should be the establishment of a campaign to end child marriages.

"She is the Minister of Women's, Family and Community Development and should change federal and state laws."

"This is especially crucial now that everyone is focusing on (Datuk Seri ) Najib Razak uploaded to 1Malaysia Development Bhd.

"People can forget the girl, already a third wife at age 11 and the importance of this," she said, citing the prerogative of the state in the revision of Islamic laws about the family

The president of the Parental Action Group for Education said that Dr. Wan Azizah should also get support from his cabinet. "In the meantime, they can also appeal to their teachers to check the absenteeism of students to identify the (potential) cases of early marriages.It is also too late, "said Azimah

She also called on the authorities to make a physical assessment and psychological of the girl in question to make sure that her "husband" had not sexually groomed him. 12-year-old would have pointed out that he had not slept with the girl saying "that they had been in love for three years" and that the family living in Gua Musang, Kelantan, had decided to A suspended marriage, which means that the couple would live together only as husband and wife in four years.

Part of Pakatan Harapan's manifesto includes the introduction of a new law that sets 18 years as the minimum age of marriage. Dr. Wan Azizah also said that the minimum age for girls' marriage could rise from 16 to 18, as soon as this month, Dewan Rakyat will meet.

Meanwhile, the Council of the Order declared that it was the responsibility of the government to promote the healthy development and protection of all children in Malaysia, in accordance with the accession of Malaysia to the Convention of the United Nations on the Rights of the Child.

According to the 2001 Children's Act, promulgated to fulfill the obligations of a child is defined as a person under 18 years of age. Based on statistics from the Syariah Judiciary Department and the National Registration Department, there were 6,246 marriage applications of Muslim children and 2,775 marriages of non-Muslim children between 2010 and 2015.

Musa Awang, President of the Malaysian Syariah Lawyers' Association that Sharia judges have wide discretion to consider all relevant factors before deciding whether to approve marriages early.

"Marriages are approved in certain situations where the judges make a decision after examining the physical signs of puberty.the girl, and also the level of maturity both the bride and the groom to be Pregnancy can also force their hand, "he said.

-NST