WHILE much is being done by United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), stakeholders, youth groups, ministries and watchdogs worldwide to end child marriage, child marriages are still significantly on the rise during the pandemic, with Malaysia being no exception.
Muslims in Malaysia, who are subject to sharia law under the country’s dual legal system, only need to be 16. Meanwhile, non-Muslims must be at least 18 to get hitched.
As issues involving Muslim marriages fall under state jurisdiction, Selangor is currently the only state that has raised the legal marriage age to 18. In contrast, the remaining 13 states are still retaining the minimum marriage age of 16.
In Malaysia, an average of 1,500 children from various religions, ethnicities, and communities marry each year, according to Women, Family, and Community Development Minister Rina Mohd Harun.
She said this practice is prevalent both urban and rural areas, among Muslim and non-Muslims, Orang Asli or indigenous people, and even among migrant and refugee communities.
Data from the Unicef in 2018 showed that 1,856 children were married, of which around 90% were girls. It was reported that between 2007 and 2017, approximately 15,000 cases were recorded.
According to its findings, low household income and poverty, pregnancy out of wedlock, lack of access to education and poor school attendance, social norms that condone child marriage, and laws that provide for marriage under the age of 18 contributed to child marriage.
Given the complexity of the issue, as child marriage is deeply rooted in society and economic circumstances, efforts to end child marriages would require a multicultural and multilevel mindset change – from education to health to social welfare. – June 12, 2022.
Nurul Syuhada Azmin, a 17-year-old bride, with her blue wedding dress at Pantai Senok, where she met her 18-year-old husband Muhammad Danish Fauzi for the first time nine months ago in Bachok, Kelantan. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, June 12, 2022.Nurul Syuhada Azmin (centre), 17, donning her wedding dress at home the night before her nuptials as relatives prepare gifts in Kampung Tok Mekong in Bachok, Kelantan. Syuhada, the fourth of nine siblings, said since she did not come from a privileged family, she decided to quit school and get married at a young age after losing their father, who died from Covid-19 in April. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, June 12, 2022.Nurul Syuhada Azmin, 17, with her wedding ring at her home in Bachok, Kelantan. Data from the United Nations Children’s Fund from 2018 showed that 1,856 children were married in Malaysia, of which around 90% are girls. It was also reported that between 2007 and 2017, approximately 15,000 cases were recorded. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, June 12, 2022.Sisters Nurul Syuhada Azmin (right), 17, Nurul Syakila (left), 20, and Nurul Syazlin, 19, who are getting married on the same day, wait in a room on their wedding day at their home in Bachok, Kelantan. Experts say the number of child marriages globally has surged as poverty fuelled by the pandemic has led families to marry off their daughters to reduce financial pressures. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, June 12, 2022.Muhammad Danish Fauzi (left), 18, poses for photographs with his 17-year-old wife Nurul Syuhada Azmin during their wedding ceremony in Bachok, Kelantan. Danish said their age as teenagers was not an obstacle to getting married, and not finishing school is also not a big issue. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, June 12, 2022.Syuhada, who is supposed to sit for her Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia like her other friends this year, says she was determined to quit school and get married because she wanted to be a good wife and be obedient to her husband. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, June 12, 2022.Villagers ride past a mosque during sunset in Bachok, Kelantan. As issues involving Muslim marriages fall under state jurisdiction, Kelantan is one of Malaysia’s 13 states that still retains the minimum marriage age of 16. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, June 12, 2022.Nani, 18, speaks during an interview with The Malaysian Insight at Raudhah Sakeenah Kelantan, a home for teenage girls pregnant out of wedlock in Kota Baru, Kelantan. Nani was only 17 when she found out she was pregnant with her ex-boyfriend’s child. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, June 12, 2022Nani, who was pregnant out of wedlock, says she was terrified and panicked at first, not knowing how to face her family. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, June 12, 2022.Nani recites the Quran at Raudhah Sakeenah Kelantan, in Kota Baru, Kelantan. Nani says her life is much calmer now after she was put under the care of the home. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, June 12, 2022.Teenage girls pregnant out of wedlock attend their class at Raudhah Sakeenah Kelantan in Kota Baru, Kelantan. Prof Dr Dasmawati Mohamad, a board member, says many unmarried teenage girls who find themselves pregnant come from broken homes, often emotionally fragile and easily taken in by their boyfriends’ promises. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, June 12, 2022.According to Unicef, low household income and poverty, pregnancy out of wedlock, lack of access to education, social norms that condone child marriage, and laws that provide for marriage under the age of 18 contribute to child marriage. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, June 12, 2022.A couple are silhouetted against a heart-shaped light decoration at a fun fair in Kota Baru, Kelantan. Given the complexity of the issue, as child marriage is deeply rooted in society and economic circumstances, it would require a multicultural and multilevel mindset change to end child marriage. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, June 12, 2022.
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