A UNICEF report released today has identified seven main factors causing and enabling child marriages in Malaysia.

One of the main factors is legislation that allow and facilitate child marriage.

The other factors behind child marriage are a lack of access to sex education, low household income and poverty, lack of access to education, social norms that condone child marriage, lack of parental guidance in sex education and a lack of legal status, the report said.

The Unicef Advocacy Brief: Towards ending child marriage in Malaysia report found that as of 2018, at least 1,500 children were married yearly. In 2018, it said 1,856 children were married.

The legal age for marriage set by the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 is 18 but a menteri besar or chief minister can grant girls between the ages of 16 and 18 permission to marry, provided they have the blessings of their parents.

Muslims are governed by shariah law, where the legal age for marriage is 18 for boys and 16 for girls. But those under the legal age can seek permission to marry from the shariah court.

The report said the impact of child marriage is severe.

“Children who are married suffer disrupted emotional and psychological development and are less likely to remain in school, leading to a higher risk of poverty due to lack of education.

“For girls, they become more vulnerable to domestic violence. As they are still children, they may suffer complications during pregnancy and childbirth. This is the leading cause of death for girls between the ages of 15 and 19,” it said.

It added that the infant mortality rate is also higher in teenage mothers.

Steps to tackle problem

The report forwards nine recommendations to tackle the issue of child marriage in Malaysia.

It identifies ministries and agencies, legislators, policymakers, religious leaders and civil society organisations, among others, as key stakeholders in making the reforms possible.

The report also calls for legal reform to set the minimum age of marriage to 18, irrespective of sex, legal jurisdiction and customary laws.

It also recommends a mandatory legal requirement to register child marriages at the National Registration Department, adding that a central data agency should be set up to collect, analyse and disseminate data across the country on child marriage.

“This will help determine advocacy efforts and build a profile on child marriages in the country.”

To change social and cultural norms that condone child marriage, the advocacy report suggests raising awareness among stakeholders such as parents and teachers.

It also recommends training professionals, such as social workers, to prevent, identify and respond to incidences of child marriage.

A wider support for access to sex education, information and services must be provided to allow young people space to discuss their sexuality.

For this, the report recommends implementing an age-appropriate curriculum for primary and secondary schools to be taught by teachers.

It also suggests the setting up of a girl empowerment programme that promotes awareness on sexual and reproductive health, rights and responsibilities.

The programme should also engage men and boys to address the issue of masculinity and to recognise the rights of women and girls.

Poverty and education, or rather a lack of, is another key area that need addressing.

To address poverty, the report recommends putting in place a social protection floor that provide an appropriate level of income security for all Malaysians.

This includes school meals, disability and unemployment benefits for poor and low-income families to ensure that their children don’t prematurely leave the education system.

When it comes to education, it recommends making secondary schooling, up to form five, compulsory for all children, including undocumented, stateless and refugee children.

While tackling child marriage among Malaysians, the undocumented, stateless, refugee and asylum-seeking communities must not be forgotten. It suggests providing them with legal identification by 2030.

This will provide a legal and administrative framework to strengthen community access to child protection, education, health and employment facilities.

Finally, the advocacy report calls for strategic research to allow evidence-based advocacy to take place. – March 9, 2021.