THE Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais) said it will move to raise the minimum marriage age for Muslim women to 18 from the previous 16, making it uniform for both sexes.

The amendments should be made to the Islamic Family Laws (Selangor 2003), it said after a meeting with the Selangor Shariah Judiciary Department and Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais).

The council has also consulted universities, medical experts and civil society groups. 

“They have agreed that the amendments should be made for underage marriages in Selangor,” the council said in a statement.

However, there were no mentions about amending the requirement which would allow shariah judges to give the green light to child marriages under certain circumstances.

Last month, a 41-year-old rubber trader who married an 11-year-old Thai girl in Kelantan was slapped with a RM1,800 fine. 

The man from Gua Musang reportedly married the girl in southern Thailand and was caught after his second wife lodged a police report.

The council said with the amendments, the minimum age for men and women to get married in Selangor is 18.

“We view this issue of underage marriages seriously. This is not only happening here but globally.”

The proposed amendments to the law will be brought to the Selangor state assembly. 

“We also want to tighten the approval of underage marriages by the shariah court, taking into account the interests of the children. 

“We propose that the shariah judges order the children to go for special family courses and counselling conducted by the Welfare Department and the children must undergo medical check-up.” – August 1, 2018.