KUALA LUMPUR, March 24: The government will need the cooperation of the people as it alone will not be able to work out a solution for the issue of underage marriages in the country, says DAP Secretary for International Affairs and DAP Women Vice Chair Kasthuri Patto
“Each and every one of us have a role to play as well. But how can we help if we do not have enough information on where we are at on underage marriages in Malaysia?” Kasthuri said while urging the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development to table a progress report on the National Strategy Plan In Handling The Causes Of Child Marriage (2020-2025) in the coming Parliamentary sitting.
This year marks the 5th year of the 5-year action plan and national strategy in handling the causes of child marriages in Malaysia.
The national strategy was launched on the 16th of January 2020 by the then Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia and Minister of Women, Family and Community Development Datuk Seri Wan Azizah in line with the National Child Policy, National Child Protection Policy, Child Act 2001 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Kasthuri said in a statement issued today.
Various programmes and actions were planned to address six factors identified as factors behind child marriages namely, low household income and poverty, lack of access to sexual reproductive health education and parenting skill/
Other factors were the lack of access to education and poor school attendance, stigma and social norms on child marriage chosen as the best solution in community to address problems, loose laws that provide for marriage under the age of 18 and coordination of underage data and underage divorce.
Kasthuri said the update on the progress of the plan that was supported by 27 Government ministries, agencies and departments, 14 Majlis Agama Islam, 14 Jabatan Agama Islam Negeri, local NGOs and international bodies to reflect cross-sectoral issues addressing issues such as law, parenting, family support, education, health and awareness would be important in tackling the issue.
“Five years on, where are we at? Where do we stand as a nation as far as preventing and managing child marriages is concerned? Last year Colombia, Sierra Leone and Malawi had successfully banned child marriages through congresses and Parliaments but will that bring the change that is needed?
“While it is true that there seems to be a decline in the number of registered child marriages over the years in Malaysia from 1,467 in 2019, 1,354 cases in 2020, 1,086 in 2021, 1,035 in 2022 and 923 in 2023, but one case of an underage marriage is one too many,” Kasthuri, who is also a DAP Central Executive Committee member said.
She noted that while positive strides have been made, for example in ensuring children remain in school up to the end of their secondary school term by the tabling of the compulsory secondary education in June by the Ministry of Education, and the possible tabling of papers soon to Cabinet by the Sabah state government on the issue of child marriages among indigenous communities, more was needed.
Nine countries in the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) including Malaysia have laws in place on the minimum age of marriage but there needs to be greater initiatives to not only improve marriage laws setting 18 or 19 as the minimum age of marriage with no exception but to also alleviate poverty in rural areas and amongst the urban poor, make information available and campaigning and outreach at grassroots levels with community leaders, keeping boys and girls in schools, providing practical information on reproductive health, sex education and the law, she said.
Information on the negative impact of child marriages on the child from a health perspective needs to be spread while active engagement with custodians of customs and cultures on the matter of child brides, the strengthening of civil, shariah and native courts on greater care in deciding on child marriages and the collection and corroboration of accurate data on underage marriages needs to be there too.
As Chair of ASEAN, the eradication of child marriages must be on the agenda alongside matters like trade, finance, investment and international law to ensure that the region is on the right track in terms of human rights, equality, good governance and justice.
It is evident, looking at all the contributing factors to underage marriages that it is not on the Government alone to work out a solution but that each and every one of us have a role to play as well.
Ending child marriages is not a legal obligation alone but a moral imperative, a moral compass by any Government, Kasthuri said.
— WE