Child Marriage
Malaysia has a dual legal system which practices a civil legal system and an Islamic (Sharia) legal system. Muslim marriages are allowed for 18 year old boys and 16 year old girls.
Child Marriage
Statistics from the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (MWFCD) and the National Registration Department show that a total of 14,999 registered child marriages occurred from 2007 to 2017.
Child marriage refers to any formal marriage or informal union between a child under the age of 18 and an adult or another child (UNICEF, 2022). In Malaysia, children are allowed to get married under the exceptions of both Islamic, civil and customary marriage laws. For Muslim children under 18, if they wish to unionise through marriage, permission needs to be granted by the Shariah courts whereas for non-Muslim children, they must seek permission from the Chief Minister of the states that they reside in.
In January 2023
the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development launched a 5-year National Strategy Plan in Handling the Causes of Child Marriage. However three years down the road, public and civil society organisations question the materialisation of this national strategy plan. We have yet to see the fruition of this extensive plan provided by the Ministry.
Malaysia is a country strongly influenced by its religious and cultural norms and grievously, this enables the practice of child marriage. Child marriage has been so normalised that in certain communities, the burden of marriage is immediately put onto the shoulders of a girl child once she reaches puberty. This detrimental gender stereotype is also weighing on our boy children as they are pressured to take on very adult and heavy responsibilities at home such as finding income for their families and taking care of the younger siblings.
#PelajarBukanPengantin which translates to #StudentsNotSpouse is Malaysia’s organic, collaborative and earnest attempt to increase the minimum age of marriage in Malaysia. The movement was led by a chain of CSO and concerned Malaysians. Malaysia must learn to create a society in which we see children as children, and not as adults. By allowing child marriage, we deprive children of many of their rights – and it is our core duty to prevent that.
Join the fight #PelajarBukanPengantin by following their official page.
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