'No plans to ban child marriage', PKR MPs take minister to task

'No plans to ban child marriage', PKR MPs take minister to task


PARLIAMENT | Eight PKR women MPs and a PKR senator have spoken up against the Women, Families and Community Development Ministry’s move against banning child marriage through legal amendments to raise the minimum age to 18 years old.

The lawmakers including Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (Harapan-Pandan), who as deputy prime minister in the Pakatan Harapan administration also helmed the ministry, said existing measures to only “manage the issue” of child marriages goes against previous efforts to ban the practice.

“The National Strategic Plan initiated by Wan Azizah supported concrete actions of amending laws to address the issue of child marriage.

“The plan contains action programmes involving 61 agencies at federal and state levels,” they said.

Efforts to raise the marriage age to 18 were initiated under the National Strategic Plan in Handling the Causes of Child Marriage in January 2020 by the then Harapan federal government.

The MPs noted that the efforts covered various legal aspects, including syariah law, marriage law and Muslim family law under state jurisdictions through draft amendments to the Muslim Family Law Act 1984, intended to raise the minimum age of marriage for women to 18 years old.

“Minister Rina Harun’s stand has failed past efforts, particularly in the pandemic that victimised more young girls from low-income families at risk of being trapped in child marriage.

“Statistics for 2020 have shown 445 school students have not graduated because of marriage, involving 441 girls and 34 boys,” they said.

They also urged the government to continue discussions with seven states that have yet to agree to amend the relevant laws, as well as five other states that have agreed but yet to pass the amendments.

So far, only Harapan-ruled Selangor, with the backing of its sultan, had amended the state’s syariah laws to raise the marriage age to 18.

Aside from Wan Azizah, others who issued the joint statement comprise Permatang Pauh MP Nurul Izzah Anwar, Kuantan MP Fuziah Salleh, Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah, Sekijang MP Natrah Ismail, Merbok MP Nor Azrina Surip, Tangga Batu MP Rusnah Aluai, Hulu Selangor MP June Leow and Senator Fadhlina Sidek.

They were responding to Rina's written reply issued to Nurul Izzah’s written question in Parliament, stating the government at present has no plans to ban child marriage.

Rina yesterday said this was as the root cause of child marriage must be addressed beyond legal amendments, including through advocacy, education, health and other socio-economic factors.

Last December, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Idris Ahmad said the government has decided to maintain the minimum marriage age for Muslim girls at 16 years old after considering the proposal to raise the limit to 18 years old.

He also said the government had collected feedback from the state governments regarding this proposal as this is a matter under the states’ jurisdiction.