Lawmakers in Malaysia debate child marriages.
REUTERS
A Malaysian opposition lawmaker has suggested that allowing
girls under the age of 16 to marry could resolve the issue of premarital
sex amongst 'lustful' teenagers. Nik Mazian Nik Mohamad said that
making it illegal for younger people to marry would not stop teenagers
from having sex freely.
"Nowadays, kids under the age of 16 are already having sex
and already have open sexual relationships. If we prevent them from
getting married, these urges are still there, so they will be exposed to
have sex freely and outside of marriage," he told Parliament.
Lawmakers were debating the legal age to marry in Malaysia -
18 years for Malaysians under civil law but 16 for Muslim girls. In
addition to a lower age of marriage, Muslim teenagers under 16 may marry
if they obtain permission from the Shariah courts.
Earlier Ampang MP Zuraida Kamaruddin claimed that child marriages
were being used as a solution to statutory rape and that girls were
forced to marry their rapists. Another MP Teo Nie Ching agreed, saying
that the practice exacerbated the trauma of the rape victims.
She noted how in Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, a 14-year-old girl
married her rapist who was over 40 years old. The rapist was convicted
in court and sent to jail.
"But what happens to the child. She married the main who
raped her. That's why we need amendments to protect the rights of the
child," Teo said.
Nik Mazlan however questioned whether there was coercion
involved in the case involving the 14-year-old. He said that if the
intercourse had been consensual, then it supported his claims that teens
had sexual urges which he described as a "big problem".
In a written reply in Parliament, the Women, Family and
Community Development Minister Rohani Abdul Karim said that the Shariah
courts received more than 1,000 applications from Muslims for permission
to marry minors last year. She did not say how many of the applications
were given the green light.
The amended Child Act was passed in Parliament on 6 April
but it failed to solve the rising problems of child marriages,
FreeMalaysiaToday reported. It said the law instead focused on
abolishing whipping and enforcing community service for child offenders
and improving child protection through the National Council for Children
and Child Welfare Teams.
The new amendments will see stricter penalties for child
abuse and neglect cases, with the jail term doubled to a maximum of 20
years and fines increased as well. Details of all those convicted of any
offence, in which a child is a victim, will be kept in the Register of
Children.
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