KUALA LUMPUR: Child marriages are an issue that Malaysia
still faces in spite of its good education system and low poverty rate.
Unlike Pakistan and India where almost half of the children are married
before the age of 16, in Malaysia, cases of child marriages are rare.
That is according to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak's wife, Rosmah
Mansor, who recently shared her country's experience of child marriages
at a breakfast meeting in New York.
Madam Rosmah had accompanied Prime Minister Najib, who was in New York attending a session of the United Nations' (UN) general assembly. However, experts at a recent Asia Pacific conference on Child Neglect and Abuse in Kuala Lumpur, have begged to differ.
They cite a UN population fund report, which said that despite Malaysia's relatively good education system and low poverty rate, more than 15,000 children in the country were married off below the age of 18.
"I won't say it is rare," said Dr Raj Karim, chairperson of the Asian Pacific Regional Conference on Child Abuse and Abuse. " I will say it is not that common but we really don't know the extent because most happen in the rural areas and are not reported, not brought to our attention.
"Of course there are cases in Sabah and Sarawak, it's common. It is like a social norm where children get married when they are 14 or any age below 16."
Paediatricians attending the conference highlighted the risks that pregnancy holds for mothers-to-be who are children themselves, as well as their babies. There is a higher chance of death because of maternal complications at birth.
Said paediatrician Naeem Zafar: "The younger the body, the chances of giving birth to smaller children and low birth weight children is more and these low birth weight children are always at higher risk of disease and demise."
Despite Madam Rosmah's statement that Malaysia has almost zero poverty and a good education system where 99 per cent of children are enrolled in primary schools, child experts have said that more needs to be done.
Said Dr Raj Karim: "We still have a lot more to do to bring down poverty and to uplift education to a higher level, because one, two, three years of education does not make much difference. But we don't look at the dropouts, I think it's dropouts that we need to look at."
Many Malaysian child rights activists are lobbying to standardise the minimum marriageble age in the country at 18 years .
Currently, non-Muslims can only be legally married when they turn 18. But under Syariah law, Muslim girls are allowed to be married at 16 or even younger provided there is consent from parents and the Syariah court.
"There should be some standardisation and I think 18 is a fair age," said Dr Raj Karim. "You cannot really be a judge to a child because a child is not physically and mentally ready to be parent or to be a wife."
Clearly, Malaysia is facing challenges, with a reported increase in the number of applications for underage marriages to the Syariah courts. More than 1,100 applied last year and this year, as at May, 600 have applied.
Education is key and many child rights activists are struggling to keep as many young girls in schools for as long as possible, and emphasising educating them on reproductive health matters as a way to protect children and help them realise their full potential.
Madam Rosmah had accompanied Prime Minister Najib, who was in New York attending a session of the United Nations' (UN) general assembly. However, experts at a recent Asia Pacific conference on Child Neglect and Abuse in Kuala Lumpur, have begged to differ.
They cite a UN population fund report, which said that despite Malaysia's relatively good education system and low poverty rate, more than 15,000 children in the country were married off below the age of 18.
"I won't say it is rare," said Dr Raj Karim, chairperson of the Asian Pacific Regional Conference on Child Abuse and Abuse. " I will say it is not that common but we really don't know the extent because most happen in the rural areas and are not reported, not brought to our attention.
"Of course there are cases in Sabah and Sarawak, it's common. It is like a social norm where children get married when they are 14 or any age below 16."
Paediatricians attending the conference highlighted the risks that pregnancy holds for mothers-to-be who are children themselves, as well as their babies. There is a higher chance of death because of maternal complications at birth.
Said paediatrician Naeem Zafar: "The younger the body, the chances of giving birth to smaller children and low birth weight children is more and these low birth weight children are always at higher risk of disease and demise."
Despite Madam Rosmah's statement that Malaysia has almost zero poverty and a good education system where 99 per cent of children are enrolled in primary schools, child experts have said that more needs to be done.
Said Dr Raj Karim: "We still have a lot more to do to bring down poverty and to uplift education to a higher level, because one, two, three years of education does not make much difference. But we don't look at the dropouts, I think it's dropouts that we need to look at."
Many Malaysian child rights activists are lobbying to standardise the minimum marriageble age in the country at 18 years .
Currently, non-Muslims can only be legally married when they turn 18. But under Syariah law, Muslim girls are allowed to be married at 16 or even younger provided there is consent from parents and the Syariah court.
"There should be some standardisation and I think 18 is a fair age," said Dr Raj Karim. "You cannot really be a judge to a child because a child is not physically and mentally ready to be parent or to be a wife."
Clearly, Malaysia is facing challenges, with a reported increase in the number of applications for underage marriages to the Syariah courts. More than 1,100 applied last year and this year, as at May, 600 have applied.
Education is key and many child rights activists are struggling to keep as many young girls in schools for as long as possible, and emphasising educating them on reproductive health matters as a way to protect children and help them realise their full potential.
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