Academic Writing For Foundation Studies (ELC093) 

Title : Child Marriage Should Not Be Permissible In Society

Student Name:

Nur Izzatul Afifah binti Abdul Wahab 2013409546

Sara Yasmin binti Rusnipa 2013269208

Name of Lecturer : Miss Anis Zulaikha binti Basrah

Date of Submission: 20TH December 2013

Published: Sunday October 6, 2013 MYT 12:00:00 AM 

Updated: Sunday October 6, 2013 MYT 1:34:22 PM

Child marriages on the riseBY HARIATI AZIZAN

   PETALING JAYA: In Malaysia, girls under the age of 16 cannot legally drive or buy cigarettes. They can’t even watch certain movies or go clubbing. But they can marry – lawfully at that.

And many are increasingly doing so, according to statistics from the Malaysian Syariah

Judiciary Department (JKSM).

In 2012, there were around 1,165 applications for marriage in which one party, usually

the bride, is younger than the legal marrying age. The Syariah Courts approved 1,022 of

them. This is an increase from the 2011 record, when some 900 marriages involving at

least one Muslim minor were approved.

As of May this year, JKSM received 600 marriage applications, of which 446 had been

approved.

In Malaysia, the legal minimum marriage age is 18, but it is 16 for Muslim girls. Those

aged below 16 can marry with the consent of the Syariah Court.

Malaysia, along with over 90 other countries, adopted a United Nations resolution to

end child, early or forced marriages, at the Human Rights Council last week.

However, JKSM’s data shows that child marriage is very much rampant in Malaysia.

Sisters in Islam said it was shocking that child marriage still existed in the country

because of loopholes in the marriage laws and a con-tinuing belief that girls should be

married off once they reached puberty.

“We stand by the UN findings that child marriage is harmful to children and girls, in

particular, are vulnerable to abuse, health problems, difficulty in accessing education

and loss of childhood and adolescence,” said SIS legal officer Kartina Mohd Sobri.

Given the significant number, the Government needed to review the provisions in

secular, customary and Syariah law that currently permitted girls under the age of 18 to

marry, said United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Malaysia programme adviser

Saira Shameem.

“We need to develop alternatives and more progressive options that will allow our young

to achieve the fullest extent of their potentials.

“There is also a risk to the physical health of girls who marry and conceive too early.

“As a result, we have underaged girls in Malaysia today who die of maternal health

complications during delivery,” she said.

“This is unacceptable, and efforts must be taken to provide genuine alternatives and

life-saving choices to these young people.”

According to Islamic Development Malaysia Department (Jakim) director-general Datuk

Haji Othman Mustapha, getting married at an early age “is not forbidden in Islam but the

marrying couple have to be mature enough to understand that with matrimony comes

great responsibility”.

“The couple has to know if they are prepared for married life and if they are equipped

with the right knowledge, especially what it means to be a husband or wife in Islam.

Most importantly, they need to understand the real reason why they are marrying,” he

said.

“If it is just to satisfy their sexual desires, they need to know that it will not lead to a

happy and lasting union.”

He pointed out that Section 8 of the Islamic Family Law (Federal Territories) Act stated

that the minimum legal age for Muslim boys is 18, and Muslim girls is 16.

“Those younger are allowed to marry with the written permission from the Syariah Court

after both sets of parents put in an application to formalise their nuptials,” he pointed

out.

“Marriage and starting a family is a big responsibility, one that is not to be taken lightly,”

Othman said, conceding that the question of whether young people today were able to

handle marriage at an early age did arise.

“But the Syariah Court will do a thorough assessment of their readiness,” he said,

adding that the Syariah Court would also do a check on the parents before giving its

approval.

Chief Syariah Judge and Malaysian Judiciary Department director-general Tan Sri

Ibrahim Lembut declined to comment.

5 reasons why an end to child marriage will improve maternal health worldwidePublished: Monday 27th May 2013

Photo credit Ashenafi Tibebe|The Elders

The scale of child marriage is huge: between 2010 and 2020 it is estimated that 142 million girls will marry as children. But if we act to prevent child marriage now, we could dramatically improve the maternal and child health outcomes for millions of girls and women.

Child marriage and maternal health are inextricably linked. As world leaders, government ministers, civil society organisations and maternal health specialists gather in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for Women Deliver 2013, a major global conference on women’s health, we outline 5 reasons why ending child marriage should be a vital part of efforts to improve the health of girls and women worldwide.

1. Pregnancy and childbirth are dangerous for adolescent girls; most adolescent pregnancies take place within marriage.

Complications in pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of death in girls aged 15-19 in low- and middle-income countries. 90% of adolescent pregnancies in the developing world are to girls who are already married.

2. Child marriage encourages the initiation of sexual activity at an age when girls’ bodies are still developing.

Girls who give birth before the age of 15 are five times more likely to die in childbirth than women in their 20s. Child brides are also vulnerable to obstetric fistula, a preventable yet debilitating injury resulting from obstructed labour or prolonged childbirth. 65% of all cases of obstetric fistula occur in girls under the age of 18.

3. Child brides are under intense social pressure to prove their fertility.

Child brides often face pressure from their husband’s family, their own family and the wider community to have children soon after marriage. They become mothers at an early age, which makes them more likely to experience early and frequent pregnancies.

4. Child brides have little power to plan whether, when or how many children to have.

It is very difficult to for child brides to assert their wishes with their often older husbands. It is hard for them to exercise their right to family planning and to choose when and whether to have children.

5. Reducing child marriage could accelerate our efforts to reduce maternal mortality.

There are strong correlations between maternal mortality rates and child marriage prevalence rates. A 10 per cent reduction in child marriage could be associated with a 70 per cent reduction in a country’s maternal mortality rates.

Swift action needed in fight against child marriage – UNFPA reportBy Julie Mollins

 OCTOBER 11, 2012

Despite gains in some countries, more than 14 million girls under age 18 will be married each year over the next 10 years, a figure expected to increase to more than 15 million girls a year between 2021 and 2030, according to a new report from the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) released on Thursday.

As the number of girls who are married as children grows, the number of children bearing children will increase, and deaths among girls will rise, said the report, timed to mark the inaugural International Day of the Girl Child.

International conventions declare that child marriage is a violation of fundamental human rights because it denies girls the right to choose when and with whom to marry.

The negative implications are far-reaching for girls, often leading to their early departure from school, economic dependency and difficulty finding a vocation or work outside the home. The practice can also perpetuate cyclical poverty and increase susceptibility to such sexually transmitted diseases as HIV/AIDS.

“In those communities where the practice of child marriage remains common, families can feel it’s not worth investing at all in the education of their daughters,” said Babatunde Osotimehin, UNFPA’s executive director who last month launched a global campaign urging countries to invest in the education of women and young people.

“Girls with no education are more than three times more likely to marry before age 18 than those with secondary education or higher,” Osotimehin told TrustLaw.

“No country can afford the lost opportunity, waste of talent or personal exploitation that child marriage causes. Preventing child marriage is key to delivering healthier families, stronger societies and more prosperous economies.”

On Thursday, Osotimehin announced a new investment of $20 million from UNFPA targeted to help the most marginalised adolescent girls in 12 countries with high rates of child marriage, including Guatemala, India, Niger and Zambia.

In 2010, 158 countries reported that 18 was the minimum legal age for marriage for women without parental consent or approval by a pertinent authority, but in 146 countries, laws allow girls younger than 18 to marry with the consent of parents or other authorities. In 52 countries, girls under age 15 can marry with parental consent.

In contrast, 18 is the legal minimum age for marriage without consent among males in 180 countries. In 105 countries, boys can marry with the consent of a parent or a pertinent authority, and in 23 countries, boys under 15 can marry with parental consent.

There are 41 countries where 30 percent or more of women 20-24 years old had married by age 18, with Niger topping the list at 75 percent, the report said.

As the 2015 deadline for meeting the U.N. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) draws near, governments should recognize that tackling child marriage will help meet at least six of the eight anti-poverty targets, the report said.

Child marriage hinders progress on MDG3, the goal promoting gender equality and empowerment of women. Child brides are often married to men who are much older and, even if they are aware of their rights, cannot claim them.

The practice of child marriage also limits progress on MDGs focused on eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS and achieving universal primary education.

Each year, almost 16 million girls aged 15-19 years old give birth; about 95 percent of these births occur in low- and middle-income countries. Stillbirths and deaths during the first week of life are 50 percent higher among babies born to adolescent mothers than among babies born to mothers in their twenties, the report said.

The majority of child marriages are concentrated in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the report said. In South Asia, the number of child brides is likely to increase from 4.9 million in 2010 to 5.6 million in 2030.

“The implications are staggering and demand swift action,” the report said. “Even at lower rates, the absolute number of girls likely to marry before age 18 will remain high as a result of population growth.”

The global population is projected to grow from 7 billion to more than 9 billion by 2050.

In India, the prevalence of child marriage has declined from 54 per cent in 1992-1993 to 43 per cent in 2007-2008, UNICEF, the U.N. children’s agency, said in a statement which also noted that the rate of child marriage among girls under age 15 is declining at more than twice the rate than among girls under 18 (a 30 percent reduction versus a 13 percent reduction).

Governments must review national legislation and customary laws to reflect international human rights standards, the UNFPA report said, adding that greater efforts are needed to raise awareness and enforce existing laws.

Policymakers must target regions where there are high concentrations of girls at risk to ensure that family planning, health services, formal education and support for married girls are all available, the report said.

Picture Credit: A veiled girl from the Saraniya community waits for her engagement ceremony to start at Vadia village in the western Indian state of Gujarat March 11, 2012. REUTERS/Amit Dave