If having sex with an underage is statutory rape, so why is it allowed if they are married?
DR ANGIE GARET, SARAWAK WOMEN FOR WOMEN PRESIDENT
SARAWAK Women for Women (SWWS) is strongly against child marriage and the country should ban those under the age of 18 from getting married in order to send a clear message to society.
Its president Dr Angie Garet said this was in keeping with international human rights such as Child Rights Coalition Malaysia (CRCM) and United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, which defined a child marriage as any marriage where at least one of the parties was below the age of 18.
She said Malaysia, including Sarawak must ban child marriage, as it stopped children from reaching their potential, including early drop-out from education, taking on role of parents when they were still children themselves.
Besides, early pregnancy was dangerous for physical health of teenagers and also could affect mental health, she told New Sarawak Tribune recently.
“Currently, it is legal for children below 16 years old to get married through various mechanisms — but we view it (child marriage) as child sexual abuse and it has to be illegal.
“If having sex with an underage is statuary rape, so why is it allowed if they are married?” she questioned.
Last month, Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rina Mohd Harun told Parliament that her ministry had no plans to ban child marriage while being committed to preventing such unions.
She said there was a need to manage the issue through education, advocacy, strengthening the family institution and socioeconomic support in the community, aside from amending legal provisions.
Angie said although SWWS agreed that education and raising awareness were important, it would be a very slow process and would easily lose momentum.
For instance, she said, to increase the minimum marriage age under customary marriage, every ethnic group had to discuss it at their annual general meetings (AGMs).
But only few were doing so despite many saying they agreed to set a minimum age, she noted.
According to the SWWS president, children continued to get married for a variety of reasons, including poverty and attempts to cover up rapes.
“We must tackle poverty promptly and holistically as it is one of the key causes of child marriage, while children who marry young are more likely to remain in poverty as education is sacrificed,” she said.
“Furthermore, no one should have to marry their rapist.”
In Sarawak, she said, teenagers were getting pregnant, which showed that society as well as the community should be more prepared to talk about reproductive health with the teenagers as well as to listen to the challenges they faced.
“We need to be kinder to unwed pregnant teenage girls, rather than trapping them in a marriage they may not be ready for — this can lead to early divorce or abuse of spouse or child for some,” she lamented.
Angie said the government had to understand that child marriage was a very complex and multi-sectorial issue.
“Having education in place may just not be enough compared to legislation and education,” she added.
SWWS, she said, for more than three decades, had been creating and adapting modules for awareness programmes such as ‘Healthy Relationships’ for teens aged between 12 and 17 years as a programme towards prevention of early marriage.
“We have been invited to provide workshops on such topics through Sarawak Social Development Randau Programme organised by the Social Welfare Council.
“SWWS has been giving workshops and speaking to children and teens in rural areas as well as at schools and faith-based schools,” she said.
A total of 1,638 underage individuals got married in Sarawak from 2017 to 2020, where 500 of them were recorded as underage marriage according to Syariah or Islamic law. Meanwhile, 1,138 individuals were recorded marrying underage customarily (customary child marriage).
