Rina Harun: Putrajaya Has No Plans To Ban Child Marriage
There are other aspects that need to be addressed to stop child marriage exploitation, says the Women, Family and Community Development Minister.
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While there are no plans from the Malaysian government to ban child marriage, the government however remains committed to preventing such unions from taking place.
Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rina Harun said that there are several aspects needed to be addressed to curb the issue at hand.
“The government does not have any plans to ban underage marriages for now. However, the government remains committed to curbing underage marriages by implementing the National Strategic Plan in Handling the Causes of Child Marriages.
“This is because the cause for underage marriage does not only need to be addressed through law amendments but it also requires education, advocacy, strengthening the family institution and socioeconomic support in the community,” said the minister in a written reply to Nurul Izzah Anwar (PH-Permatang Pauh).
Nurul Izzah had asked about the status of the plan to ban child marriages during this Parliament session.
Rina said that her ministry would discuss with the Islamic development department (Jakim) and shariah judiciary department on the suggestion to hold talks with the respective states’ Islamic religious authorities to raise the legal age for marriage to 18.
She noted that the power to raise the age limit for child marriage is under the purview of respective states’ religious authorities.
“I urge all stakeholders, whether at the federal or state government level, to be more concerned over the issue and to jointly support the government’s effort to manage underage marriages to safeguard our children’s future,” she said.
The Pakatan Harapan government mooted the plan to raise the minimum age for marriage to 18 when they were voted into power at the last general election.
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