A man was forced to appeal to the Syariah Court to grant permission for his 12-year-old daughter to marry because she refused to return home and wanted to stay remain at her boyfriend’s house.

According to Kulim Assistant Religious Administrative officer Azmi Ahmad, the incident happened about two weeks ago, following which, the girl and her 19-year-old boyfriend would be married next month.

“The girl had only sat for her Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR), while her boyfriend is unemployed, but their parents had agreed to allow them to marry,” he told reporters after launching a motivation programme at the Al-Ittihad Mosque, Sungai Kob near Kulim today.

Azmi said an application had been submitted by the girl’s next of kin to the District Syariah Court in Kuala Lumpur to meet the requirement under the Kedah Islamic Family Enactment 2008 (Amended) for her to be married.

“The law requires that a woman below the age of 16, and 18 for man, to obtain permission from the Syariah Court before they can get married,” said Azmi, who is also the enforcement chief at the Kulim Islamic religious Office.

- Bernama