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Child marriage defeats syariah objectives, SIS says
Published:  Dec 2, 2015 12:14 PM
Updated: 7:00 AM

Women’s rights NGO Sisters in Islam (SIS) has reiterated its call to the government to raise the minimum age for marriage for all citizens to 18, in light of the recent rape case involving a man married to a 14-year-old.

The man, 35, pleaded guilty to raping his 11-year-old sister-in-law and making his 14-year-old disabled wife record the incident, so that he could sell the recording.

“Marriage in Islam is based on love, mutual respect and maturity by both parties. Thus, child marriages impair a child’s ability to mature naturally and therefore ruins their lives – it is against the objectives of the syariah,” SIS said in a statement.

It added that even the National Fatwa Council in an edict in 2014 said child marriages cause more harm than good.

Court approval exposed children to harm

The minimum age for marriage in Malaysia is 16 for women and 18 for men, but the Syariah Court can give approval for those younger to marry with parental consent.

In this case, SIS said, the court approval put the children in a position of harm, underscoring the urgency to stop such situations from recurring.

“It is absolutely regrettable that a 35-year-old man was allowed by the court to marry a disabled child.

“This is irresponsible. It not only affected the safety of the disabled child but also created opportunity for the man to commit a crime against his sister-in-law,” SIS said.

The man was arrested by police after the children’s father came across a recording of his 11-year-old being raped.

The recording was circulated on instant messaging application WhatsApp, after the man sold a VCD of the recording.

The father lodged a police report after his 14-year-old told him she was forced to record the crime.

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