Challenges faced in banning child marriages

KUALA LUMPUR: Child marriages must be banned completely but it may not be an easy task.
Former diplomat Datuk Noor Farida Ariffin (pix) said this may not go down well with some Muslims and may even draw opposition to any plans to ban the practice.
Noor Farida, who fully supports a ban, explained that sex out of wedlock is considered a sin in Islam and those who commit such acts will be stigmatised.
"Pre-marital sex is considered sinful and some parents would prefer to have them (children) married to cover the shame involved," the G25 spokesperson told theSun.
Noor Farida said this is especially true in grey areas such as when a 16 year-old boy and 15 year-old girl had consensual sex.
She said this is technically statutory rape but their parents may want to cover it up by marrying them.
However, she said, cases where abuse was involved and the perpetrator is much older than the victim must not be allowed to proceed.
"When the age gap is small and the sex is consensual, perhaps some leeway should be allowed. But if the gap is huge then it must not be allowed. It is paedophilia," Noor Farida said.
As such, she said, underage marriage applications should be considered on a cases to case basis in the current system but said there must be guidelines to this.
Regardless, Noor Farida believes that the government should be firm on banning child marriages due to the adverse effects it can have on children, especially in education.
She also noted that most, if not all, women and children rights organisations are against child marriage
Ahmad Syukri Yusuf, 22, was recently discharged of statutory rape not amounting to acquittal after he married his 15 year-old victim, who also withdrew the charge in a Kuching Sessions Court.
He is the latest perpetrator in recent years to marry underage rape victims in an attempt to escape punishment.
The minimum marriage age in civil law is 18 while it is 18 for males and 16 for females under Syariah Law.
An application can be made at the Syariah Courts for girls below 16 to be married, which requires the consent of a Syarie Judge to be allowed.