Malaysian parliament votes against a ban on child marriage

An attempt to make child marriage illegal in Malaysia has failed.

Members of Parliament聽voted against聽amending the Sexual Offences Against聽Children bill to include a ban on marriage under the age of 16 for girls.

There was also an聽outcry after a Malaysian MP聽told a parliamentary debate on the issue that聽girls聽as young as nine were “physically and spiritually” ready for
marriage – and that there was聽“nothing wrong” with a rape victim聽marrying her rapist as she would then not face a “bleak future”.

Sharmila Sekaran, chair of the Malaysia’s Voice of the Children NGO, told the BBC the claim by聽former sharia聽judge聽Datuk Shabudin Yahaya聽represented a “worrying trend” for young girls.

She added:聽“You have politicians like him, giving voice to dangerous statements and backward views. It only serves to reinforce the view that rape is OK.”

There were more聽than聽9000 child marriages in Malaysia in聽the past five years, according to the United Nations – most of them in rural or traditional communities.聽

Girls can legally marry at 16 and boys at 18. But younger聽Muslim children can wed legally if they have permission from their parents聽and religious courts.

Girls who marry young can have聽their education disrupted because they are not permitted to return to school聽or because of early pregnancy.

Lack of education then聽limits girls国产视频� and women国产视频檚 options to improve their circumstances economically and make better choices.聽Having babies too young also聽causes serious health issues.

The attempt to make child marriage a criminal offence came from opposition MP聽Teo Nie Ching.

The new sexual offences law was passed but her proposal was voted down.

“The law is more stringent now… but not enough,” she said.

The new law聽criminalises “grooming” of children聽and spells out penalties聽for making and possessing pornography involving those under 18.聽A special court will also be set up under the new law to deal聽with child sexual abuse cases more quickly.

But most of the headlines centred on the comments of聽Shabudin Yahaya, a member of the Barisan Nasional coalition.

As the child marriage聽proposal was debated, he said about聽girls:聽“They reach puberty at the age of nine or 12. And at that聽time, their body is already akin to them being 18 years old. So聽physically and spiritually, it is not a barrier for the girl to聽marry.”

While he acknowledged聽rape was a criminal offence, he suggested rapists and their victims could sometimes get married.

He聽added:聽国产视频淧erhaps through marriage they can lead a healthier, better life. And the person who was raped does not necessarily have a bleak future. She will have a husband, at least, and this could serve as a remedy to growing social problems.国产视频�

His comments sparked outrage on social media and聽some opposition politicians called for him to be fired.

In a statement聽yesterday, Shabudin said his comments were聽taken out of context聽and that marriage was not a “back door聽exit to legalise rape”.聽

He said he rejected the motion to ban聽child marriages聽because聽it was contrary to聽sharia law.