I LOVE MY HUSBAND, SAYS GIRL, 11
Rubber trader promised girl’s parents a more comfortable life
“SINCE we got married about two weeks ago, we have yet to sleep together because Abe (Kelantanese slang for “Abang”, which is a term also used to refer to one’s husband) promised we will only live together in another five years.”
These were the words of an 11year-old girl, who is now the third wife of a 41-year-old rubber trader here.
On Friday, social media went abuzz with a posting by a woman, who claimed her husband had married an 11-year-old girl.
The posting was accompanied by several pictures, with the caption: “Selamat pengantin baru suamiku. Suami 41, Maduku 11 tahun. (Congratulations on your wedding, my husband. My husband is 41, his wife is 11.)”
“Even though many people are angry with me, I do not want a divorce. As long as Abe wants me, I love him,” said the 11-year-old.
It is learnt that the child is a Thai citizen.
The young bride said they were married on June 18 and she was accompanied by her parents.
“Before Hari Raya Aidilfitri, my parents asked me about Abe’s intention to marry me. I accepted because I love him.
“I know I am young and not in school, but I have known Abe for a long time. One of Abe’s children is also my friend.
“I love Abe because he is a nice man,” she said here yesterday.
Her father, a 49-year-old rubber tapper, said the family had been living here for 20 years.
He said there were times when he would sell the rubber to the person who is now his son-in-law.
“A week before Hari Raya, he came to see me to express his intention to marry my youngest child,” he said.
Explaining that he was initially shocked because his daughter was still young, the rubber tapper said his son-in-law sympathised with them as they were not well off and had promised a more comfortable life for them.
“In fact, he said they would only live as husband and wife and register their marriage in five years. That was why I accepted his proposal,” the rubber tapper said.
He added that despite people talking about the marriage, his daughter was not saddened by it.
“I’ll leave it to my son-in-law to handle what happens after this. I have known him for a long time. We used to rent a house next to his first wife’s home.
“My daughter is also friends with my son-in-law’s child with his first wife. Before this, whenever they (the son-in-law’s family with his first wife) went on a holiday, they would take my daughter along.
“On the question of divorce or whether his other wives accept this, (I will) let my son-in-law handle it because we are just poor people,” he said.
The rubber trader’s second wife said she found out about her husband’s third marriage from his first wife.
The 41-year-old woman said she was told her husband had married the girl in southern Thailand.
“I asked him if this was true, that he had married a child... but he denied it,” she said.
“I am not angry that he has taken another wife, but I don’t agree with the fact that his new wife is a child and is also friends with my 15-year-old stepdaughter,” she said.
Asked why she took to uploading the pictures of her husband and his new wife on Facebook, the second wife said she wanted it to serve as a lesson for her husband, as well as create awareness about child marriages.
“I am tired of having to do business to raise my four children, aged between 3 and 10, because even though my husband’s income is quite high, he gives me only between RM50 and RM100 a week for groceries and to cover our children’s expenses.”
In a related development, the Narathiwat Islamic Religious Council, denied that the girl and the rubber trader had married in the district.
Council spokesman Abdul Aziz Che Mamat said it had not conducted a marriage process for the couple.
He said although Thailand’s religious law did not prohibit underage teenagers from getting married if consent was obtained from the parents, the council had not conducted any marriage procedures for underage teenagers at its Narathiwat office for years.
A source said the couple could have married at the Sungai Golok religious office, which borders Kelantan.