Muslim dad petitions to end child marriage

PETALING JAYA: An outraged Muslim father has decided to start a petition online to urge Federal and state governments to stop sanctioning rape by allowing child marriages.

Umran Kadir, 40, who is living in the United Kingdom said he came up with the petition because as a father of three, and who has nephews and nieces in Malaysia, he was concerned about the issue of a 41-year-old man being allowed to marry an 11-year-old girl.

The petition “Stop the State Sanctioned rape of children in Malaysia” was uploaded on change. org (https://www.change.org/p/hen- tikan- rogol- kanak- kanak- stop- thestate-sanctioned-rape-of-children-inmalaysia) on Thursday and has since garnered more than 4,000 signatures as of 5pm yesterday.

Addressed to the Malaysian Government, the petition urged for “unequivocal position that no child below the age of 18 should be permitted to be married, regardless of their faith or gender”.

“To permit otherwise is not to permit ‘child marriage’; instead, it is to permit the state sanctioned rape of children. This has no place in a civilised society and should be criminalised in Malaysia,” it said, with protectourgirls and banchildmar- riage hashtags.

Sisters in Islam executive director Rozana Isa said that it proposes for a law reform to set the minimum age for marriage at 18 years.

The minimum age limit of 18 years is meant for women and men in all legal frameworks, including for Muslim, civil and native customary law marriages, and that the full consent of both parties be obtained for any marriage.

“We also strongly recommend for government and policy makers to impose sanctions upon individuals involved in the acts of coercion, facilitation, aiding and abetting any marriage of those below age 18,” she said.

Lawyer Syahredzan Johan said that the country needs to look at criminalising underage marriage.

“It is important for the Government to have the political will to do it,” he said, adding that individual states should also amend their syariah laws to make it an offence to marry someone who is underaged.

Meanwhile, he said the Department of Social Welfare has to ensure that the man and the young girl are kept separated, and that the ministry has the jurisdiction to step in if the marriage is not recognised.