Passed – Muslim girls in S’gor can only wed once they turn 18
SHAH ALAM: Selangor created history yesterday by increasing the permissible age for Muslim girls to marry from 16 to 18.
But there is no blanket ban and girls aged above 16 and below 18 who want to marry have to apply to the Syariah Courts and go through stringent requirements before receiving the green light to tie the knot.
The change was made by way of amendments to the Islamic Family Law (State of Selangor) Enactment 2003 and the Syariah Court Civil Procedure (State of Selangor) Enactment 2003.
The amendments were tabled, debated and passed at the Selangor legislative assembly yesterday.
Mentri Besar Amirudin Shari said meetings and in-depth discus- sions were held in July among the relevant agencies and individuals before the amendments were formulated.
The agencies were the Selangor Syariah Judiciary Department, Selangor Islamic Religious Council, Selangor Islamic Religious Department, Attorney General’s Chambers, police, state Health and Education Departments, Selangor Syariah Prosecution Department and the Selangor Mufti’s Office.
Others present at the meetings were academics and representatives of non-governmental organisations.
“The discussions were aimed at acquiring in-depth information about underage marriage, as well as finding ways to counter the problems that manifested (due to such marriages),” said Amirudin when tabling the amendments.
He said that from the discussions, it was derived that underage marriage was necessitated under Syarak Laws and the move to ban underage marriages were not in line with these laws.
“But it was also found that there was indeed a need to amend the minimum age limit for females from 16 to 18, to be in tandem with the Child Act 2001.
“The amendments were made to protect the welfare of girls below the age of 18.
“So now if a Muslim girl wants to marry before she is 16, she has to go through various procedures to obtain consent,” Amirudin pointed out.
The amended provisions require a parent or guardian to file an application to obtain permission for the marriage, he said.
“The notice of application at the Syariah Court must be accompanied by a supporting affidavit by the mother, father or guardian of the boy or girl under the age of 18,” said Amirudin.
In addition to this, he said, a supporting affidavit from the bride to the groom or the groom to the bride should also be attached to the application, which must be sent to the Syariah Court.
It must outline the reasons for the marriage, the health condition of the couple, the ability to provide maintenance, as well as clarification on whether they had ever been detained for involvement in any criminal activity.
Once the Syariah Court has received the application to marry, the court has to issue an order to obtain relevant reports such as health reports, socio-economic reports and criminal records.
“In order to maintain the transparency of the application, the court must carry out an investigation by summoning everyone involved, such as parents and guardians, as well as the future bride and groom,” said Amirudin.
The proposed amendments were unanimously agreed upon by the state’s elected representatives and passed.
The amendments were tabled and passed after Selangor Ruler Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah ordered that the age of marriage for Muslims in the state be raised to 18.
Sultan Sharafuddin had said that he took a serious view on cases such as the recent marriage of a young Muslim girl due to the negative impact on the couple’s future, as well as its implication on the society.
The Ruler was referring to a 41-year-old Kelantanese man who married an 11-year-old girl recently.