The marriage of a 12-year-old girl to her 19-year old boyfriend made

the international headlines in November last year. How common is

child marriage in Malaysia? Where does it happen and who is most
affected?
It is difficult to know exactly how many children are affected by child marriage in
Malaysia. The numbers suggest that it is a common practice among Muslims as well
as indigenous communities; however it is also prevalent amongst the Indian and
Chinese communities.
In 2000, the census showed that child marriage affected 6,800 girls below the age of
15 as well as 4,600 boys in Malaysia. Of those girls, 2,450 were Malay, 1,550
Indigenous, 1,600 Chinese, 600 Indians, and 600 others. Subsequent censuses did
not collect such information so it is hard to gauge the true extent of the practice.
In 2010, a United Nations report showed that over 82,000 married women in
Malaysia were girls between the ages of 15 and 19. To make matters worse, the
Deputy Minister for Women revealed that, for that same year, nearly 16,000 girls
below the age of 15 were in a marriage.
The true scale of child marriage in Malaysia may, however, be even higher as many
couples who take part in religious or customary weddings do not register their
unions.
What does Malaysian law say in regard to child marriage?
Malaysia has a dual legal system, which means that the minimum age of marriage can be
determined by either civil law or Syariah (Islamic) law. This creates a situation where it is
difficult to have a consistent definition of what age you are a child until and what constitutes
child marriage.
As a rule, non-Muslims may only marry from the age 18, but girls can be married as early as
16 provided they or their parents have the permission of the State Chief Minister.
The majority of the population in Malaysia are Muslims. According to Syariah law in the
country, the minimum age of marriage is 16 for girls and 18 for boys. Crucially, exceptions
can be made for girls or boys to marry at a much younger age as long as they obtain Islamic
courts consent. And data, while sparse, shows that girls are most affected by these legal
exceptions. For instance, this can be seen in the state of Kedah where underage marriage
applications increased by 35% between 2008 and 2010. Over 90% of those applications
involved girls younger than 16.

Why does child marriage happen in Malaysia?

Unwanted, early pregnancies contribute to the prevalence of child marriage in Malaysia. A
high number of Muslim teens marry just before they are of legal age to marry, which
indicates some haste to wed before a pregnancy progresses.
Religious beliefs as well as the taboo around sex outside of marriage play a major role too.
When asked why they consented to their daughters marriage, parents often explain that
girls are too wild and beyond control and that marriage is the best solution to protect them
from themselves.

In poorer communities, many girls make the sacrifice of getting married at a young age to
ensure their families economic survival.

What makes child marriage such a sensitive issue to bring up and challenge in
Malaysia?
It is difficult for organisations coming from an urban setting to challenge the traditions and
cultural practices of various communities, as they are perceived as lacking the credibility and
experience needed for this context.
The close link with Islam makes child marriage a taboo issue to raise non Muslims are
perceived as ill-informed to raise this issue and avenues for discussion are extremely limited.

How is Voice of the Children tackling child marriage?

As members of the national Child Rights Coalition, we advocate for better protection of
children and, through our online advocacy in particular, we stress that marriages between a
child and an adult are a violation of a childs rights.
We are following the work of researchers, which will help us build a solid case against child
marriage. This will lead to an understanding of the extent and consequences of the practice
in Malaysia. We also plan to work with organisations for specific insights into the various
communities involved.
We hope that this above knowledge will give us enough tools to develop an advocacy plan
for child marriages, why it happens in Malaysia and how to address it.

What priority actions are needed to bring an end to child marriage in Malaysia?
Due to the close links between child marriage and Islam, a working relationship with Muslim
organisations and policymakers who speak out against the practice are likely to have the
strongest influence.
As part of Child Rights Coalition Malaysia, we urge the Malaysian government to amend the
Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce Act) 1976 as well as Islamic Family laws to set the
minimum age of marriage at 18 for all, regardless of religion and with no exception.
Until this reform takes place, the government should establish a register to monitor underage
marriages and document the reasons why the courts or the Chief Minister granted this
permission.
The government should work with civil society to improve public awareness of the dangers of
child marriage for girls education and health, and train judges and those involved in
administering child marriages to understand how the practice violates the human rights of
the child.
Based in Malaysia, Voice of the Children is an NGO that advocates for law and policy reform
reform to ensure the rights of every child in Malaysia are protected and not at risk of
violation.

WHAT IS THE IMPACT?

Each year, 15 million girls are married before the age of 18. That is 28 girls every minute
married off too soon, endangering their personal development and wellbeing. With more
young people on our planet than ever before, child marriage is a human rights violation that
we must end to achieve a fairer future for all.
Child brides are often disempowered, dependent on their husbands and deprived of their
fundamental rights to health, education and safety. Neither physically nor emotionally ready
to become wives and mothers, child brides are at greater risk of experiencing dangerous
complications in pregnancy and childbirth, becoming infected with HIV/AIDS and suffering
domestic violence. With little access to education and economic opportunities, they and their
families are more likely to live in poverty.
Nations also feel the impact: a system that undervalues the contribution of young women
limits its own possibilities. In this way, child marriage drains countries of the innovation and
potential that would enable them to thrive.
CHILD MARRIAGE FACTS
More than 700 million women alive today were married before their 18th birthday. That is the
equivalent of 10% of the worlds population.
If there is no reduction in child marriage, an additional 1.2 billion girls will be married by
2050.
Some child brides are as young as eight or nine.
Most adolescent pregnancies (90%) take place within marriage.
Pregnancy and childbirth complications are among the leading causes of death in girls aged
15 to 19 in low- and middle-income countries.
COMPELLING REASONS TO ACT NOW
Globally, the rates of child marriage are slowly declining. Growing commitments to address
the issue, such as the inclusion of target 5.3 to end child, early and forced marriage in the
Sustainable Development Goals, are encouraging. However, there are urgent reasons to
double our efforts.
IT VIOLATES HUMAN RIGHTS AND IS ILLEGAL
In many countries, child marriage is prohibited, but existing laws are often not enforced or
provide exceptions for parental consent or traditional and customary laws. Child marriage
reinforces gender inequality and violates human rights. Tolerating any injustice makes it
easier for others to exist.
IT PERPETUATES POVERTY
Married girls often leave school and so can lack the skills to help lift their families out of
poverty. Without addressing child marriage, the international community will fail to achieve its
commitment in the Sustainable Development Goals to reduce global poverty.

THE LONGER WE WAIT, THE BIGGER THE PROBLEM WILL BE

Millions of girls and women already suffer the consequences of child marriage. If we do
nothing, population growth means that, by 2050, the total number of women married as
children will grow to 1.2 billion, with devastating consequences for girls, their families and
their countries. Boys are also affected 33 million men today were married before the age of
15 and 156 million before the age of 18.
PROGRESS IS POSSIBLE
The complex mix of cultural and economic factors mean there is not a single, simple
solution. But, through partnership, long-term programming and a willingness to learn from
our successes and failures, we can end child marriage in a generation.
GLOBAL PRESSURE
Girls Not Brides shows the will of a global movement to end child marriage. By connecting
and amplifying the voice of civil society organisations across the world, we help instil the
global pressure that makes ground-level change happen.
COLLECTIVE ACTION
Informed by their experience of working with girls, families and their communities,Girls Not
Brides members have come together to articulate what an effective response to child
marriage entails. Together we develop evidence-based solutions like our Theory of
Change to outline how we can end child marriage and enable girls to achieve their
potential in all aspects of their lives.
CHILD MARRIAGE AND THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGS)
Child marriage directly hinders the achievement of at least 6 of the Sustainable Development
Goals. Simply put, the international community will not fulfil its vision of more sustainable
world for all unless it tackles child marriage.
GIRLS ARE DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTED BY CHILD MARRIAGE
While boys are sometimes subjected to early marriage, girls are disproportionately affected
and form the vast majority of the victims of child marriage. A comparison of the proportion of
young women aged 15-19 who were married in 2003 to young men aged 15-19 who were
married in the same year found the ratio to be 72 to 1 in Mali, 8 to 1 in the US, and 6 to 1 in
El Salvador.

WHY DOES CHILD MARRIAGE HAPPEN?

At its heart, child marriage is rooted in gender inequality and the belief that girls and women
are somehow inferior to boys and men.
Child marriage is a complex issue. Poverty, lack of education, cultural practices, and
insecurity fuel and sustain the practice.
But drivers will vary from one community to the next and the practice may look different
across regions and countries, even within the same country.

GENDER INEQUALITY
In many communities where child marriage is practised, girls are not valued as much as
boys they are seen as a burden on their family. Marrying your daughter at a young age can
be viewed as a way to ease economic hardship by transferring this burden to her husbands
family.
Child marriage is also driven by patriarchal values and the desire to control female sexuality,
for instance, how a girl should behave, how she should dress, who she should be allowed to
see, to marry, etc.
Families closely guard their daughters sexuality and virginity in order to protect the family
honour. Girls who have relationships or become pregnant outside of marriage are shamed
for bringing dishonour on their family.

CULTURE AND TRADITION

Child marriage is a traditional practice that in many places happens simply because it has
happened for generations. In some communities, when girls start to menstruate, they
become women in the eyes of the community. Marriage is therefore the next step towards
giving a girl her status as a wife and mother.
Harmful traditional practices can be linked to each other. In southern Ethiopia for instance,
child marriage usually follows the practice of female genital mutilation/cutting, which is
considered a rite of passage to womanhood.
Traditional practices often go unquestioned because they have been part of a communitys
life and identity for a very long time. But as Graa Machel, widow of Nelson Mandela, says,
traditions are made by people and people can unmake them.

POVERTY
More than half of girls from the poorest families in the developing world are married as
children. Where poverty is acute, families and sometimes girls themselves believe that
marriage will be a solution to secure their future.
Giving a daughter in marriage allows parents to reduce family expenses by ensuring they
have one less person to feed, clothe and educate. Families may also see investing in their
sons education as more worthwhile investment. In some cases marriage of a daughter is a
way to repay debts, manage disputes, or settle social, economic and political alliances.
In communities where a dowry or bride price is paid, it is often welcome income for poor
families; in those where the brides family pays the groom a dowry, they often have to pay
less money if the bride is young and uneducated.

INSECURITY
Many parents marry their daughters young because they feel it is in her best interest, often
to ensure her safety in areas where girls are at high risk of harassment and physical or
sexual assault.
Child marriage can increase in humanitarian crises, such as in conflict or after a natural
disaster. When families face even greater hardship, they may see child marriage as a coping
mechanism in the face of poverty and violence. Eight out of the ten countries with the
highest child marriage rates are considered fragile states.