Motion on Child Marriage
As you know, we don't conduct any serious business on this blog, which usually aims for the thin line between froth and "saying what needs to be said".
In a marked departure from our usual, I am pleased to inform you that the motion proposed by Ajeet Sidhu and I at the Malaysian Bar's 75th Annual General Meeting held on 13th March 2021 was voted in by an overwhelming majority.
The Malaysian Bar thus calls upon the Government to:
(A) enact an Act of Parliament:
(a) abolishing the practice of child marriages;
(b) raising the legal age of marriage to 18 years of age for all children in Malaysia;
(c) providing protection to children against child marriages; and
(d) providing solutions and protection to victims of child marriages or any children born out of such marriages;
(B) take immediate proactive steps and measures to advocate and ensure that the public is educated and advised that child marriages are medically, socially and economically harmful to children and society; and
(C) adopt a multi stakeholder approach and take immediate measures to address the trigger factors leading to child marriages in Malaysia which include poverty, pre-marital sex, teenage pregnancies, a lack of access to education, gender norms, traditional values, violence against girls, a lack of adequate quality age appropriate reproductive health and sexuality education to children and a lack of access to contraception and reproductive healthcare.
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Our full motion is set out below for completeness:
Whereas
1. It is recognised that Malaysia being
a signatory to the Convention
on the Rights of the Child, has a critical obligation and duty to
ensure the development and protection of all children in Malaysia.
2. Article 3 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child inter alia states
that:
“Article
3
1. In all actions concerning
children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions,
courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best
interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.
2. States Parties undertake to
ensure the child such protection and care as is necessary for his or her
well-being, taking into account the rights and duties of his or her parents,
legal guardians, or other individuals legally responsible for him or her, and,
to this end, shall take all appropriate legislative and administrative
measures.
3. The Committee on the Rights of the
Child (CRC) defines ‘child marriage’ as any marriage where either one (or both)
partners are below 18 years of age. The CRC urges countries to set the minimum
age for marriage for men and women (with or without parental consent) at 18
years. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations
Children’s Fund (UNICEF) define child marriage as “a formal marriage or
informal union before age 18”.
4. The
Center for Reproductive Rights’ Briefing Paper on Child Marriage in South East
Asia – International and Constitutional Legal Standards and Jurisprudence for
Promoting Accountability and Change, states:
“Child
marriage does not constitute a single rights violation; rather, every instance
of child marriage triggers a continuum of violations that continues throughout
a girl’s life. Child marriage endangers the survival and well-being of women
and girls by exposing them to forced initiation into sex and ongoing sexual
violence, as well as to early, unplanned, and frequent pregnancies. Further,
women and girls married as children are often denied educational opportunities,
are isolated from society, and face a lifetime of economic dependence.
Together, child marriage and early pregnancy trap generations of women in
cycles of poverty. These harms result in significant violations of girls’
rights, including their reproductive rights and their right to freedom from
gender-based violence. Ensuring accountability for child marriage entails both
holding responsible those officials who have failed to implement laws and
policies against the practice, and addressing legal and social barriers that
prevent married girls seeking to leave such marriages from being able to do so.
It also requires the introduction of specific legal measures and remedies to
address the particular needs of married girls.”
5. Malaysia
has committed to eliminate child marriage by 2030 in line with target 5.3 of
the Sustainable Development Goals (“the SDGs”). The government did not provide
an update on progress towards this target during its Voluntary National Review
at the 2017 High Level Political Forum.
6. Malaysia
acceded to the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1995, which sets a
minimum age of marriage of 18, and acceded to the Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (“CEDAW”) in 1995, which obligates
states to ensure free and full consent to marriage.
7. Malaysia
has committed to the ASEAN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against
Women and Violence against Children (2013), which acknowledges the importance
of strengthening ASEAN efforts to protect children from all forms of violence,
including early marriage.
8. In
2018 the CEDAW Committee recommended that Malaysia raise the minimum age of
marriage to 18 for women and men for both civil and Muslim marriages, and
require the full consent of women for any marriage.
9. During
its 2013 Universal Periodic Review, Malaysia agreed to examine recommendations
to take steps to address trends in child marriage and adopt proper measures to
discourage the practice.
10. It is recognised that child marriages
are medically, socially and economically harmful to children of either gender
and society with countries around the world, including Turkey and Indonesia
legislating on measures to abolish child marriages. Child marriage has lasting consequences on girls that last well
beyond adolescence, including:
(i) Women
married in their teens or earlier struggle with the health effects of getting
pregnant at a young age and often with little spacing between children. Early
marriages followed by teen pregnancy also significantly increase birth
complications and social isolation. The inability to interact with peers and
the limitation of socialization outside the family disturbs the normal identity
development in the child;
(ii) In
Malaysia, marriage or pregnancy can limit or eliminate a woman's education
options, affecting her economic independence. The current position is that
married or pregnant children are not allowed to attend government schools.
Without education, girls and adult women have fewer opportunities to earn an
income and financially provide for themselves and their children. This makes
girls more vulnerable to persistent poverty if their spouses die, abandon, or
divorce them;
(iii) Girls in
child marriages are more likely to suffer from domestic violence, child sexual
abuse, and marital rape. This trauma may
lead to the development of depression which subsequently increase the risk
towards suicide or self harm in the adolescent mothers. Maternal depression
will also affect the children as the toxic stress responses can have damaging
effects on their learning, behavior, and health later in life;
(iv) Given that
girls in child marriages are often significantly younger than their husbands,
they become widowed earlier in life and may face associated economic and social
challenges for a greater portion of their life than women who marry later.
While there isn’t much research on the effects of child marriage on boys, it is
clear that it forces boys out of education and into the workforce at an earlier
age, thus limiting their educational, economic and social status;
(v) High rates
of child marriage negatively impact countries' economic development because of
early marriages' impact on girls' education and labour market participation.
Some researchers and activists note that high rates of child marriage prevent
significant progress toward each of the eight Millennium Development Goals and
global efforts to reduce poverty due to its effects on educational attainment,
economic and political participation, and health.
11. Child marriages continue to be
practiced in Malaysia. Statistics show that child marriage in Malaysia is not
just a problem in Muslim communities, but one encountered in every community in
Malaysia, including those of the Orang Asal.
12. It is recognised that the triggers leading to child marriages in Malaysia include
poverty, pre-marital
sex, teenage pregnancies, a lack of access to education, , gender norms,
traditional values, violence against girls, a lack of adequate quality age appropriate reproductive health and sexuality education for children and a
lack of access to contraception and reproductive healthcare. It is further
recognised that the problem of child marriages cannot be addressed unless and
until these trigger factors are addressed.
13. The Government in attempting to find
solutions to the problem of child marriages in Malaysia unveiled on 16th
January 2020 a 5-year National Strategy Plan in Handling the Causes of Child
Marriage, which the Malaysian Bar recognises as a step in the right direction.
14. The Malaysian Bar notes that the
preamble to the Child Act 2001 recognised that: “…a child is not only a crucial component of such a society but also the
key to its survival, development and prosperity”.
15. The Malaysian Bar however recognises
that despite all of the above, there is no Act of Parliament protecting children from child marriages or providing
solutions and protection to victims of child marriages or any children born out
of such marriages.
Therefore,
the Malaysian Bar hereby resolves
(A) That
the Malaysian Bar calls upon the Government to enact
an Act of Parliament:
(a) abolishing
the practise of child marriages;
(b) raising the
legal age of marriage to 18 years of age for all children in Malaysia;
(c) providing
protection to children against child marriages; and
(d) providing
solutions and protection to victims of child marriages or any children born out
of such marriages;
(B) That the Malaysian Bar calls upon the
Government to take immediate proactive steps and measures to advocate and
ensure that the public is educated and advised that child marriages are
medically, socially and economically harmful to children and society; and
(C) That the Malaysian Bar calls upon the
Government to adopt a multi stakeholder approach and take immediate measures to
address the trigger factors leading to child marriages in Malaysia which include
poverty, pre-marital sex, teenage pregnancies, a lack of access to education,
gender norms, traditional values, violence against
girls, a lack of adequate quality age appropriate reproductive health and
sexuality education to children and a lack of access to contraception and
reproductive healthcare.
Dated 5th March 2021
Proposers:
Srividhya
Ganapathy (BC/S/857)
Ajeet
Kaur (BC/A/663)
Seconders:
1. Karen Cheah Yee Lynn (BC/C/646)
2. Siti Hajar Bt. Ahmad (BC/S/515)
3. Tengku Hezrul Anuar bin Tengku Abdul
Samad (BC/T/977)
4. Lee Teong Hooi (BC/L/1601)
5. Desmond Ho Chee Cheong
6. Nur Iman Bin Nur Azmi (BC/N/4129)
7. Zuwita Kamaruzzaman (BC/Z/127)
8. Mah Looi Yin (BC/M/162)
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