Suhakam wants minimum Muslim marriage age set at 18

Suhakam wants minimum Muslim marriage age set at 18

KUALA LUMPUR: The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) is advocating for a nationwide minimum age of marriage of 18 for Muslims, with minors aged 16 and 17 requiring court permission.

Suhakam chief children’s commissioner Dr Farah Nini Dusuki said the proposed reform was aimed at safeguarding children’s rights, education and health, while ensuring marriage becomes an option for minors only in exceptional cases.

“We are not restricting the age of marriage. We are saying that when we raise the age to 18 and if you want to get married when you’re 16 or 17, you’ll have to go to court.”

Speaking at the Legal Symposium on Children’s Rights to Access to Justice and Effective Remedies, Farah said underage marriages were often used to conceal premarital pregnancies, although marriage was not necessarily the best solution.

She said the courts should play a central role in determining whether a marriage involving a minor would be in the child’s best interests.

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“The duty of the court is to ensure the best interest of the child. For example, why enter into marriage just to cover up a pregnancy?

“So when you go to the court, the court will be obliged to look at your medical report, your social report, the police report and the criminal record of your prospective partner.

“We want to safeguard the children’s health and education. Basically, the right to be a child.”

She said Suhakam recently hosted a national muzakarah (expert discussion) with religious leaders to gather feedback and advocate for child protection by raising the minimum age of marriage, subject to judicial exceptions. Religious authorities agreed to the proposal in principle.

“Next Monday, we will go to Sibu for a child marriage convention to speak to over 300 indigenous community leaders.

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“It’s a work in progress, but we are there to listen to them to understand the situation of child marriage in Sarawak better.”

Currently, Selangor and Kedah are the only states that have set the minimum age of marriage for Muslims at 18.