‘Stop child marriages’

PETALING JAYA: Syariah court judges were urged not to allow child marriages as it is a violation of children's human rights.
Bar Council Syariah Law Committee chairman Datuk Kuthubul Zaman Bukhari (pix) said with Malaysia being a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, judges should take cognisance of the fact that there is a call to ban child marriages.
"Judges must give priority to the welfare and interest of a child below the age of 16, he told theSun when commenting on Ahmad Syukri Yusuf, 22, who was discharged of statutory rape not amounting to acquittal in a Kuching sessions court recently after presenting a marriage certificate with the victim withdrawing a complaint filed.
Ahmad Syukri was accused of committing the offence twice in Oct 2015, when the girl was 14 years old.
His was the most recent among numerous child marriages in the past few years where child rapists use marriage as a means to escape punishment.
Kuthubul pointed out that Article 3 (of the convention) provides that the best interest of the child must be the primary concern in making decisions that affect them. The judge must look at the best interest of the child. Marrying off the child is not the best interest of the child.
"My view is that though the syariah law allows minors to be married, the judge must be very cautious and should not allow it. There is nothing, in my view, that warrants consent (from the judge)," Kuthubul told theSun.
In particular, he stressed that marrying off a child will deprive him or her the right to education and Section 7 of the Sarawak Islamic Family Law Ordinance No 43 of 2001 states that the minimum age of marriage is 18 for male and 16 for female, while a written consent from the syariah judge is required for children below that age.
Section 16 of the law also compels the judge to ascertain the truth behind the marriage application and if the situation truly warrants his or her consent.
Kuthubul added that the provisions concerning child marriages are similar in almost all states in Malaysia.