A father, Mohd Aizad Fahmy, has kicked off an email-writing campaign urging members of the public to pressure religious authorities in seven states to ban child marriages.
This comes after these states rejected the federal government’s plan to raise the minimum age for marriage to 18 years, including for Muslims and natives.
In a Twitter posting on Tuesday, Aizad (photo, above) urged netizens in Sarawak, Pahang, Terengganu, Perlis, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah and Kelantan, which have rejected the federal amendments on child marriage, to send protest emails to their elected representatives or state religious authorities.
“What we can do now is to protest and state governments must listen to our voice because we didn’t choose this thing. We have no power to decide whether underaged marriage can be done or not.
“For us, it’s unfair because the decision affects us all, not just the government. The government has to be attentive to the people on this matter, so this campaign is meant to put pressure on them,” he told Malaysiakini when contacted last night.
Aizad’s post on the microblogging site Twitter reads: “Guys, go and pressure your state (assemblypersons) to protect our kids.
“Send emails or letters to them. Make sure your voice is known to the seven states that disagree with this notion (of banning child marriage)!”
Aizah also shared email addresses of the seven state religious authorities.
In under an hour after his posting was made, another netizen, @syasyaswift26, shared a draft email urging for the minimum age for marriage to the raised.
Negeri-negeri yang tak bersetuju:
Sarawak
Pahang
Terengganu
Perlis
Negeri Sembilan
Kedah
Kelantan
GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER twitter.com/mkini_bm/statu…
I’m from Kelantan and i despise and 100% reject underage marriage. I’ve done my part and i urge other kelantanese to do yours. Voice out and show them how disgusting this is. Email: jaheaik@kelantan.gov.my
759 people are talking about this
“Do your part like this lady (@syasyaswift26) did! Email your local religious department. Emails are in the original thread,” Aizad tweeted in response.
As of the time of this writing last night, Aizad’s tweet had been “Liked” more than 800 times and retweeted 1,308 times.
On Tuesday, Women, Family and Community Development Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (photo, below) told the Dewan Rakyat that her ministry is in the final stage of drafting the national strategic plan to combat child marriages in Malaysia, which includes amendments to the Islamic Family Law Act 1984 (Act 303).
The draft amendments are being finalised by the Islamic Law and Civil Law Technical Committee of the Islamic Development Department (Jakim).
However, since the Federal Constitution stipulates that matters relating to Islam and natives fall under the jurisdiction of state governments, they have the right to reject proposals on these matters.
The seven states that have rejected the federal government’s move to ban child marriages are Sarawak, Pahang, Terengganu, Perlis, Negri Sembilan, Kedah and Kelantan.
Thus far, only Selangor has amended its state enactment to ban child marriages, while the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur is following suit.
Other states that have agreed to make the necessary amendments to state law on this are Penang, Sabah, Johor, Malacca and Perak, Wan Azizah said.
Marriage needs mature thinking
Explaining his motivation, Aizad said that as a father of two daughters, he is very concerned about the issue of child marriages.
“I have two daughters who are only two and four years old.
“So, for me, the anti-underage marriage campaign is important because marriage is something that needs mature thinking, and there are many aspects to consider before committing to marriage,” he said.
Aizad said those who marry at a tender age are not mentally prepared for the challenges of marriage, and pointed to the rising divorce rate among youths.
“They are not yet fully developed to think about such things, let alone to get married.
“With the high divorce rate in Malaysia, I think it is absolutely necessary to raise the minimum age for marriage to 18 years.
“That’s why this email campaign is for all citizens in the seven states. They really should email, call, or anyhow contact their respective state religious authorities or state assemblypersons; so they know we want this thing to materialise,” he said.
In November last year, Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Hannah Yeoh (photo) said the first five years of marriage would be the most challenging period.
Yeoh told the Dewan Rakyat that a 2014 survey showed that more than one-third of divorces had occurred within that five-year timeframe.
She added that there were 2,932 divorce cases in the Federal Territories between 2013 and 2017, while statistics for the other states were still being compiled at the time.
Aizad said he is disappointed that some states have decided not to raise the minimum age for marriage.
“I think this is the first time we want the Islamic religious authorities to do what had never been done by any Islamic religious department before, but at the same time, they have to know that the people have a voice and we want to protect our children’s future.
“They have to understand this. If they don’t, we will pressure them until they understand,” Aizad added. - Mkini
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