PARLIAMENT | A total of 1,665 underaged girls got married in 2018, according to new data released by the government in a parliamentary written reply yesterday.
Of that figure, 1,372 girls were Muslims of various races, and 293 were non-Muslims.
There were also 191 underaged boys who got married in 2018, of whom 170 were Muslim and 21 non-Muslim.
Previously, data from 2017 showed that 968 non-Muslim children had married adults, while 877 Muslim children married adults in the same year.
Child-marriage proponents had used the 2017 data to say that more underage non-Muslims had gotten married to adults in an effort to push back against efforts to raise the minimum age of marriage from 16 to 18.
They had argued that Islam allowed for underage marriages and that existing legislature which required Muslims under 16 to get approval from a syariah judge for marriage was sufficient.
According to the 2018 data, 1,314 of the underage Muslim girls who got married were bumiputera, five Chinese, three Indians, and 50 of other ethnicities.
Across all ethnicities, there were 831 Muslim girls aged 17, 408 girls aged 16, and 101 girls aged 15 who got married.
In the Muslim category, bumiputera girls were the only ones recorded to marry under the age of 15 in 2018, with 29 girls aged 14, one girl aged 13, and two girls aged 12 getting married.
Among the underage non-Muslim girls, 174 were bumiputera, 92 Chinese, 17 Indians, and 10 of other races.
Across all ethnicities, 167 non-Muslim girls aged 17, and 95 girls aged 16 got married in 2018.
Non-Muslim bumiputera girls were the ones to record marriages under the age of 16, with 23 aged 15, seven aged 14, and one aged 13.
The data was provided by the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry in response to a query from Kasthuriraani Patto (Harapan-Batu Kawan).
The ministry said it was committed to addressing the root cause of child marriage through a 2020-2025 national strategy plan, which covers legislature, parents, social support systems, education, health, and awareness.
It will also hold consultations with all states on raising the minimum age of marriage.
Last year, then deputy prime minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said seven states - Sarawak, Pahang, Terengganu, Perlis, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah, and Kelantan - were opposed to raising the age of marriage to 18.
Yesterday, it was reported that authorities received 1,721 cases of sexual crimes against children in the first six months of this year.
This included rape (651 cases), incest (106), sex against the order of nature (106), molestation (344), as well as 514 cases of offences under the Child Sexual Offences Act.
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