Focus on preventing child marriages, says PSM

 

Parti Sosialis Malaysia says the lack of sex education and poverty contribute to child marriages.

PETALING JAYA: After more than a year in power, the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government has yet to make good on the much-needed policy changes on various gender-sensitive issues, says Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM).

It said among the major ones is the push to end child marriages, which has been of international concern for some time now.

“Having ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and Convention on the Rights of the Child to protect children and girls from child marriages, the government should make good on its word,” it said in a statement in conjunction with International Women’s Day tomorrow.

PSM said child marriage is intimately connected to poverty and is most common in the world’s poorest countries.

“Its presence in a developing country like ours reflects how the impact of low socio-economic status on social issues has gone unnoticed.

“Lack of sex education, awareness of children’s consent, and perceived cultural messages are just some examples of how child marriage is deeply rooted in socio-economic disparity,” the party said.

On another matter, PSM said the issue of growing animosity towards the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community was an example of how vulnerable communities were not getting the protection they needed.

As for sexual harassment, it said current laws and policies that protect women and sexual minorities were insufficient although there was growing acknowledgement of the problem in Malaysia now.

“Existing provisions to tackle the problem are disappointing. PSM reiterates the importance of educating all stakeholders on gender-sensitive matters,” adding that it was very important to dismantle the dysfunctional system of gender inequality.

It also urged the government to look into supporting women in efforts to revive the economy by providing them a universal basic income.

“We must fight for the traditional gender roles to be erased and it’s time for us to stand as equals.” - FMT