Minimum marriage age
KUCHING: Sarawak women non-governmental organisations (NGOs) must work hard advocating for the minimum age of marriage in the state to be set at 18.
Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah believed that it was through NGOs assisting the department that awareness could be increased regarding problems that arise when women get married too young.
“In Sarawak, there are three types of marriages – civil marriage, marriage through Syariah law, and customary marriage. So, there are some complexities here,” she said at the closing ceremony of Sarawak Women NGOs Roundtable at Merdeka Palace Hotel here yesterday.
She said that under civil marriage, the minimum age was 18, but special permission may be granted by the chief minister for girls who were already pregnant to get married under the age of 18.
“Residents have been empowered to give such permission. So, we are trying to have more stringent measures on this as a guideline for Residents before permitting express marriage,” said Fatimah.
She pointed out that if women got married too young, they may not be ready to give birth and may be elevating risks for themselves and their babies.
Furthermore, she said they may also be unprepared in terms of their maturity levels.
“In addition, education is affected. We want our women to at least have basic Form 5 education, which is when they are 17.
“If they get married before this age, they will not be able to obtain this basic Form 5 education,” Fatimah said, adding that this hampered their chances to have careers and be financially independent.
Also present were Women and Family Department (JWKS) director Noriah Ahmad, Sarakup Indu Dayak Sarawak (SIDS) president Datuk Alice Jawan, and Sarawak Women for Women Society (SWWS) president Margaret Bedus.
