Curbing Child Marriage Amongst Muslims in Malaysia: Towards Legal Reform

Abstract

Child marriage is considered by the international community to be a violation of human rights, particularly the right to education and sexual and reproductive healthcare. Unfortunately, there are some Muslim countries in the world, including Malaysia, that has legalised this practice. Laws such as the Islamic family laws in all Malaysian states stipulate legal avenues for underage children to get married, provided they obtain permission from the Sharia court. Therefore, in order to end this harmful practice in Malaysian Muslim society, this article will discuss child marriage under Malaysian Islamic family law and propose a legal reform for Islamic family law regarding marriageable age and court procedure. This article examined international law instruments related to child marriage, Malaysian civil and Islamic laws, and reported cases to understand the legal complexities of child marriage in Malaysia. This article found that there is an urgent need for international agencies, Malaysian federal and state governments, religious authorities, and civil society movements to commence initiatives that address this issue to curb child marriage amongst Muslims in Malaysia, particularly through reforming Islamic family law in all states.

The Interpretation of Age of Criminal Responsibility for Juvenile Offenders from the Perspectives of Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh) and Malaysian Law

“…Moreover, establishing the age of 18 differs from the opinion of the Shafi'i school, the central reference school in Malaysia. The legal system in Malaysia for cases involving juveniles or young child offenders has been in place for over 50 years (Samuri & Mohd Awal, 2009). It is hoped that the government can delve deeper into both issues regarding the age limit in Sharia and civil crimes in Malaysia to uphold the country's siasah syar'iyyah (Islamic policies).…”

Pecoah Kohon: The Restriction on Inter-Cousins Marriage in Indigenous the Rejang Society

“…This is due to the set and clear rules of the religion, regarding marriage and divorce (Baharudin, 2022). In Islam, marriage is a strong bond or misaqan galizan (Samuri et al, 2022), as an inner and outer relationship between a man and woman to obey and carry out the commands of Allah (Hossain et al, 2022). It also prioritizes the realization of sakinah household life, mawaddah wa rahmah (Hasan et al, 2022).…”

Contextualization of Early Marriage Hadith: Analysis of Marriage Hadith ‘Aisha with Sociology Approach

“…Furthermore, psychologically the child is also not ready to build a household with all the obligations that must be done. This condition is a concern of Child marriage is often also packed with religious justification following the sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (Jahroh, 2022;Samuri et al, 2022), complementing religion as well as avoiding adultery. In Islam, the age of marriage is not explicitly Author: Amelia Damayanti, Siti Zuhrotun Ni'mah significant impact on the neglect of women's reproductive rights so that many women are disadvantaged from this marriage (Huzaimah et al, 2023).…”