After the story of an 11-year-old Thai girl marrying a 41-year-old Kelantan rubber-tapper, many Malaysians are calling for reform in child marriage laws.
As it stands, the legal age of consent is 18 in civil courts; however, in Islamic syariah a girl of 16 can be married with her father’s consent.
Lawmakers are now saying that this is not enough, and that the rights of the child supersede any kind of religious interpretations. Klang MP Charles Santiago has said that the Kelantan man’s act was tantamount to statutory rape, and the legislative framework must be strengthened to criminalize the act.
“Child marriages must be banned even with the consent of the father, and law reforms to make 18 the legal age for marriage must be tabled at the coming Parliament session,” Santiago said in a statement. He added that the new Paktan Harapan government must make their stance on the issue clear.
Rubber-tapper Che Abdul Karim Che Abdul Hamid drew widespread condemnation from netizens in Malaysia and from beyond after photos of him marrying 11-year-old Masaryu Mat Rashid went viral.
Che Abdul claimed that he had the blessings of both the girl’s parents, and claimed that his two other wives also approved of the union with the child.
While disgust was the prevailing reaction, there were some who saw no issue with the union between the man and a girl who is said to be the friend of one of Che Abdul’s children.
One of Suhakam, Malaysia’s human rights commission, seven commissioners saw no issue with the matter, saying that making an 11-year-old your wife was “fine” as long as the man marrying was religious, knowledgeable, self-sufficient, healthy, safe, with career, and responsible towards his wife and child.
Commissioner Nik Salida Suhaila Nik Saleh said that there are a lot of condition in following the sunnah (a series of practices from the Prophet Muhammad that Muslims are encouraged to follow).
The post has since been removed from Facebook, but not before others took note of the kind of commentary his carte blanche was eliciting. One user commented that the 11-year-old child looked very “developed” and biologically resembled a 16-year-old teenager.
Thrown up yet? We have.
Others tried to justify circumventing laws protecting children from pedophiles by pointing out that the girl was a Thai citizen, and thus not bound to the laws created by Malaysian lawmakers.
Meanwhile, the girl has said that while she knows a lot of people are angry over the matter, she still intends to “marry” Che Abdul, as he is a “nice man” and also the father of several of her friends.
Speaking to reporters outside his house earlier today, Che Abdul was that he was upset by the online criticism.
“I was disappointed with various criticisms and allegations made against me in the social media after I took her as my third wife.
“I am looking into this matter to pursue a legal action to clear my name from the inaccurate and malicious allegations,” he said.
Sure. We’d love to hear you explain how an 11-year-old who “fell in love” with you when she was only nine isn’t the victim of a man’s predatory, pedophilic grooming. Waiting.
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