SARAWAK must come up with a comprehensive action plan on how to enforce a law banning girls below 18 years old from getting married through traditional ceremonies, the Society for Rights of Indigenous Peoples of Sarawak (Scrips) said.
Scrips secretary-general Michael Jok told The Vibes that state leaders must weigh the pros and cons very thoroughly before enforcing any law on this issue.
"How will the state enforce a law banning traditional marriages of girls below 18? There are more than 6,000 rural longhouses throughout Sarawak.
"Even in cities and big towns there are a huge number of young girls getting involved in sexual relationships, many of them in squatter colonies and residential estates too," Jok said.
He said Scrips support the ideals of not wanting young girls to get married or pregnant when they are not mature enough, adding they want to see the high rate of teenage pregnancies reduced.
"However, having a law and enforcing it effectively is a logistical nightmare.
"The state leaders should engage all native communities in comprehensive dialogues to get their feedback soonest," Jok said.
The Sarawak Women for Women Society last week urged the state government to implement laws to deter young girls from getting married to reduce the high number of cases of teenage pregnancies.
Sarawak Minister for Women, Community Development and Early Childhood Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah said the society had met with her and had officially proposed that marriages below the age 18 be banned.
Fatimah said the Society is concerned with the high number of pregnancies involving young teens and that the ministry is looking into this seriously.
The Vibes had earlier reported that girls from the Iban community make up the highest number of teenage pregnancies in big cities such as Miri.
Iban chieftain Pemanca Alexander Isut had said the situation was reflected in other major urban centres in Sarawak too and it is a case of deep concern as pregnancies from unmarried girls cause many family and personal woes as well as serious consequences for the babies.
"Ibans account for the highest number of pregnant teen girls nowadays, even here in Miri. The number of such teenage pregnancies is rising.
"This is not the only social problem afflicting the Ibans.
"Drugs, illegal racing, getting into trouble with job scams....these are among the serious problems we are facing among our young ones," he said.
The Ibans are the largest ethnic group in Sarawak.
A survey carried out by University Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) among teenagers and youths earlier this year showed that easy accessibility to porn videos is fuelling their sex drive, and subsequently causing a surge in teenage pregnancies.
Fatimah said the survey by Unimas also showed that other key factors causing pregnancies among wayward teens are dropping out from schooling at early teen, volatile family relationships, personal problems, substance abuse and sexual grooming by others, as well as peer pressure to try out sex.
The survey showed that 58.7 per cent of teenage pregnant girls had dropped out of school, got involved in sexual relationships and gotten pregnant.
Some 60.1 per cent of girls got pregnant before the age of marriage (legal age 18).
The study also showed that in 2023, there were 2,026 reported cases of teenagers who got pregnant in Sarawak, an increase of 32 per cent compared to 2022. - September 24, 2024
