KUALA LUMPUR – The government has given its assurance that it will consult with seven states that have yet to raise the legal age for marriage to 18 years, in its bid to stamp out child marriage.
According to the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry, only six states have raised the minimum age requirement to 18.
A steering committee was formed in January to implement a National Strategy Plan to Address the Causes of Child Marriage. So far, it has implemented sexual reproductive health programmes and vocational training for children who dropped out of school.
The ministry said this in a written response to a parliamentary question posed by Hannah Yeoh (PH-Segambut) on the steering committee’s latest developments to address the issues and causes of child marriage.
In September 2018, Selangor became the first state in Malaysia to raise the marriage age to 18.
A year later, five other states – Penang, Sabah, Johor, Melaka and Perak – followed suit.
Poverty, dropping out of school main factors
Meanwhile, the ministry also stated that the government had, in its national strategy plan, identified poverty and dropping out of school as the main causes of child marriage in Malaysia.
In a written response to Datuk Seri Mujahid Yusof Rawa (PH-Parit Buntar), it said that strategies have been determined to combat both poverty and dropping out of school.
“Among the strategies identified to combat poverty include the provision of financial assistance based on the age groups of children, increasing B40 access to daycare and early childhood education, and outreach programmes,” the ministry said.
The government also plans to improve education policies, and increase awareness among parents on the importance of education.
The Women, Family and Community Development Ministry said that the Finance Ministry, Education Ministry, Youth and Sports Ministry, Welfare Department, and the Prime Minister’s Department are also involved in addressing the two problems.
The national strategy plan was initiated by the previous Pakatan Harapan administration and spearheaded by former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who was also women, family and community development minister. – The Vibes, December 21, 2020
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