KUALA LUMPUR – Despite efforts made in the past to end child marriage in the country, the push for legal reform remains an arduous task, said Jannie Lasimbang.
The Kapayan assemblyman said she faced a hard time trying to convince her colleagues in the state cabinet under the previous Warisan-led administration to discuss the issue when she was serving as assistant law and native affairs minister.
“When I was in the ministry, we tried to amend the law to disallow marriage (for those) below 18 years old. Even with my own colleagues, I had a hard time trying to convince them. To bring it up, we had to go through a cabinet discussion.
“It never made it during my time, which is such a pity,” she said yesterday at a virtual report launch and round-table discussion on Women’s Freedom of Expression in Countering Sexual and Gender-based Violence.
The report revealed that women, including trans women, are not the only ones suffering from such violence.
Present at the virtual event were Kluang MP Wong Shu Qi, Subang Jaya assemblyman Michelle Ng and Seri Delima rep Syerleena Abdul Rashid.
Jannie said bringing this pressing issue to the state assembly is a struggle, as female representation in the Sabah cabinet is still low.
“In Sabah, 9% of the state assembly comprises women. It is very difficult to ensure a change of laws regarding marriage and banning marriage (for those) below 18 years old, because there are no women (reps) who understand what we want.
“Until now, we are trying to find a way to have it discussed at the cabinet level, and maybe, amend the rules. We are struggling to find different ways to make legal and policy changes.”
Child marriage a norm in Sabah
In addition, she said, child marriage being a social and cultural norm in Sabah has made reform even more labourious.
There is a very high number of incidents of incest. This is the norm, so it is very difficult to bring up as there are so many unsupportive families.
“Even though people frown on this, there has been no action and policy to ensure people do speak up in this situation. These are difficulties we face, and we still have to overcome them.
“Without a gender ratio in our political system, I think it will be very rough.”
Ng echoed Jannie’s sentiments, and said it requires political will and engagement to be able to amend state laws on the issue.
“In Selangor, we are fortunate enough to be able to amend our state laws to increase the marriage age from 16 to 18.
“This was something that required a lot of political will and engagement from the religious perspective, right from the top, and I mean from the palace all the way down.
“Although arguably, some would say having royalty involved adds a layer of complexity, we are fortunate to have a king who understands what needs to be done on the ground, so we are able to make inroads there.”
As of March, Selangor and Pahang were the only states to have raised the minimum legal marriage age to 18. – The Vibes, July 18, 2021
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