(Reuters) - A Malaysian state is to allow Muslim girls under the age of consent of 16 years to wed in a bid to stem unwed pregnancies, angering the country's women's activists and politicians.
The Islamic council in the southern Malaysian state of Malacca on Tuesday announced that it would to allow marriage for Muslims below the current minimum age of 16 years for females and 18 for males.
"This is an outrage. We're turning back the clock when there's ample evidence to show that we should not condone child marriages," said Ivy Josiah, executive director of Women's Aid Organization, a rights group.
Muslims make up about 60 percent of the 28 million population of the Southeast Asian country and fall under Islamic family and criminal laws individually drafted and run by each of the country's 13 states. Non-Muslims come under federal civil laws.
The chief minister of Malacca, Mohammad Ali Rustam, said permission would only be granted after consent by the teenager's families as well as the state Islamic courts.
"For the state government, this is the best step to deal with the problem of abandoned babies and unwed pregnancies," he was quoted as saying by the Utusan Malaysia newspaper.
Malacca earlier announced that the state would open a special school for Muslim girls who become pregnant out of wedlock, a move that also came under fire from rights groups.
taken from http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6733BS20100804 (here)
Finally someone is doing something to help solve the ever rising cases of unwanted teenage pregnancies and hopefully also put an end to the cases of abandon babies. Well, I have no doubt that it is going to be a tough job, given the amount of “exposure” teenagers are receiving nowadays from paid TVs, internet, video clips and many more…surely difficult to control their raging libido. Whatever it is, it’s a good start..In fact, an Awesome start!
As I read the article, I was pleased that out of so many states, Malacca made the first initiative to allow teenage marriage if circumstances required her so. But my happiness didn’t last long as I learned how angry the executive director of women’s aid organisation was with this news. She said “This is an outrage! We're turning back the clock when there's ample evidence to show that we should not condone child marriages.”
Ample evidence you said? haven’t you seen enough of abandon babies from the news? Some were mauled by stray dogs, and some were even buried alive. Now, I am ashamed to say that the bulk of those abandon babies do happen to be Malays and most probably of Muslim origin… But not all of them are Muslims either. When so many people point fingers to the decline of familial institution, delinquancy (if that is even a word) and so many more, aren’t you relieve to know that at least the someone is doing something to solve this problem?
I understand completely that your position as a proud women activist requires you to stand up to prevent child marriages. But let's be realistic, if a “reproductively matured” 14-year-old girl already knows how to have sex and actually wanted to, she is not a child anymore. if she seeks sexual partner or partners for that matter, face the fact that she will produce an offspring. Unwanted, unwed pregnancies like these are associated with extreme social stigmas. Parents will disowned her and as usual her partner wouldn’t want to be responsible for the baby, and in an act of desperation, she will abandon the baby in a nearby bushes or trash bin and leave it to die… wouldn’t it be better if she got married on the first place? There will be no problem with the baby being unwanted, there is no question about the father running away. and even if he runs, the girl family will still take care of her. A much, much better outcome for both the baby and the teenager.
Well, I also know that you’d immediately say marriage will ruin the girl’s life because she will be forced into being a wife, being a mom and being a personal slave to her husband. If sex is what she afters, let her have sex and give her condoms instead. Well, it is so happen that the religion that we are talking about right now is Islam. Sexual “freedom” is not an option. Giving out condoms will only promote sexual promiscuity which is against the teaching of Islam. For an Islamic country like Malaysia, we can not afford to do that. So the proposal to allow teenage marriage is very reasonable indeed.
The fact that you wanted to ban teenage marriage but in a way allow teenage pregnancy is absurd. In Western countries where condoms are available everywhere and people are allowed to have sex as they please, still there are “accidents”. Underage pregnancies and illegal abortions are indeed 2 of the most serious social problems in these countries to date. So clearly, giving away condoms, sexual education and free contraceptive pills are not the answers. It is best if we could teach these girls to actually does not desire sex before marriage. But that is not going to happen in a million years what with the “over sexualized” media that we have right now. So, what else can a State Islamic organisation do as a short term management of unwed pregnancies other than to allow teenage marriage… with strict regulations of the matter of course.
Before an outrageous comment is made to the media, I think it is wise that you actually think about why such decision is made on the first place because just so you know, these people who made the decisions are not stupid. They are also specialists in their areas just like any of us. Don’t assume that just because it is about the religion Islam then in will be bias and oppressive towards women. I’m a Muslim and a woman, and I think this is a good start.
I take your point, Intan, but I still don't think allowing child marriage is the answer. A 14 year old may be physically capable of having a baby, but do I think she's capable of raising it properly? No, except in some rare cases. Do I think she's capable of having a baby AND maintaining a family? Even less so.
ReplyDeleteYou have said that enncouraging children to wait until getting married before having children is not possible, hence marrying them early is the answer? I'm afraid that I think say a 22yo unmarried mother is likely to make a better mother then a 14yo married girl.
As for contraception encouraging sexual promiscuity, I'm afraid I tend to disagree. To me, 14 year olds having sex is already promiscuous, the only difference contraception will have is to ensure their behaviour does not result in a child or disease. For those 14 year olds who have already decided not to have sex, why should the availability of contraception change their mind? You are right, contraception is not 100% effective, but if teenagers are taught to use them properly, they are highly effective in preventing unwanted pregnancy.
So for me, of course I'd prefer if kids that young were not having sex, but if that goal is too difficult to reach at present, despite the clear moral rules of Islam, I think something should be done to at least prevent any pregnancies. And if the parents disown a child for having a baby out of wedlock; shame on them. Regardless of her actions, she's still their child and they should support her. That's one thing that should be changed; the social stigma. As for the father? Well, doesn't the law have such a thing as child support? :p
Sarah :
ReplyDelete1- What do you mean by "No, except in some rare cases"? Can u explain further and give some examples.
2- You have mentioned "Even less so" following your own question "Do I think she's capable of having a baby AND maintaining a family?". Can u please give me some evidences to make me understand better.
3- "I'm afraid that I think say a 22yo unmarried mother is likely to make a better mother then a 14yo married girl" Well. as you know, I'm also afraid so, but do you think a 22yo unmarried mother is likely to make a better mother than a 14yo married girl? or do you think a 22yo married mother is likely to make a better mother than a 14yo unmarried girl? or do you think a 22yo unmarried mother is likely to make a better mother than a 14yo unmarried girl? or do you think a 22yo married mother is likely to make a better mother than a 14yo married girl? If u notice, a 22yo mother& 14yo mother is categorized as woman,so where is the father of the baby? Do you think a 22yo unmarried father will make a better father than 14yo unmarried father? In general, do you think the older the age, the better the mother she become?
3- Have u heard "prevention is better than cure"? Have come across the term "normality"?
rgds- mfo
http://blisskissangel.blogspot.com/2010/08/religion-does-not-change-for-people.html
ReplyDeletemfo-
ReplyDelete1. By this I mean that it is likely that not every 14 year old is incapable of being a responsible and effective mother. But I certainly feel that the vast majority would not fall into this category. 14 year olds simply haven't matured emotionally and physiologically enough, even if they had financial support.
2. Well, I'm going to be unscientific and say I'm basing this statement on common sense. Married life is not something to be taken lightly. I am somewhat ignorant of what would become of the 14 year old girl once she married. If you intend for her to take on a full on 'wife' role, that would entail a lot more responsibility and work. This is work enough for a older, more mature woman; let alone a 14 year old girl. If you intend for her to essentially have her parents look after the baby, well that's not very fair for them. It would be much better to prevent it in the first place.
3. Ah, so we come to the fathers. In the blog, Intan states; "partner wouldn’t want to be responsible for the baby". Ok, so a guy gets his 14 year old girlfriend pregnant and instead of taking responsibility for the pregnancy, he flees. What makes you think he's going to hear the news and agree to getting married instead of escaping responsibility. Flies in the face of what's been stated. Even better, he decides to marry the girl, JUST SO he can have sex with her. Firstly, that is not at all a solid relationship and secondly, it seems an extremely unlikely scenario. A guy who runs at the prospect of being a father; why on earth would he commit to the long-term agreement of marriage?! As for your last line, in essence, yes. Looking at this from a purely hypothetical perspective, I can imagine myself falling pregnant at age 14 compared with my current age (20). In these past 6 years, I can honestly say that the amount of maturity I have gained would make me a much better mother now then when I was 14. And I can only imagine this growth of maturity will continue as I get older.
3. I don't know what you're trying to get at with those points. Yes, prevention is better then cure; to me, preventing unwanted teenage pregnancies is better then trying to fix the problem once it's been created. Normality? Please expand on that.
wow. eman nak cakap sebenarnyeh eman suke bace blog kak una sebab byk bende leh blaja. -eman
ReplyDeletewow eman, thanx for reading.. =^.^=
ReplyDeleteHave u ever read or heard about Normality and Abnormality throughout your study life Sarah? come on...there are historical normality, sociocultural normality, situational normality, medical normality, statistical normality, situational normality etc... Have u ever consider normality concept in ur life? Have u ever think it is normal to eat with spoon but in some places it is abnormal to eat with spoon? Have u ever think it is normal to speak in English but in some other places it is normal to talk in Urdu? Is it normal right for a red blood cell to have 120 days lifespan? Is it normal for a diabetic patient to undergo below knee amputation?Is it normal to scratch itchy nose with toes? Have u ever think it is normal to be ask before thinking but in some situation it is normal to think before asking? Do you ever think the sociocultural normality in Japan is different as compared to Africa? Anyhow, what do you think is normal to you sometimes is not normal or abnormal to others but sometimes is normal to others too. More important whatever u think is yours! :)
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