• Burmese
Wednesday, June 18, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
26 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Asia

UN Rights Expert Urges Malaysia to End Child Marriage

Reuters by Reuters
October 2, 2018
in Asia
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0 0
A A
A Rohingya child bride who ran away from her husband carries her sister outside a shack she shares with her mother and siblings, on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Feb. 9, 2017. / Reuters

A Rohingya child bride who ran away from her husband carries her sister outside a shack she shares with her mother and siblings, on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Feb. 9, 2017. / Reuters

4.2k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia should ban child marriage immediately, a United Nations human rights expert said on Monday, stepping into a controversy that has raged since reports in July that a 44-year-old Malaysian man had married an 11-year-old Thai girl.

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s government, in power since May, has promised to raise the legal age of marriage to 18, provoking a backlash from some conservative Islamic leaders who argue that early marriage provides an answer to social ills like premarital sex and pregnancies out of wedlock.

Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, the UN special rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, urged Malaysian authorities to protect the rights of minors, particularly young girls.

RelatedPosts

Junta Bombing Raid Kills Child and Nursing Mother in Myanmar's Chin State

Junta Bombing Raid Kills Child and Nursing Mother in Myanmar’s Chin State

July 10, 2023
3.1k
Myanmar Junta Forces Kill Five Civilians in Clashes on Shan

Myanmar Junta Forces Kill Five Civilians in Clashes on Shan, Kayah Border

June 8, 2023
6.3k
Myanmar Junta Jets Bomb Church

Myanmar Junta Jets Bomb Church, Killing Child, Mother, and 2 Pastors

January 13, 2023
5.6k

Married underage girls were at higher risk of domestic violence, and are often denied the chance to pursue an education, she told reporters.

“By marrying them, you are denying these girls their basic human rights,” said de Boer-Buquicchio, who was on an eight-day visit to mostly-Muslim Malaysia.

In Malaysia, the legal minimum age for marriage under civil law for both genders is 18. However, girls can marry at 16 with the permission of their state’s chief minister, while Islamic law sets a 16-year minimum age for girls and allows even earlier marriages with the permission of the sharia court.

The UN official called on Malaysia to remove exemptions that allowed underage children to marry, saying “there can be no exceptions.”

More than 5,000 applications for marriages involving minors were made at the sharia court between 2013 and 2017, government statistics show.

But many child marriages remained unreported, particularly among indigenous groups on Borneo, in Malaysia’s east, de Boer-Buquicchio said.

“It is time to be firm,” she said, adding that Malaysia’s government should engage religious and customary leaders on the issue.

“The political will is there, but the question is how you can reach out to all the different entities.”

Last year, Malaysia passed a law on sexual offences against children but did not criminalize child marriage.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: ChildChild Marriage
Reuters

Reuters

...

Similar Picks:

Myanmar Junta Jets Bomb Church
Burma

Myanmar Junta Jets Bomb Church, Killing Child, Mother, and 2 Pastors

by Hein Htoo Zan
January 13, 2023
5.6k

Airstrike on village in Karen State condemned as a war crime as 5 civilians die on the spot.

Read moreDetails
Junta Bombing Raid Kills Child and Nursing Mother in Myanmar's Chin State
Burma

Junta Bombing Raid Kills Child and Nursing Mother in Myanmar’s Chin State

by The Irrawaddy
July 10, 2023
3.1k

Three civilians die as warplane drops bombs on village in latest aerial strike on Mindat Township.

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta Forces Kill Five Civilians in Clashes on Shan
Burma

Myanmar Junta Forces Kill Five Civilians in Clashes on Shan, Kayah Border

by The Irrawaddy
June 8, 2023
6.3k

Fighting near the town of Moebye has proven deadly for locals as regime troops make no distinction between civilians and...

Read moreDetails
Female staff are reflected in a mirror in a bar in Thailand. / Reuters
Asia

Look, Don’t Touch: Thai Bars Raided for Trafficking Child ‘Entertainers’

by Reuters
September 25, 2019
4.1k

In Thailand, use of girls as ‘entertainers’ to lure men into bars is increasing as child sex traffickers adopt new...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
US President Donald Trump addressing supporters during a Make America Great Again rally is seen in this combination photo in Johnson City, Tennessee, US, October 1, 2018. / Reuters

America's Image Worsens Under Trump

Chinese tourists visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok, Thailand on August 19, 2018. / Reuters

Thailand Struggles to Win Back Chinese Tourists During Golden Week Holiday

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

Is TNLA, Under Chinese Pressure, Conceding Northern Shan Gateway to the Regime?

Is TNLA, Under Chinese Pressure, Conceding Northern Shan Gateway to the Regime?

4 days ago
1.3k
China is Systematically Dismantling Tibetan Monastic Traditions

China is Systematically Dismantling Tibetan Monastic Traditions

2 days ago
1.1k

Most Read

  • Myanmar Junta Attacks to Reclaim KIA’s Jade and Rare Earth Strongholds

    Myanmar Junta Attacks to Reclaim KIA’s Jade and Rare Earth Strongholds

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • China’s Bet on Myanmar Junta Risks Backfiring

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • China is Systematically Dismantling Tibetan Monastic Traditions

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Updated Timeline: Key Events in the Life of Myanmar’s Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Defusing the Thai-Cambodian Border Row

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.