‘Are we still debating the legitimacy of child marriage?’
Last week a member of the Malaysian Parliament provoked anger and resentment when he stated that he had no objection to rapists marrying their victims. He added that young girls may in fact be “physically and emotionally” ready for marriage.
The comments were made in response to some MPs who were pushing to legalize such marriages even though the legal age for marriage in Malaysia is already 16.
Before the events in Malaysia, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah launched a campaign against those who oppose early marriage in Lebanon, saying that those individuals are “destroying our society and serving the devils and Satan.”
In Lebanon, there is no law setting forth the age of marriage. In reality, despite the vast distance between Malaysia and Lebanon and other neighboring countries, the problem of child marriage has emerged as a complex problem, particularly in conservative societies and countries suffering from instability and chaos.
There is hardly any country in our region that is not caught up in this thorny debate, especially in light of religious and social interpretations and ramifications.
This issue extends even to countries affected by mass migration, such as Germany where the government passed a bill banning underage marriage. The bill was in response to increased numbers of such marriages after the arrival of a million refugees over the past two years.
Child marriage has thus become a fundamental problem, not only in Arab and Islamic societies, but also in societies where people from our region seek asylum. Most Western countries have laws banning the practice.
The incidence of child marriage is very high in India, in comparison to international rates, and also high in Yemen; it remains a problem for many countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
Past indications have shown an alarming increase in the number of child marriages. The problem is especially prevalent in societies in conflict where rape is often used as a weapon by both sides.
Diana Moukalled
Past indications have shown an alarming increase in the number of child marriages. The problem is especially prevalent in societies in conflict where rape is often used as a weapon by both sides.
Families, on the other hand, often force young girls to marry their rapists, or to marry them off at a young age out of fear of “shame” or due to economic pressures brought on by political instability and lack of development.
It is troubling to realize that we are still in the midst of controversy and debate about the consequences of child marriage even though science and psychology clearly reject the practice.
Why does our society still need to be convinced that early marriage prevents a young girl from achieving her full potential? It is an infringement of her rights as it forces her to leave school and work and leads to an increased incidence of marital rape and domestic violence. It also causes substantial health problems resulting from early pregnancies and childbirth, and thus increases death rates among young girls around the world.
Child marriage has been scientifically shown to cause serious harm to young girls, and must be addressed.
We must really think about the type of society and the female participation we desire, and whether we want uneducated girls who are unable to be active in public life.
The problem is that those who oppose setting the minimum marriage age at 18 do so because they seek to maintain political and social power and are difficult to defeat.
• Diana Moukalled is a veteran journalist with extensive experience in both traditional and new media. She is also a columnist and freelance documentary producer. She can be reached on Twitter @dianamoukalled.
