The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Child Marriage In Malaysia

Child marriages have long been a practice worldwide for many years. They are mainly driven by tradition, socio-economic status and unfortunately, human exploitations. Needless to say, child marriages are still an acceptable custom in Malaysia. In Malaysia, one is considered a child if he or she is below 18 years of age. Thankfully in recent years, educated women of the public sphere had voiced out their concerns through speeches and campaigns. In 2014, for instance, the National Fatwa Council published a fatwa declaring that child marriages bring harm “to the health and psychology of the child involved” . Additionally, child marriages violate the rights of children. Such marriages are also manipulated to be a means to cover crimes. Hence, I

The pelvis of a girl will be fully developed mostly in their late puberty . It is true that some girls may have reached physical and sexual maturity as early as 12, but we must not dismiss the rest who may reach puberty latest by the age of 19 . As the child wife undergoes labour and delivery, she endures the excruciating pain of her pelvis gradually breaking apart. The pelvic fracture leads to excessive bleeding – putting the lives of both mother and child at risk.

In terms of psychological influences, adolescent couples will experience isolation and depression. While their unwedded counterparts are in schools learning and growing with friends their age, the teenage couple bears the adult responsibility to raise a family. Young mothers will suffer an emotional burden as mother, wife and in some cases, a domestic worker as well. Due to the lack of a mature, adult understanding of what it means to be a good parent and partner, definitions are distorted in a superficial, naïve perception. Thus, unnecessary conflicts will rise in the household. Also, the strain for the adolescent husbands to play as provider for the family will cause unnecessary tension and frustration. Worse of all, these marriages are perpetuated by their parents and grandparents who still hold on to the belief that marriage is a foolproof solution for avoiding premarital sex. Not surprisingly, their teenage children who are currently

They prevent both parties from completing their education; their development and growth through childhood and adolescence; their right to gain financial independence. In an interview with New Sunday Times, child and adolescent psychiatrist Dr. Lai Fong Hwa, explained that “education could be neglected [as a result of early marriages] and this would result in [children] stopping school and later, working low-level income jobs to support a growing family” . Education grants opportunity for each individual to showcase their intellectual capabilities and talents in the working world. For a child to stop pursuing his formal education, he is limiting himself to work that belittles his potential strength. Moreover, phases of childhood and adolescence are essential to pave way for a holistic growth in an individual. As mentioned earlier, adolescents are inadequate to handle the responsibilities of marriage. According to Dr. Nawal M. Nour in her journal “Health Consequences of Child Marriage in Africa”, she justified that “[the children] are at an age where they are still learning how to handle their own conflicting emotions. At this young, blossoming age of their lives, not only are they still figuring out the changes happening to them physically, but they are also trying to control their