Kelantan, 41 year old Muslim marries 11 years old girl
The groom: "In love for three years". The union has not received the approval of the Islamic Tribunal, necessary since the bride is under the legal age for marriage. Islamic and civil laws allow children under the age of 18 to marry. Every year about 1,024 marriages with minors take place in the country.
Kuala Lumpur (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The third marriage of a 41-year-old Malaysian citizen with a Thai girl of 11 (photo) has provoked deep indignation throughout the country. Human rights activists define the bridegroom as a "child predator" and call for a reform to end the phenomenon of weddings with minors, a widespread phenomenon in the Islamic nation.
The wedding took place on June 18th in the south of Thailand, where more than two million Malaysian Muslims live (about 24% of the local population). The story has become viral on social media. The groom's second wife filed a complaint at the Gua Musang police station in Kelantan State.
Despite the criticism, the man reiterated yesterday that he will remain married to his third wife. He promised to get a marriage certificate in five years, when the bride is 16, before going to live together; he also stressed that he had previously met the girl's parents, agreeing on "a suspended marriage". The groom told of having met the girl in the restaurant of his first wife, adding that he and his new wife have been "in love for three years".
Deputy Prime Minister Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, also head of the Ministry for Women, Family and Community Development, said that "the union is illegal": it has not received the approval of the Islamic Court, necessary since the bride he has not reached the legal age for marriage. If this is confirmed, the husband would risk up to six months in prison.
In Malaysia, Islamic and civil laws allow minors to marry. According to civil law, non-Muslims can only marry from the age of 18. Non-Muslim girls can get married from the age of 16 on condition that they obtain the permission of the respective Menteri Besar [the chief minister of the state].
For Muslims, the minimum age of marriage for girls and boys is the same as non-Muslims. However, exceptions may be made provided the young people obtain the consent of the religious courts. The Civil Code also establishes that a parent or legal guardian can give written consent to marriages between minors.
The Judicial Department of Syariah [the Islamic law in the Malay language] reveals that between 2005 and 2015 10,240 marriages of Muslim children were registered, an average of 1,024 annually. For non-Muslims, the National Registration Department reports that a total of 2,104 girls were married at the age of 16 between 2011 and September 2015. This means that about 420 non-Muslim girls under the age of 18 are married each year.
.png)
15/12/2018 03:39
13/07/2017 14:37
