In Malaysia, the legal age to consume alcohol is 18 years old (side note: this is set to increase to 21 years old in December 2017!) but the legal age for a Muslim girl to get married is 16 years old.
Is a 16-year-old girl ready to be a wife and mother when even our Form 5 education usually ends at 17 years old? Well, according to the Nuridah Mohd Salleh who is the chief of PAS Dewan Muslimat, she essentially says that some of them are.
Source: PAS
Based on an article that was published on PAS’ website, she says, “A person’s maturity levels are not based on their age but on that particular person itself. There is no specific guidelines to determine one’s maturity according to Islam. Therefore, it is unfair to say that all 16 year-old girls are immature and not ready for marriage.” Which means some of them are?
According to MMO, she elaborates, “An age limit cannot be regarded as the main cause if a marriage falls apart.”
Source: Open Development Mekong
Apparently, the article was written as a response to Pakatan Harapan’s concerns to ask Putrajaya to raise the minimum age of marriage for a Muslim girl to 18, which would make it the same for Muslim boys.
The women leaders of Pakatan Harapan raised this concern because Wanita PKR leader Zuraida Kamaruddin believes that, “Setting a higher age limit to get married would ensure a better marital life,” while DAP’s Kulai MP, Teo Nie Ching said that “Couples who marry in their teens are prone to sexual and domestic abuse as well as having a negative impact on the couple’s economical and educational status.”
Source: CJ
Nuridah also recommends that the relevant authorities should research extensively on the pros and cons of this issue before making any decisions.
What do you think? Is 16 the right age for girls to marry?
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