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Time to Ban Child Marriage in Malaysia

This month, Malaysia’s lower house amended the country’s Child Act 2001 without banning all marriage by girls and boys under the age of 18, as called for by several members of parliament and rights groups.

Absent from the debate was any appreciation of the core problem with child marriage – the real and lasting damage that early marriage causes to girls.

Around the world, there is overwhelming evidence that child marriage has devastating consequences for girls.

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Permitting early marriage

While Malaysian civil law sets the minimum age of marriage at 18, the law is riddled with exceptions.

Girls 16 and older can marry with permission of their state’s chief minister.

For Muslims, Islamic law sets a 16-year minimum age for girls and permits even earlier marriages, with no apparent minimum, with the permission of a syariah court.

Statistics on the rate of child marriage in Malaysia are hard to pin down, but in 2010, the

women, family and community development deputy minister reported that 16,000 girls aged below 15 in the country were married.

After a country visit to Malaysia in 2014, a United Nations special expert expressed concern about the prevalence of child marriage, noting that he was “very worried about information received indicating that, in an attempt to reduce the incidence of premarital sex, children born out of wedlock, and child abandonment, certain authorities are encouraging underage marriage.”

Read the full comment article from MalaysiaKini

Women Bound to Muslim Law in Sri Lanka Seek Changes to End Discrimination

Muslims in Sri Lanka are obligated to comply with Muslim Law and a corresponding court system when it comes to marriage, inheritances and other personal matters, but women there say that system is discriminatory. Proposed changes to that law could end discrimination and give Muslim women a way out of abusive relationships.

COLOMBO, SRI LANKA — Zeenathul Razeena Ismail, 37, was 16 years old when she was married.

It was not a forced marriage. Ismail fell in love with her seaman husband when she first met him, but the marriage was arranged by the two families.

“My father signed the marriage register as required by the Muslim law,” Ismail says.

Ismail says her in-laws weren’t supportive of education, so she dropped out of school after the wedding. She was 17 years old when her son was born. Now, she also has two daughters.

Within a few years, Ismail says she saw that her husband was a spendthrift and a womanizer. Her family turned her out of their house because her husband’s behavior brought them shame, and she moved to Colombo to live with her in-laws.

“When his absence from home became longer, on enquiry I found that he had got married to another woman and was living away from us,” Ismail says.

Under Sri Lanka’s Muslim law, polygamy is allowed, but women who no longer live with their husbands aren’t guaranteed any type of support.

Read the full story on Global Press Journal

Key points from Pope Francis’s major new document on family issues

After two years of high-level meetings to discuss some of the most contentious and most personal issues in the Catholic church — including gay marriage, cohabitation and divorce — Pope Francis published a major teaching on Friday about the Catholic family.

Don’t have time to read the whole 256-page document? Take the time to read these six key excerpts, which together sum up Francis’s conclusions.

1. The Church defines the ideal relationship as a heterosexual marriage. But Francis writes that other loving relationships can have value too.

“Christian marriage, as a reflection of the union between Christ and his Church, is fully realized in the union between a man and a woman who give themselves to each other in a free, faithful and exclusive love, who belong to each other until death and are open to the transmission of life, and are consecrated by the sacrament, which grants them the grace to become a domestic church and a leaven of new life for society. Some forms of union radically contradict this ideal, while others realize it in at least a partial and analogous way. The Synod Fathers stated that the Church does not disregard the constructive elements in those situations which do not yet or no longer correspond to her teaching on marriage.”

2. That being said, Francis makes it totally clear in this document that he won’t support gay marriage.

“During the Synod, we discussed the situation of families whose members include persons who experience same-sex attraction, a situation not easy either for parents or for children. We would like before all else to reaffirm that every person, regardless of sexual orientation, ought to be respected in his or her dignity and treated with consideration, while ‘every sign of unjust discrimination’ is to be carefully avoided, particularly any form of aggression and violence…. In discussing the dignity and mission of the family, the Synod Fathers observed that, ‘as for proposals to place unions between homosexual persons on the same level as marriage, there are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God’s plan for marriage and family.’”

Read the full article on the Washington Post now.

Iraq: Women Suffer Under ISIS

The extremist armed group Islamic State should urgently release Yezidi women and girls they abducted in 2014, Human Rights Watch said today, following new research with recent escapees who were raped and traded between members before they fled. Islamic State (also known as ISIS) also routinely imposes abusive restrictions on other Iraqi women and girls and severely limits their freedom of movement and access to health care and education in areas under its control.

In January and February 2016, Human Rights Watch interviewed 21 Sunni Muslim Arab women from the Hawija area of Iraq and 15 women and girls from the Yezidi minority ethnic group, all of whom had fled ISIS-controlled areas, most in late 2015. Several of the Yezidis,abducted by ISIS in mid-2014, had spent more than a year in captivity. They described being forcibly converted to Islam, kept in sexual slavery, bought and sold in slave markets, and passed among as many as four ISIS members. Human Rights Watch first documented systematic rape of Yezidi women and girls in early 2015.

“The longer they are held by ISIS, the more horrific life becomes for Yezidi women, bought and sold, brutally raped, their children torn from them,” said Skye Wheeler, women’s rights emergencies researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Meanwhile, ISIS’s restrictions on Sunni women cut them off from normal life and services almost entirely.”

The Sunni women Human Rights Watch interviewed had fled areas under ISIS control since June 2014 in western Kirkuk governorate and had arrived in areas controlled by forces of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG). All of the Sunni women and girls reported severe restrictions on their clothing and freedom of movement in ISIS-controlled areas. They said they were only allowed to leave their houses dressed in full face veil (niqab) and accompanied by a close male relative. These rules, enforced by beating or fines on male family members or both, isolated women from family, friends, and public life.

Read the full article from Human Rights Watch now.

Marriage Under 18 Banned in the Pankisi Gorge

Religious leaders in the Pankisi Gorge will no longer endorse marriage for those under the age of 18. Pankisi is located in the eastern part of Georgia (Kakheti region) and is mostly populated by ethnic Kists. The decision was made by imams from traditional Islamic mosques, together with the Council of Elders in the Gorge.

In Pankisi, early marriages are most common among girls aged 16-17. Although the trend is no longer growing compared with previous years, here, girls are deemed ready for marriage after they finish school. Religious leaders enjoy a high level of authority in Pankisi, which is why their choice to make a public statement about their decision on discouraging early marriages is of paramount importance. It is noteworthy that the Council of Women Elders has contributed a lot to making this decision.

The initiative emerged in November 2015, when Pankisi’s Council of Women Elders and the Kakheti Regional Development Foundation (KRDF) organized a rally against early marriage, as part of the 16-days of Activism against Gender Violence. Iza Bekauri, Director of KRDF and one of the founders of the Council of Women Elders, says that the Council of Elders were also invited to the event: “We met with the youths and called on them to say NO to early marriage. We have worked with the Council of Elders too in this respect. They liked the initiative and decided to make this topic public.”

Read the full article from UN Women now.

Tunisia’s single mothers still struggle to overcome stigma

The situation of unmarried mothers, faced with a delicate dilemma and deprived of rights, makes a telling allegory for modern Tunisia — a country increasingly liberated but that still promotes conservative values.

On one side, the mere existence of unmarried mothers breaks the great taboo of premarital sex. According to a survey by the Pew Research Center from 2013, 89% of Tunisians say sex outside of marriage is “morally wrong.” On the other side, a growing number of individuals are emancipating themselves from traditional family values.

This trend is mainly reflected in delayed marriage. In 2012, the average age of marriage was 28 for women and 33 for men, leading to an increase in premarital sex. According to psychoanalyst Nedra Ben Smail, who authored the book “Vierges? La nouvelle sexualité des Tunisiennes” (“Virgins? The new sexuality of Tunisian women”), only 20% of Tunisian women remain virgins until marriage.

Despite the country’s rapidly changing ways, Tunisia struggles to adapt its legislation to its modernizing society. In November 2011, 10 months after Tunisian dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled the country, Souad Abderrahim, a female representative of the Islamist party Ennahda, called single mothers a “disgrace.” Her statement caused significant outrage in the media and on social networks. Articles were published in response on the award-winning collective blog Nawaat, while Tunisian activist Lina Ben Mhenni, a 2011 Nobel Peace Prize nominee, called Abderrahim’s declaration “outrageous.”

However, more than four years later, no real public debate has taken place on the issue. The country is ruled by President Beji Caid Essebsi, who was elected in December 2014 after a virulent anti-Islamist campaign against Ennahda, the governing party at the time. But Essebsi and his secular liberal party, Nidaa Tunis, allied with Ennahda just after the election. The two parties support conservative policies regarding moral issues, refusing to amend, for example, the law that criminalizes homosexuality.

Read the full article from Al Monitor

Bill banning child marriage fails in Pakistan after Council deems ‘un-Islamic’

Pakistani lawmakers had to withdraw a bill aimed at curbing the practice of child marriage after a prominent religious body declared the legislation un-Islamic.

The bill, which proposed raising the marriage age for females from 16 to 18, also called for harsher penalties for those who would arrange marriages involving children. Despite the laws in place, child marriages, particularly involving young female brides, are common in parts of the country. It’s estimated that some 20 percent of girls in the country are married before they turn 18.

But the Council of Islamic Ideology, a constitutional body which gives advice to parliament on the compatibility of laws with Sharia, appeared to slap down the legislation after deeming it “un-Islamic” and “blasphemous,” according toAgence France Presse. It had already handed down a similar ruling in 2014.

Read the full article on the Washington Post now.

Ban ‘triple talaq’, says Muslim women’s group

The Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA) on Friday called for a ban on the “triple talaq” divorce system, saying it was un-Islamic and outlawed in several Muslim countries.

“The Quran gives rights to Muslim women during marriage and does not recognise triple talaq,” the group said in a resolution passed at its ninth annual convention here.

“Yet, this evil practice prevails in India. It should be banned like several Muslim countries (have done),” it added.

At the same time, the gathering rejected the idea of an Uniform Civil Code and called upon the government to initiate urgent measures towards reforms in Muslim personal law.

A BMMA statement quoted co-founder Noorjehan Safia Niaz as saying how India urgently needed a codified Muslim personal law based on the Quranic principles of justice and equality.

Zakia Soman, another co-founder, spoke about how an Uniform Civil Code was not the answer to Muslim womens’ quest for justice.

This can happen only by reform in Muslim personal law where matters such as age of marriage, divorce and polygamy can be regulated, she said.

Read the full article on the Online India website

More than 90 per cent of Muslim women in India reject the triple talaq and polygamy

A survey of Muslim women by the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA), put the spotlight on the needs of the muslim woman in India.

In the survey it was found that more than 90 percent of Muslim women in India want the “triple talaq” divorce ritual and polygamy banned from family civil law in the country.

The BMMA said its survey also showed that three quarters of interviewees wanted a ban on child marriage, indicating a need for reforms in the Muslim personal law which governs family-related issues in India.

Activists say the current law discriminates against women and are calling for a well-defined Muslim law that criminalises polygamy, unilateral divorce, child custody and child marriage.

In its statement the BMMA said “It (the survey) suggests that Muslim women are aware of their legal rights and are determined to attain justice in family matters. An overwhelming number of women demand reforms in Muslim personal law as is prevalent in India today,”.
By New Delhi Times Bureau

Read full article on the New Delhi Times website

How the Disingenuous Attacks on Planned Parenthood Hurt Women Around the Globe

Anti-abortion activists in Latin America are using the deceptive Planned Parenthood “investigation” videos as an excuse to attack local family planning organizations.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, abortion is heavily restricted in all but six countries. Of the seven nations in the world that forbid the procedure in all circumstances–including threat to the mother’s life–five are located in Latin America.

Of course, the harsh restrictions don’t stop abortion from happening, and horror stories abound: of 4 million unsafe and illegal abortions occurring per year; of women being killed and mutilated after botched back-alley procedures; of pregnant victims of rape and incest–like, recently, an 11-year-old girl in Paraguay who was raped by her stepfather–being forced to carry their abusers’ children to term.

Since its founding in the 1950s, the International Planned Parenthood Federation Western Hemisphere Region (IPPF-WHR) has been working with local organizations to help women maintain reproductive autonomy despite such draconian laws. IPPF-WHR collaborates with 40 partner organizations in 38 countries throughout the Americas and Caribbean, working to ensure that women can access sexual and reproductive health services. However, because of the recent, deeply disingenuous attacks on Planned Parenthood in America, these international partners have come under fire as well. As anti-abortion groups and politicians rush to malign Planned Parenthood over deceptively edited videos, they’re not merely endangering women’s health in the United States: Their actions are threatening women around the globe.

By Callie Beusman

Read the full article on Broadly website