Muslim Women Speak Out Against Child Marriage

Recently, a major Islamic religious authority in Malaysia tried to pass off the marriage of a 14-year-old school girl to a significantly older man in a mass ceremony as perfectly normal. But activist organization Sisters in Islam isn't letting them get away with normalizing child marriage. They're demanding that Malaysia raise the legal marriage age to 18 to stop the harmful practice of child marriage.

The issue of child marriage in Malaysia came to a head recently when a newspaper printed an article about a mass wedding alongside a picture of one of the brides, who at just 14 was marrying a man more than twice her age. The outrage caused by the story was increased when the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia,  the body in charge of regulating Islamic principles in the country, responded that there was nothing wrong with child marriage "if the wedding is bound by love between couples.” But the question many child marriage activists are asking isn't whether or not there's love, but whether or not children can reasonably consent to a life-long and sexual relationship when they are so young. And for most of them, the answer is a resounding no.

In Malaysia, over 16,000 children, the vast majority of which are girls, are married by the time they turn 15. When girls marry young, they are less able to access education and are often completely dependent upon their husbands for all financial, physical, and emotional needs. Many young girls are forced or coerced into marrying, and some are outright sold. But Sisters in Islam recognizes child marriage as a form of discrimination against women and human trafficking, and they're demanding the Department of Islamic Development and the Malaysian government raise the marriage age to 18.

Sisters in Islam is a group of Muslim women using the framework of Islam to promote women's rights. They focus on lifting up what they call "the revolutionary spirit of Islam", pointing out that the religion raised the status of women when it was first  revealed and supports basic rights, equality, and human dignity for all people. Sisters of Islam is running a number of advocacy campaigns aimed at ending the use of their faith to "justify cultural practices and values that regard women as inferior and subordinate to men." In addition to pushing for a marriage age floor, they've been lobbying the Malaysian government for more progressive policies on marriage, including reducing child marriage and forced marriage, ending polygamy, and promoting gender equity in marriage.  They also host an annual "Fiesta Feminista," which showcases Muslim women's organizing around gender-based violence, forced marriage, and other related issues. If you want to support Sisters in Islam's efforts, check out their website and sign onto their campaigns or support their efforts financially.

If you live in the U.S., join the campaign to support The International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act, which is currently being reviewed by U.S. Congress. If passed, the bill would will help prevent child marriage by educating, protecting, and empowering young girls in the developing world. It would also provide funding for the U.S. government to develop an integrated, strategic approach to reducing child marriage in countries like Malaysia, thereby supporting the work groups like Sisters in Islam are doing on the ground. Because no matter their faith, girls should have a chance to get an education, not be forced or sold into marriages that keep them oppressed.

Photo credit: Ed Yourndon