Amar made the comment in response to media reports that a 41-year-old man from Kelantan has married an 11-year-old girl in southern Thailand.
JAG said the marriage was not an isolated or unimportant case.
“A holistic approach is needed to tackle the issue of child marriages and the causes, including poverty, a lack of understanding regarding gender and the lack of child protection.
“Child marriages impact the health and psychology of the child who is also exposed to abuse and torture.
“It also diminishes their chances at getting a formal education and forces the responsibility of the household on them,” the group said in a statement.
It said the deputy menteri besar’s statement showed a lack of seriousness on the part of the Kelantan government to tackle child marriages, which is a critical issue that needs immediate and serious action from both the federal and state governments.
The group also accused the deputy menteri besar of using other issues, including homosexuality, to draw the public’s attention away from the real problem of child marriages.
“The state government’s attempt to use homosexuality and extramarital affairs as a diversion will only add to the stigma and confusion regarding the real issue.”
JAG also cited statistics from the Bar Council that between 2005 and 2015, as many as 10,240 Malaysian Muslims had applied to shariah courts for child marriages.
Between 2000 and 2014, as many as 7,719 applications were made to marry non-Muslim children between the ages of 16 and 18.
Global statistics suggest that if the issue is not addressed, 1.3 billion female children will be married off by 2050.
JAG also supported the call by the Bar Council to establish a Child Commission, reporting directly to Parliament, to address the issue of child marriage and all other issues pertaining to children in Malaysia.
JAG is made up of the Justice for Sisters, Association of Women Lawyers (AWL), All Women’s Action Society (Awam), Selangor Community Awareness Association (Empower), Persatuan Sahabat Wanita (PSWS), the Sabah Women’s Action Resource Group (Sawo), Sisters in Islam (SIS) Women’s Aid Organization (WAO), and the Women Center for Change (WCC).
Bernama had reported that the marriage between the 41-year-old man and the 11-year-old girl did not have the consent of the Narathiwat Islamic Religious Council.
Council president Safei Cheklah said the couple were married by an imam in Kampung Padang Nyor, Mukim Munok, Sungai Golok, in Narathiwat. He said the girl was given away for marriage by her biological father.
According to Shafei, the marriage was not wrong in terms of shariah law, but an offence according to Malaysian civil law.
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