The human rights group Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) has condemned Women, Family and Community Development Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail’s statement regarding the latest case of child marriage as “unacceptable and breathtakingly irresponsible”.

LFL executive director Latheefa Koya (photo) stressed that a child cannot consent to marriage.

She warned that the government’s continued failure to act against child marriages is turning Malaysia into a haven for paedophiles who could use marriage as a license to have sex with children.

Yesterday, referring to the latest case of child marriage in Kelantan, Wan Azizah told reporters that the Social Welfare Department had found that the 15-year-old girl and a 44-year old man had mutually consented to the marriage.

“No child can consent to marriage! This is a fundamental principle,” Latheefa objected.

“The criminal law regards consensual sex with any girl below 16 as rape, precisely because a child is not capable of consent. This basic point seems to have been regrettably ignored or overlooked by the women's minister,” she said in a statement today.

She urged the women’s ministry to take immediate action to protect and counsel the child, and the police to investigate the child’s husband for sexual grooming.

Wee: 'Duty to protect the vulnerable'

Separately, Ayer Hitam MP Wee Ka Siong reminded Wan Azizah that she has a duty to protect vulnerable groups.

“I want to remind the deputy prime minister (Wan Azizah) that as a policy maker, she has a positive duty to ensure laws and policies are in place to protect the vulnerable group, including children.

“She should not shrug her duties in this issue by relying on the alleged ‘consent’ of the minor. There will be a host of consequences to that ‘consent’, both to her and to our society later,” he said in a statement today via his Facebook account.

He pointed out that child marriage is prohibited under Article 16(2) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (Cedaw) and provisions of the Convention on the Rights of Child (CRC) that affirms a child’s right to life, health, and education.

“I believe child marriage has the potential to undermine a girl’s autonomy in all aspects of her life and continues to be an impediment to improvements in her education, economic and social status.

“Family commitments and early childbirth may pose obstacles to the educational opportunities for the girl which eventually may undermine her employment and economic opportunities.

“There is also research to suggest that early childbirth may pose health issues for a woman at the later stage of her life,” he added.

He expressed hope that other states would follow suit with Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah’s decree that the marriageable age for Muslim males and females be raised from 16 to 18 years.

For the record, Malaysia has ratified both Cedaw and CRC. However, Malaysia has also entered a reservation on Article 16(2) of Cedaw.

“With respect to article 16.1 (a) and paragraph 2, the government of Malaysia declares that under the Syariah law and the laws of Malaysia the age limit for marriage for women is sixteen and men is eighteen," reads the relevant part of the reservation.

This is the second such case to be reported out of Kelantan in recent months.

In the first case, an 11-year-old Thai girl living in Gua Musang became the third wife to a 41-year-old man after marrying the latter in Sungai Golok, Thailand, in June this year.

The case drew similar criticism from rights activists, politicians and members of the public.

It was further reported that police investigated the husband under the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 and have submitted investigation papers to the Attorney-General's Chambers for further action.