Nothing divine in child marriage

Early marriage can have serious harmful consequences for children. The figures show that is a problem that crosses all races and states, raising many disturbing questions that need to be answered.

TWO MONTHS ago, there was public outcry over the marriage of two little girls, aged 10 and 11 to much older men in Kelantan. It was two too many. But now the 2009 data on pre-marital HIV screening, mandatory for all Malay Muslim couples wanting to get married, shows that this problem is more prevalent than expected.