SEPANG: Welfare officers have met the 15-year-old girl in Tumpat, whose marriage to a 44-year-old man sparked a fresh round of controversy over child brides, says Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
She said officers were looking into the case while the federal government was working to raise the minimum age of marriage to 18.
According to Dr Wan Azizah, who is also the Women, Family and Community Development Minister, the ministry had to abide by state laws.
“They have been married by the Syariah Court, so we have to go through that process, and then try to raise the minimum marriage age,” said Dr Wan Azizah yesterday.
“We have laws to say that if they break it (marriage age), then they have to pay a fine.”
Previously, Dr Wan Azizah called on the Kelantan Syariah Court judges to help steer away from child marriage when she was asked to comment on an earlier case of a 41-year-old rubber tapper and an 11-year-old girl marrying in Thailand.
She said while the marriage was recognised from the perspective of Islamic laws, it was not recognised when seen from a legal perspective.
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