‘Child marriage prevention programme needed’

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Datuk Azizah Mohd Dun

KOTA KINABALU: There is a need for child marriage prevention programme in Sabah even though such incidents are still under control in the state.

Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Azizah Mohd Dun said this to reporters when commenting on the recent highlight in the media on a child marriage in Sabah, where a 13-year-old was offered to marry a 40-year-old man who had allegedly raped her.

“The state government has conducted a number of programmes to raise awareness of child marriages in Sabah for the past many years, but I will talk to the ministry and  other agencies to have more prevention programmes, especially in the interior such as Kota Marudu and Pensiangan, where these incidents are often happening.

“We will also look at various factors such as the economy and also their culture as many of the parents in the interior prefer to let their young girl marry because they cannot afford to give them proper education.

“Getting married at a young age is also quite normal in the interior. However, this kind of culture should be reviewed to avoid any problem to the women in the future,” she said.

Azizah added that most parents were aware that education was important for their children regardless of their gender but such incident was still happening because of their culture of getting married at a young age.

She admitted that the ministry would have problems in conducting their programmes if the people in the interior are still holding tight onto their culture, but she is optimistic that any programmes which is good to the community will be accepted even though it will take more time.

“We will also look at other factors, such as the economy, where we can empower them. If we can assist these people to improve their income, I think we can see the number of child marriages decreasing.

“Since child marriages are still under control, I believe we can minimise the incidents, especially when we are approaching a developed nation status in seven years’ time,” she added.

Azizah who is also Beaufort Member of Parliament said even though the people in the interior might have problems accepting child marriage prevention programmes, it would all  depend on how the government would approach their awareness programmes.