I REFER to the editorial “End child marriages” (NST, Oct 12) and fully support the campaign to end the practice.
I don’t have to go far. I just need to look at my young, beautiful, playful and naive daughter, who is nine.
Would we, as parents, have the heart to send her off to be married to a man who can be called her grandfather?
That is precisely what is happening in many poor countries.
It does not make sense for a man to marry a child and then take the child as his wife.
What does that man look for in the innocent child other than sex? As an old man, he should be showering love to the child; not marry her and does as he pleases with her young fragile body.
Given the above sad and harrowing scenario, child marriages have to end. But how?
Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, while accompanying her husband, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, to the United Nations General Assembly recently, gave an impressive talk on child marriages at a Ford Foundation luncheon, by quoting Malaysia as a country where such a practice is rare.
This is because every child in this country has access to free education, and in the process, elevate the girl economically to be independent.
Rosmah pointed out that poverty must be overcome to end child marriages.
In some countries, it is cultural, practised since time immemorial.
But it is a practice that can be put to a stop. In this modern age, a government must have a strong political will and enforcement of the law to end child marriages.
Even with the end of child marriages, we have to face another menace — child-trafficking for prostitution.
A young girl is fair game to human traffickers who have no conscience or guilt to sell them off and force them into prostitution. It is a lucrative business and they know there are always customers willing to pay for a young virgin. This has got to stop.
It begins with the parents, be they rich or poor. The parents must have the moral responsibility and love for every child they bear.
They should not shirk their responsibilities by marrying off their children for profit.
They must have the conscience and look in their young daughter’s eyes before making the fatal decision to marry her off to an old man who may abuse her.
This is where the role of the relevant authorities in every country has to play its part. UN agencies can help some poor countries in providing family education and counselling to prevent child marriages.
Maybe, the time has come for Malaysia provide her expertise to these countries.
There are many retired civil servants who are more than willing to be Malaysia’s counsellors in preventing child marriages by giving talks to the relevant departments.
As pointed out by Rosmah, child marriage is rare in this country even though the child comes from a poor family.
Occasionally, we read in the papers of very poor family living in a dilapidated house, tent or old car. Yet, we can see how they shower their love on their young girls and do not marry them off in spite of their poverty.
To say that poverty is the root cause of a child marriage may need more empirical evidence, as it is not the norm in this country. Why is this so, a foreigner may ask.
Maybe it is cultural and has never been a way of life in this country since its founding during the Malay sultanate.
Certainly, Malaysia can be a showcase for the UN and other countries to find the right formula to prevent child marriages.
n HASSAN TALIB, Gombak, Selangor