SHAH ALAM: Encouraging children to remain in school and continue with their studies is just one of the measures the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry is looking at to reduce the occurrences of child marriages.
Its deputy minister, Hannah Yeoh, said a proposal to enforce compulsory education for children was being mooted.
“We need to address issues why they stop school and need to overcome the issue of poverty which is why these children are no longer interested in continuing their studies,” she told reporters after a graduation ceremony at Monfort Boys Town.
The idea, said Yeoh, came about thanks to feedback from her first working visit to Sarawak to understand the issue of child marriages from the perspective of custom, Shariah and to obtain a real picture of child marriages in the state.
She said the issue of underage marriages in Sarawak presented a different scenario from that of Kelantan.
“Unlike Kelantan, most of the underage marriages in Sarawak are a result of social issues like poverty, dropping out of school and unwanted teen pregnancies. Because of the ensuing shame and stigma, teenagers find themselves in early marriages which they are unprepared for and can lead to other social issues like early divorce and baby dumping.”
Yeoh said it was necessary to encourage teenage girls in Sarawak to remain in school and complete their education instead of entering into underage marriages.
“Education will help lift them out of the poverty that might lead to future underage marriages, to build a career and contribute to the family income.
“Long term interventions need to be implemented and we are looking at interventions like awareness talks at schools and online campaigns to reach the right target groups and more importantly their family to understand the negative impacts of allowing their children to marry young.”
Yeoh added that it would also require reevaluating existing National Population and Family Development Board measures to teach sexual education to target groups in schools, which presently has a limited reach.
Meanwhile, at the graduation Yeoh congratulated Montfort Boys Town for their continued efforts to help youth in need with skills for life and character formation.
A total of 160 students graduated from seven skills training, including machine shop, motor mechanic, computer maintenance, graphic design and multimedia, bakery and pastry, hospitality and electrical skills.
