Girl, 11, in shock after marriage attempt
Source: Agencies |
March 16, 2010, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
AN 11-year-old Malaysian girl was hospitalized in a state of shock after allegedly being abducted by a man who persuaded her parents to let him marry her, an official said yesterday.
She is one of two recent cases of suspected child marriages in Malaysia, a majority Muslim country where girls under the age of 16 need permission from Islamic courts to marry.
But approval is not commonly granted and recent reports of young girls being married to men in northern Kelantan state have made headlines.
On Sunday, Women's Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said action should be taken against the 41-year-old who allegedly wanted to marry the 11-year-old without getting special court permission. She called it a "reckless and irresponsible act."
The girl was found abandoned near a mosque on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur late last week. She was in shock and has been hospitalized for medical checks, said a ministry official who declined to be named.
The girl's mother was quoted by newspapers yesterday as saying that the family decided to marry off the girl after the man, allegedly a religious group leader, persuaded them.
He and nine others picked up the girl at her home on February 20, claiming they would get the marriage registered. The family lodged a police report the next day after he failed to return with the child as promised, The Star quoted the mother as saying.
Kelantan police chief Abdul Rahim Hanafi said he could not immediately comment and Kuala Lumpur police could not be reached for further details. It is not clear what exactly happened to the girl.
Women's groups have called for an end to child marriages.
She is one of two recent cases of suspected child marriages in Malaysia, a majority Muslim country where girls under the age of 16 need permission from Islamic courts to marry.
But approval is not commonly granted and recent reports of young girls being married to men in northern Kelantan state have made headlines.
On Sunday, Women's Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said action should be taken against the 41-year-old who allegedly wanted to marry the 11-year-old without getting special court permission. She called it a "reckless and irresponsible act."
The girl was found abandoned near a mosque on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur late last week. She was in shock and has been hospitalized for medical checks, said a ministry official who declined to be named.
The girl's mother was quoted by newspapers yesterday as saying that the family decided to marry off the girl after the man, allegedly a religious group leader, persuaded them.
He and nine others picked up the girl at her home on February 20, claiming they would get the marriage registered. The family lodged a police report the next day after he failed to return with the child as promised, The Star quoted the mother as saying.
Kelantan police chief Abdul Rahim Hanafi said he could not immediately comment and Kuala Lumpur police could not be reached for further details. It is not clear what exactly happened to the girl.
Women's groups have called for an end to child marriages.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
