KUALA LUMPUR: The minimum marriage age for Muslims and non-Muslims remains unchanged although the Government has withdrawn its reservation to Article 1 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, said Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.

Article 1, which defines a child as a person below the age of 18, did not contradict Malaysian laws, she said.

“In fact, the Malaysian law is in compliance with Article 1 and that is why we do not see the need to maintain our reservation on the Article,” she said.

Thus, she said, Muslim girls below 16 are still allowed to marry with the consent of the Syariah Court.

Under Syariah law, the minimum age for Muslims to get married is 18 for males and 16 for females.

According to the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act, the minimum age of marriage for non-Muslims is 18 for both males and females.

Speaking at a signing ceremony to withdraw reservation to certain articles of the Convention, Shahrizat said the Malaysian law was in fact in compliance with Article 1.

However, the Joint Action Group for Gender Equality has urged the Government to set the minimum age for marriage at 18 years so that child marriages could be prevented.

The group said that recent data of pre-marital HIV testing in Malaysia showed a high number of girls under 16 years of age who intend to marry.

“Last year, 32 girls under 10 years of age undertook the pre-marital HIV test. No boys in that age group were tested, and only two boys in the 10-14 age group were tested, compared to 445 girls. The data indicates that girls are getting married, and to men who are much older than them,” Women’s Aid Organi­sation president Meera Samanther said yesterday.

She found it “appalling” that the Government would allow girls to marry at such a young age and “that the law provides for this”.

The ministry also removed its reservation to Article 13 and Article 15, which allow children under the age of 18 to have freedom of speech and the right to join children’s associations.

Reservation on Article 5(a), 7(b) and 16(2) of the Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women was also withdrawn.

This means that women will be treated equally as their male counterparts and be given the same opportunities to hold public office and perform public functions at all levels of government.

Shahrizat also said that the Govern­ment had ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to eliminate discrimination against the disabled.