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Many
Muslim girls cite religion as their main reason for marrying young |
MANILA, 26 January 2010 (IRIN) - Nurina
was 14 when she married Sid, who was 23. “We were close friends. He treated me
like a younger sister,” Nurina said. “People started to gossip and my family
insisted that we be married to avoid tarnishing my reputation.”
Seven
years later, Nurina is a third-year high-school student and a mother of three.
Early
and arranged marriages are common practice in Muslim culture in the
It is
estimated that 80 percent of Filipino Muslims live on the southern
“Under
Article 16 of the Muslim Code, the minimum marrying age is 15 for both males
and females. However, upon petition of a male guardian, the Shari’a District
Court may order the solemnization of the marriage of a female who has attained
puberty though she is younger than 15, but not below 12,” Claire Padilla,
executive director of EnGendeRights, a legal NGO working for the repeal of this
provision, which it considers discriminatory, told IRIN.
No accurate information
There
is no accurate data of how many Muslim girls in Autonomous Region of Muslim
Mindanao (ARMM) marry before the age of 18.
Yasmin
Bursan-Lao, founder and executive director of Nisa Ul-Haqq Fi Bangsamoro (Women
for Justice in the Bangsamoro), an NGO advocating for women’s rights in the
context of Islamic culture, attributes this to several factors.
|
An estimated 80 percent of all
Filipino Muslims live on the |
“Marriage registration is not a common
practice, especially in far-flung areas. Many do not find the registration of
marriages, births and deaths relevant unless they seek employment. The process
and costs entailed further discourage registration,” says Bursan-Lao, quoting
findings in a research paper, Determinants and Impact of Early Marriage on Moro
Women, by Nisa in March 2009.
A total
of 593 respondents from five provinces in ARMM, who were younger than 18 at
marriage, were surveyed. The study shows that 83 percent were 15-17, while 17
percent were between nine and 14 years old. The ages of the respondents’
husbands ranged from 11-59 years, with 57 percent between 17 and 21 at the time
of marriage.
“Early
marriage is not just a result of cultural practices. The Muslim Code allows it.
Challenging the practice
of early and arranged marriage needs evidence-based argumentation which we hope
this research will address,” Bursan-Lao concluded.
Reasons for getting
married
Religious
beliefs ranked highest, with women saying early marriage was in accordance with
their religion. This was followed by cultural reasons such as keeping family
honour, and economic factors.
A small
proportion said they married for political reasons like settling or preventing
family disputes, or forging political alliances, while others still report
being "forced" into the arranged marriage by their parents.
Maternal
mortality risks
|
A
pregnant woman at an evacuation centre in Datu Piang, |
According
to the 2008 National
Health and Demographic Survey, the maternal mortality rate in ARMM is twice as high as
the national average of 162 per 100,000 live births.
ARMM
has a high unmet need for family planning, with the lowest contraceptive
prevalence rate for modern methods at 9.9 percent and traditional methods at
5.2 percent.
On
average, six out of 10 births take place at home under the supervision of a
traditional birth attendant, but in ARMM, that figure is nine out of 10 births,
the survey states.
Elizabeth
Samama, a provincial health officer in ARMM, said having children at a young
age poses serious health risks. “The body of an adolescent girl is not fully
developed. Her uterus and other reproductive organs are not mature or properly
equipped to support the development of another human life. The ideal age for
conceiving is between the age of 20 and 35,” she said.
Armed conflict
The
Department of Social Welfare and Development estimates that 126,225 individuals
are still living in evacuation centres since the outbreak of renewed fighting
between the government and the Muslim separatist group, the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front, in August 2008.
“The
combination of so much idle time in a close space like an evacuation centre
makes the youth vulnerable to exploring relationships,” says Laisa Alamia, a programme
manager for Nisa Ul-Haqq Fi. Pre-marital relations are forbidden in Muslim
culture and to protect the girl’s chastity, she is forced into marriage.
But
Alamia also noted another factor. “In the evacuation centre, each family is
entitled only to one food coupon for basic relief goods. Girls and boys are
married off by their parents to create new families and qualify for more food
coupons,” she said.
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