The Government should allow marriage at age 16 with parental consent and judicial scrutiny, says Opposition MP Dr Bhoe Tewarie.
Tewarie made the recommendation during yesterday’s Parliament debate on proposed legislation to allow marriage at 18 and to outlaw child marriages.
Tewarie said the Opposition supported the marriage age of 18.
“I’m against child marriages, forced marriages and the interfering with underage girls by big men,” he added.
But he said there were still issues to be addressed including clarification from the Attorney General on why the legislation was changed from requiring a special-majority vote to requiring a simple majority vote.
He also noted the legislation didn’t deal with all types of marriages such as gay, lesbian or transgender marriages which are part of today’s reality.
Tewarie noted appeals by the Hindu Women’s Organisation (HWO)and Islamic Ladies’ Social and Cultural organisation for the marriage age to be 16 with parental supervision and judicial scrutiny. HWO also suggested that where females are 16, the male’s age should be no more than 19 years.
Listing countries from Japan and Jamaica to Barbados and Belgium which have a marriage age of 16, Tewarie called on the Government to show sensitivity and flexibility in the public interest.
He said he wasn’t in favour of a Christian state, Hindu state, Islamic state or Jewish or any religious state, “This (TT) is a society of religious minorities, everybody is a minority. This isn’t a majoritarian state, so we have to be sensitive and harmonise and live together.”
Tewarie said child marriages in T&T are rare and not the norm. The real problem with the situation was child abuse by adults and early sexual initiation of female children.
Tewarie noted a 2004 World Bank report which stated the Caribbean was the only place where sexual initiation of females happened at the earliest ages. “It’s a persistent problem that doesn’t go away and escalates. But the legislation doesn’t address this issue,” he said.
He said few are getting married at 18 anymore since two -thirds of female UWI students for instance, want to focus on their education. Other people postpone marriage as they feel it interferes with their freedom and self-actualisation.
“One in three marriages end in divorce. But the legislation doesn’t address that, or abortions, domestic violence or family disintegration.”
Tewarie said there are challenges to the future of marriage and the family, especially considering the brutalisation of women by, “unthinking men in this society”.
