BN MP: Marriage after rape a remedy for 'social problems'
PARLIAMENT | Marriage between a rape victim and the rapist was a possible remedy for social problems, a BN lawmaker told the Dewan Rakyat today.
Shabudin Yahya (BN-Tasek Gelugor) said while rape was a crime, the law does not prevent a rape victim from marrying the attacker.
He said marriage may even lead to the rapist repenting and it would be good for the victim to have a husband.
"Maybe with the marriage, (the man) can lead a different life that is better. And the wife who was raped, if she can get married she will not go through an uncertain future.
"At least she has a husband... this is a remedy to social problems," said Shabudin.
PARLIAMENT | Marriage between a rape victim and the rapist was a possible remedy for social problems, a BN lawmaker told the Dewan Rakyat today.
Shabudin Yahya (BN-Tasek Gelugor) said while rape was a crime, the law does not prevent a rape victim from marrying the attacker.
He said marriage may even lead to the rapist repenting and it would be good for the victim to have a husband.
"Maybe with the marriage, (the man) can lead a different life that is better. And the wife who was raped, if she can get married she will not go through an uncertain future.
"At least she has a husband... this is a remedy to social problems," said Shabudin.
Shabudin said this in response to Teo Nie Ching's (DAP-Kulai) proposal to amend the Sexual Offences Against Children Bill with a clause to ban child marriages.
Some girls 'become better'
Teo cited several examples, including the conviction of a man in Port Dickson who wed a mentally challenged 14-year-old girl and later forced his wife to record him raping her 11-year-old sister.
Teo said her examples showed how women involved in child marriages are often made to suffer.
Shabudin said that the marriage of Muslim girls under the age of 16 required the permission of the Syariah Court.
He said that his experience as a Syariah Court judge has led him to believe that underage girls with "wild lifestyles" eventually had better lives after marrying good husbands.
Siti Mariah Mahmud (Amanah-Kota Raja) while interjecting his speech, said that child marriages was not a good way to address such issues, as the husband could be "haprak" (useless).
Shabudin however said it was unfair to condemn a person to be bad forever, as they may repent.
"Maybe the husband had raped her (his wife, prior to marriage), we (can't) say that the husband will be a useless and evil person forever," he said.
Some pre-teens ready for marriage
He also refuted Siti Mariah's argument that 12-year-old girls were too young to be wed.
"When we discuss 12- and 15 year-olds, we don't see their physical bodies, because some children aged 12 or 15, their bodies are like 18-year-old women.
"So it's not impossible for them to get married," Shabudin said.
He added that girls reached who reached puberty as young as 9-year-old were physically and spiritually ready for marriage.
Teo's motion to amend the Sexual Offences Against Children Bill was defeated by a voice vote. The bill later was passed by the Dewan Rakyat at 6pm.
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