馬來西亞14歲少女做新娘引發激辯

The public marriage celebration in Malaysia between a 14-year-old girl and a 23-year-old teacher has triggered a call for a fresh debate on child marriage.

馬來西亞14歲女學生與23歲男教師近日舉行婚禮，這一事件在該國引發了關於"少女婚姻"的新一輪激辯。

On Saturday, schoolgirl Siti Maryam Mahood and Abdul Manan Othman celebrated their marriage at a mosque in the capital Kuala Lumpur, after a religious Sharia court approved the union. "It has been hard trying to juggle two roles -- as a student and a wife -- but I am taking it in my stride," said Siti Maryam.

在得到伊斯蘭法庭的批准後，這位名叫西蒂·瑪亞母·馬胡德的女學生與青年教師阿卜杜勒·馬納·奧斯曼週六在吉隆坡的一座清真寺舉辦了婚禮。西蒂表示："要協調好妻子與學生的雙重角色不是一件容易的事情，但是我努力讓自己適應"。

Siti' parents matchmade the couple and that the Sharia court granted them permission to marry in July.

西蒂的父母對這樁婚事沒有異議，伊斯蘭法庭也同意他們在七月份舉行婚禮。

In Malaysia, Muslims make up about 60 percent of the 28 million populations. For certain issues including family law they are subject to Sharia which operates in parallel with the civil legal system. Muslims below 16 who want to get married must obtain the permission of the religious courts. Those of other religions aged below 17 must have the consent of civil authorities.

馬來西亞約有2800萬人口，其中穆斯林約佔60%。（馬來西亞規定，）在處理包括家庭問題在內的事務時，伊斯蘭教法與馬來西亞民法享有同等法律效力，穆斯林同樣要遵守。在馬來西亞，如果16歲以下的穆斯林想要結婚，必須獲得伊斯蘭法庭的許可。17歲以下的其他宗教教徒如要結婚，必須得到民政部門的批准。

Ivy Josiah, executive director of leading activist group Women's Aid Organization, said that laws which allow underage marriage in certain cases must be dumped by Malaysia, "The government should set the minimum marriage age of 18 for all races. We need to protect the child," she added.

馬來西亞"女性援助集團"執行總監艾薇·約西亞認爲，馬來西亞應該廢除在某些情況下支持未成年婚姻的法律。她還補充說："政府應該將（馬來西亞）所有種族最低婚齡設爲18歲。我們應該保護兒童"。

Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, the minister for women, family and community development, said in July that underage marriage was "morally and socially unacceptable".

馬來西亞婦女、家庭和社會發展部部長莎麗薩·阿卜杜勒·加利爾曾在7月份表示，未成年人婚姻無論"在道德還是社會影響上都令人難以接受"。