There was no consensus on the Inter-Religious Organisation’s (IRO) decision to support the continuation of child marriages, Archbishop Joseph Harris said yesterday, adding that forcing children into wedlock is “legalised statutory rape.”
Harris made the claim in response to IRO head Brother Harrypersad Maharaj’s announcement that members had unanimously agreed that no law should interfere with their custom at a recent meeting.
It also came as other faith-based organisations condemned Harrypersad’s stance on child marriages, believing it had the backing of all IRO members.
Addressing issues relating to the Catholic faith in an interview on the Archdiocese of Port-of- Spain’s Facebook page yesterday, Harris said neither he nor the church’s regular representative, Fr Martin Sirju, attended the meeting and were thus not part of that discussion. He said they were also not contacted by the IRO on that decision nor did they put forward any agreement on the position.
“It is wrong to say it was unanimous because the Catholic Church certainly does not agree with that proposition,” Harris said.
Widespread furore had erupted in response to the IRO’s stance, with Maharaj adding that child marriages are one of the best methods to shape moral and spiritual values in terms of family life. Further defending the position, he said that age did not determine maturity.
But according to Harris, in addition to children not understanding the concept of marriage, it can also be physically harmful. And while the custom might be based on culture, he said not all aspects of culture were good.
Harris added: “Cultures are never perfect. In cultures you have good customs and bad customs and in any culture there are customs which you have to reprobate and customs which you have to exalt and make better. The Catholic Church says you have to evangelise the culture.
“From where I sit, I have been listening to doctors and psychologists ... Intercourse and childbirth for 11, 12, 13 and 14-year-old girls are not good. And so from a purely physical point of view, that should not be allowed and if it is part of the culture, then the culture has to be evangelised and the culture has to be brought to a spot in which relationships and marriage relationships are truly understood.
“A 13-year-old, a 12-year-old does not understand what marriage is about and so they should not be forced. A 13-year-old is a child, a 13-year-old ought not to be forced into that type of relationship. That is legalised statutory rape.”
Adding to the condemnation was administrative officer at the Silver Lining Foundation (SLF) Kennedy Everett Maraj, who said they could not support the infringements of children’s rights. He said children should be able to play, learn, grow and mature and that marriage has no place in the life of a child.
He said the current position adopted by the IRO diminished childhood and made practices such as child marriages appear acceptable.
“Among the rights of a child detailed in the UNCRC are the right to education, play, protection from all forms of violence and freedom from sexual abuse. Allowing a child to enter into marriage shows contempt for the rights of the child and is a violation of these fundamental rights,” Maraj said.
“Some have expressed the view that teen pregnancies are of greater concern than teen marriages. SLF is of the view that one is intrinsically linked to the other. Allowing minors to be married is exposing them to sexual contact before they have learnt about their own sexual identity,” he added.
Parents don’t marry off 12-year-olds
Although the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act allows for 12-year-old girls to be married, Asja representative and the IRO’s first vice-president Haji Abzal Mohammed said yesterday that T&T parents did not allow their girls to get married at age 12.
“Let the Register General publish a list of how many 12-year-old girls that got married and then we will know more about this issue that people are blowing out of proportion,” Mohammed said.
Noting the public’s fear that child marriages would contribute to the problem of early pregnancy and its consequences, he said that had nothing to do with age. He said teenagers were having sex outside marriage and most occur among children attending government schools. On the other hand, he said, denominational schools separated the sexes.
“People have to be insane to marry their 12-year-old daughters. In Islam, the normal age of puberty or when their period starts is at 12 years of age. It means to say that the moment they are sexually active, they can become pregnant.
“The thing is nobody marries their children off at 12 years. I will like the register general to say how many marriages take place at 12 years of age, how many Muslim girls, Hindu and Orisha. This thing has only started since it was blown out of proportion.”
Violation of UN Convention
Article 1 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), of which Trinidad and Tobago is a signatory, describes a child as “every human being below the age of 18.” The Children’s Act of Trinidad and Tobago defines a child as “a person under the age of 14 years.”
Signatories to the UNCRC agree to respect and ensure the rights set forth in the convention regardless of race, sex, religion, political, ethnic or social origin. Signatories must take all appropriate measures to ensure that the child is protected against all forms of discrimination or punishment on the basis of the status, activities, expressed opinions, or beliefs of the child’s parents, legal guardians, or family members.
With the Government agreeing to these conditions, it means that in all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.