Roman Catholic Archbishop Joseph Harris and Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha general secretary Satnarayan Maharaj were not among representatives of 17 religious groups who yesterday gave their unanimous support for Government to increase the minimum legal age for marriage to 18, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Faris Al-Rawi said yesterday.
He made the comment following the meeting, which took place at his Port-of-Spain office, to discuss the controversial child marriage issue.
Maharaj and president of the Inter-Religious Organisation, Bro Harrypersad Maharaj, were among those who were insisting that the current minimum marriage age for Muslims and Hindus, which are lower than the age for sexual consent, which is 18, should be retained.
Speaking following the meeting as he attended an event at the Parliament yesterday, Al-Rawi said Maharaj had informed his office that he received his invitation too late and was engaged in discussions on the issue with his organisation.
Al-Rawi said the Anglican Church and SWAHA were among the organisations which gave their full support for the legal minimum age to be increased. He said the issue was not about any one religious group in the country.
“It isn’t that you have to have everybody’s voice,” he said.
There has been raging controversy over the issue following IRO boss Maharaj’s insistence recently that the law should not be amended to allow for the minimum age to be increased and Sat Maharaj’s attack this week on Harris for saying the law should be amended and the age limit increased.
Al-Rawi said statistics were presented at the meeting to show there were significant child marriages in urban districts in T&T.
“The statistics show that it is in fact the urban areas that have a significant number of child marriages,” he added.
He said statistics for a ten-year period from 2006 to 2016, obtained from the Registrar General’s Office, show there were over 84,300 marriages but only 534 were child marriages, which represented a figure of 0.649 per cent of total marriages for the same period.
He said his office has already drafted amendments to treat with the law which, he said, is looking at four broad issues:
• The contract marriage age.
• Saving existing marriages.
• Emancipation issues.
• Harmonisation issues.
He made it clear yesterday’s meeting was the start of the conversation, adding the drafted laws are to be taken to the Cabinet in due course.
He said ultimately, Cabinet would decide on the way forward but noted that at yesterday’s meeting “there was general consensus around the table that the age should be lifted and that we should allow for some exceptions to allow marriages at a lower age with judicial or parental consent.”
According to the AG: “Everybody agreed that the times for these laws have passed.”
He said issues, such as abortion, statutory rape and child abuse, were also raised at the meeting.
“Coming out of that discussion there was unanimity across the table. Muslim, Christians, Hindus, Orisha, Shouter Baptists, Presbyterian Church, a number of religious institutions came forward and said we are in general (support) of the law being amended but exceptions must be dealt with. It was a very fruitful discussion,” he added.
Sat starts Hindu talks
General secretary of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha Sat Maharaj says his organisation may need as much as two weeks to discuss a proposed increase in the marriage age to 18.
He made the comment last evening, hours after Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi and 17 religious groups reached this agreement in principle.
The Hindu and Muslim Marriage Act allow for marriage at age 12 and 14.
Maharaj said they were still consulting on the issue and he did not know if the groups which consented to the proposed increase yesterday, “went out to their various temples and churches and got the views of their members.”
He said the Maha Sabha had been meeting on a regular basis, including yesterday, to discuss what position to adopt. He confirmed his inability to attend yesterday’s meeting with the AG, saying it clashed with the Maha Sabha’s consultation.
“We will be ready in a week or two to make a decision on what our position is, and that is what it is,” he added.
He stressed, however, that the proposed change “affects the Hindu marriage (and) I don’t care if they have 18, 20 (groups in support) they represent their own organisations.”
He said he cannot speak for the Presbyterians, Muslims or the Orisha, but only for the Hindus of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha.
He said he spoke with the Maha Sabha executive yesterday and will speak in the coming days with the Council of Pundits, the Principals Association, regional councils and other arms of the organisation.