Child marriage in Malaysia: its relationship with religion, culture and patriarchy

Describing Malaysia as an upper-middle income country with high female youth literacy rates, ARROW and Sisters in Islam highlight that poverty and a lack of education are not significant drivers of child marriage in the country. Instead, they look at the root causes of child marriage and explore how religious conservatism and patriarchy continue to drive gender inequality and sustain child marriage.

They advocate for greater awareness and empowerment of children, parents, community leaders and the society at large on issues related to gender, patriarchal beliefs and sexual and reproductive health and rights.