By Hnin Hnin, Research Officer at RLRH
Child marriage among the Rohingya in Malaysia is often highlighted in public discourse. But why does this practice persist?
A widely circulated article by The Associated Press brings attention to the grave issue of child marriage among the Rohingya in Malaysia. While it focuses on the connection between child marriage and cross-border trafficking practices, and sheds light on some of its immediate harm, it risks overlooking or oversimplifying the underlying forces leading to child marriages among the Rohingya. In this blog post, I draw from my experiences and observations as a Rohingya woman refugee residing in Malaysia and provide a fuller picture of why this practice persists among the Rohingya.
While many perceive Rohingya child marriages in Malaysia to happen through international human trafficking processes, we can distinguish two types of child marriages among the Rohingya in Malaysia – domestic child marriages and cross-border child marriages. On the one hand, domestic child marriages occur where underage Rohingya girls are married off to men within the community in Malaysia. Cross-border child marriages, on the other hand, involve young Rohingya girls brought mainly from Myanmar and Bangladesh to marry Rohingya men in Malaysia. Both types of marriages persist due to a complex interplay and overlap of cultural, socio-economic, and legal factors.
Domestic Child Marriages among the Rohingya
Firstly, cultural and social norms play a fundamental role in enabling child marriage among the Rohingya. In these communities, there is a cultural belief that girls are considered eligible for marriage upon reaching puberty. Combined with traditional and religious values, this belief often prompts parents to arrange marriages for their daughters at a young age. Based on my personal experience and community knowledge, child marriage among Rohingya girls can happen as early as age 10. However, it is difficult to provide precise or verified age ranges, as there is very limited research or documented data available.. Parents sometimes also feel compelled to arrange these marriages as they see it as a parental duty and believe that doing so will ensure the protection and well-being of daughters in the hands of their husbands and in-laws.
Beyond cultural beliefs, concerns about safety and security also play a crucial role in driving child marriage among the Rohingya. Like other refugees in Malaysia, Rohingya refugees often share crowded rented accommodations with other families due to high living costs. These cramped living conditions compromise the privacy and safety of young girls, making them vulnerable to mistreatment and assault. In that context, parents view early marriage as a means to provide security for their daughters under a husband’s guardianship, protecting them from potential harm. The lack of legal protection for refugees in Malaysia exacerbates the situation, too, as authorities often neglect reports of gender-based violence (GBV) incidents among refugees.
Besides safety and security concerns, socioeconomic hardships and poverty further drive Rohingya families to turn to child marriage. Like other refugees, Rohingya refugees in Malaysia are not allowed to work legally, which results in extreme poverty and challenges in making ends meet. Without the ability to earn a stable income, these families face constant financial struggles, making it challenging to provide necessities such as food, shelter, and education. As a desperate coping mechanism to alleviate these economic hardships, families often resort to marrying off their daughters at a young age.
Limited access to education and livelihood opportunities also further constrain young Rohingya girls, often pushing them toward child marriage as a perceived solution. Often confined to domestic household duties, Rohingya girls traditionally have limited access to education and employment opportunities. While some Rohingya refugee families in Malaysia support girls’ education, financial constraints often hinder their ability to afford the cost of education. Consequently, many families are compelled to withdraw their daughters from school due to financial hardship. Due to limited resources, families then prioritise the education of boys over girls. In Malaysia, access to higher education for refugee children is also limited, with most only able to attain secondary level education. As a consequence, many Rohingya families then take marriage as the best available means for girls to attain security and stability in life.
In addition, the lack of legal protection for Rohingya refugees in Malaysia is another critical enabler of child marriage. Similar to other refugees in Malaysia, Rohingya refugees lack legal status in the country, and their marriages are not recognised under domestic or Sharia law. Marriages of Rohingya refugees are frequently conducted by Rohingya imams without the involvement of the court and legal recognition. According to Malaysian law, the minimum marriage age is 16 for Muslim girls and 18 for non-Muslims. Marriages below this age require permission from the state’s Chief Minister or the Shariah court. However, as these laws do not apply to refugee communities in Malaysia, without legal safeguards, community members cannot seek law enforcement assistance to prevent child marriage and child abuse, even when victims seek help.
Cross-Border Child Marriages
The demand for cross-border brides is another facilitating factor of child marriage in the Rohingya community. In Malaysia, there are more men than women among Rohingya refugees. This is because the majority of Rohingya fleeing to Malaysia have been men and boys over the past decades. Consequently, single men within the community often seek brides from their cultural background, creating a high demand for Rohingya brides. To meet this demand, Rohingya men turn to smugglers and human traffickers to bring brides from Myanmar and refugee camps in Bangladesh. Most of these brides arrive through arranged marriages facilitated by their families, and distressingly, these include some underage girls.
However, not all brides come through family arrangements. Women and girls who travel to Malaysia without prior arrangements, or whose families cannot afford the traffickers’ increased ransom demands, are often sold. In such cases, Rohingya men pay the ransom intending to marry the women and girls they release.
Cross-border marriages are also driven by the dire economic situation and unsafe living conditions in Myanmar and Bangladesh. These hardships compel many Rohingya families in Myanmar and refugee camps in Bangladesh to marry off their young daughters to Rohingya men in Malaysia as a means of survival. Families view these cross-border marriages as a way to safeguard their daughters and secure financial support from grooms in Malaysia.
Overall, the complex interplay of cultural, economic, and security factors drives both domestic and cross-border child marriages among the Rohingya in Malaysia. Addressing this issue requires a comprehensive approach that tackles these root causes. This begins with conducting in-depth research to fully understand these causes, enabling the development of targeted and effective interventions. Coordination among all relevant stakeholders—Malaysian authorities, UNHCR Malaysia, local and international NGOs, and community members—is essential for strategic and impactful action. Through collective efforts, we can safeguard the rights and well-being of young Rohingya girls in Malaysia, providing them with the protection and opportunities they deserve.
About the author:
Hnin is a Rohingya human rights advocate from Arakan (Rakhine State), Myanmar. She studied law at Sittwe University, Myanmar. With over a decade of experience working with international NGOs in Arakan (Rakhine State), Hnin has been at the forefront of humanitarian projects supporting vulnerable communities in remote townships. After violence erupted in her hometown, Hnin and her family were relocated to an internally displaced persons (IDP) camp before fleeing Myanmar to seek refuge in Malaysia. In Malaysia, she continued her human rights advocacy, working with an international NGO for several years, focusing on the protection and rights of refugees and asylum seekers. Hnin participated in RLRH’s RSC Pathways Program in 2022 and has since been engaging in RLRH activities in Malaysia. She is deeply passionate about and committed to working toward social justice and equal rights for displaced and vulnerable communities.
