The news of a 41-year-old Kelantanese man married an 11-year-old girl has caught many people’s attention. A consulting psychologist, Ms. Lee Li Li had recently appeared on Melody FM 103.0 on 4th July 2018 (Wednesday) to provide feedback on child marriage issue.

Sam Mak (host):
What are your thoughts regarding the marriage between an 11-year-old girl and a 41-year-old man?

Lee Li Li (consulting psychologist):
There will be a huge generation gap between the girl and the man in every aspect by looking at the large age difference. Seeing that the incidence of paedophilia becomes worse in Malaysia, we need to think if there is an element of paedophilia in this child marriage. For a girl who undergoes marriage at a young age, here comes a question on how does she protect her body. Also, if there is a presence of generation gap caused by the huge age difference between the husband and the wife, how will she deal with it? Also, will her in-laws allow her to tell her family about the problems that she faces? If family crisis arises, how will she deal with it?

Anson Kow (host):
What kind of impact will there be on the society apart from the harm imposed on the girl?

Lee Li Li (consulting psychologist):
Typically, mothers are the ones who take care of their children. If the mother is a young child, she does not have adequate knowledge and capability. Without adequate knowledge and capability, how is she going to take care of her child? For example, if the baby is sick, how will the mother, who is a young child, take care of the baby? If the practice of child marriage continues from generation to the next generation, the quality of life and the cognitive ability of the children will be greatly affected, and as a result, this will cause different types of social problems. For example, when the baby grows up, it is more likely for her to face the same fate which is to undergo child marriage due to the reason that they do not have adequate knowledge or there are some issues with the family background.

Hosts:
Thank you for sharing the information.

Lee Li Li (consulting psychologist):
You are welcome.