Jennani Durai – Straits Times Indonesia

In Indonesia any one less than 19 years of age is considered Minor for marriage purpose.

Singapore. When sales executive Mohamed Rashid wanted to marry his 19-year-old girlfriend, he found out that they had to go for premarital counseling because she was a minor.

The Registry of Muslim Marriages requires a Muslim couple, where at least one party is a minor, or below 21, to go for a preliminary session where their readiness for marriage is assessed by a counsellor.

The couple found the six-week premarital preparation course that followed the counselling session to be useful……………

Such efforts to strengthen the marriage foundation have yielded results.

In Parliament on Thursday, Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim noted that Muslim marriages are “generally showing stronger resilience.”

Divorces involving Muslim minors declined 26 per cent while Muslim marriages involving minors fell 37 percent — from 410 to 260 ¬— over the last five years.

The promising figures are a result of the efforts of the Syariah Court and organisations such as the PPIS As-Salaam Family Support Centre, the minister added. Read more