Reconstructing Minimum Marriage Age in Indonesia and Malaysia: A Comparative Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah and Child Protection Analysis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52496/mjhki.v4i2.135Keywords:
Minimum Marriage Age, Marriage Dispensation, Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah, Child Protection, Indonesia–MalaysiaAbstract
Child marriage remains a persistent legal and child-protection issue in Indonesia and Malaysia despite reforms aimed at raising the minimum marriage age. This study aims to comparatively examine the regulation of minimum marriage age in both countries and formulate a reconstruction model based on Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah and child-protection principles. This study employs comparative doctrinal legal research using statutory, conceptual, comparative, and Maqāṣid approaches. The analysis examines marriage legislation, marriage-dispensation provisions, selected judicial decisions, Islamic legal literature, and international child-rights instruments. The findings show that Indonesia establishes a uniform minimum marriage age of 19 years for both men and women, while Malaysia generally maintains differentiated age standards under state-based Islamic family laws and permits judicial exceptions. In both countries, the effectiveness of minimum-age regulation is weakened by marriage dispensations, judicial discretion, socio-cultural pressures, pregnancy, and economic considerations. From a Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah perspective, puberty alone is insufficient to justify marriage because child protection requires safeguarding life, intellect, lineage, dignity, and welfare. The study proposes 19 years as a gender-neutral legal benchmark, supported by strict and exceptional dispensation procedures, mandatory psychological and health assessments, child-centered judicial reasoning, and stronger institutional coordination. This reconstruction provides a framework for harmonizing Islamic family law with contemporary child-protection standards.
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