New rules for Muslim minors seeking to get married

SINGAPORE — Muslim couples with at least one person aged below 21 when tying the knot will have to attend a compulsory marriage preparation programme, and the minor’s parents or guardians are also required to give consent to the marriage. These were among the slew of changes to the Administration of Muslim Law Act (AMLA) which were passed in Parliament on Tuesday (Aug 1). 

Previously, only the consent of the wali — the lawful guardian for the marriage of a Muslim woman — is needed for marriage involving a minor. 

As part of the amendments aimed at strengthening Muslim families, couples seeking a divorce will also have to attend a marriage counselling programme. 

During the debate on the Bill, Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim noted that Muslim marriage numbers are on the rise while those involving at least one person below 21 years at the time of marriage have been in steady decline. Divorce rates have remained relatively stable. 

“While these are positive trends, the fact remains that minor marriages are more vulnerable. For example, in the case of Muslim marriages involving younger grooms, the recent marriage cohorts have experienced 1.5 times the divorce rate compared to older grooms,” he said.

Under the amended law, minor couples have to attend a pre-marriage programme approved by the Ministry of Social and Family Development. The couples must complete the programme together before the application for marriage is made.

Likewise, divorcing couples will have to first attend the Syariah Court’s Marriage Counselling Programme, before seeking a divorce, so as to see if the marriage can be saved. If the couple goes ahead with the divorce, they will be able to discuss care and living arrangements for their children, and be referred to financial assistance or education support.

Over 33,000 couples have been counselled since the programme’s launch in 2004, and almost half of these marriages have been salvaged, said Dr Yaacob. 

He noted that about 64 per cent of divorce cases in the last five years involved at least one child of the marriage under 21 years old, with more than 85 per cent of these involving at least one child under 14 years old.

Changes were also made to the AMLA to strengthen the management of Muslim assets including the wakafs (Muslim endowments) and the Mosque Building and Mendaki Fund.

This year, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) disbursed S$3.1 million of the revenue generated from wakafs to various beneficiaries such as mosques, madrasahs, and Muslim organisations. This amount was almost 3 per cent more compared to the previous year, said Dr Yaacob. 

Under the changes proposed, a trustee or mutawalli (those appointed to manage the wakaf) can be removed if he fails to give information or particulars as required by Muis, or does not allow Muis to inspect the wakaf properties, accounts, and records. 

Previously, Muis can do so when it appears that the wakaf has been mismanaged, or if there have been no trustees appointed. 

But for these conditions to be met, the wakaf “might already be in jeopardy”, Dr Yaacob pointed out. Muis will need to give prior approval in writing on the appointment of a new trustee, to ensure they are qualified to manage the wakaf.