PETITION TO AMEND THE MARRIAGE ACTS OF T&T

The Hindu Womens Organization of T&T maintains its demands

for the Marriage Acts of Trinidad and Tobago to be amended.
It reflects upon its advocacy in this regards which spanned the
period November 2012- May 2013 when a petition which
attracted close to 1000 signatures was presented to the former
Minister of Legal Affairs Mr. Prakash Ramadhar.
We unflinchingly voice our concerns at the recent views of Mr
Harripersad
Maharaj, President of the Inter-Religious
Organization and Mrs. Raziah Ahmed, President of the National
Muslim Women of Trinidad and Tobago who claimed to reportedly
speak for all Muslims.
As we seek to refute their validation of tradition for maintaining
the current Marriage Acts, we cite the following extract from the
2011 publication by The Royal Commonwealth Society Briefing
Paper: What the Commonwealth can do to end early and forced
marriage).
Outdated laws and practices that are oppressive should be
abolished and replaced by new laws and policies. The British
Slavery Abolition Act was passed in 1833 and the slaves
were emancipated in 1834. For centuries the slaves endured
various forms of cruelty and were treated as property.
Although Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism had spoken
out against it in the early 15 th century and Indian religious
leader and social activist, Raja Ram Mohan Roy had
advocated against it in 1812, the Hindu custom of sati which
dictated that a widow burns herself on a funeral pyre was
practiced unabatedly.

It was only in 1929 that this cruel custom was abolished by

the British Governor-General of India. Despite the repealing
and/or criminalizing of these barbaric acts against women,
there are laws and practices that still advocate and sanction
violence against women
At that time, Commonwealth member states were discussing the
recognition of early and forced marriage as constituting a
violation of the most basic fundamental rights.

We also draw attention to the following:

That when the Orissa Marriage Act came into effect in 1999, it
set the age of marriage at 15 for females and 18 for males.
That the Civil Marriage Act, although at 18 years, the minimum
age of marriage is not stated, may be implied. Legally
therefore, the minimum age of marriage is according to the
act, established in common law 12 years for females and 14
years for males. This is an aberration which needs to be
addressed bearing in mind that in England itself, the law was
changed and the minimum age of marriage was increased in
1929.

Our resolution of 2012 was based on the age of consent of 16

which it was at that time. We have since revised our resolution in
keeping with the revised age of consent which is 18 years.
Our revised petition will be placed on-line within 24 hours as we
look forward to receiving substantial support from Hindu women
in particular and the citizenry in general.

THE PETITION
Thursday 19th May, 2016

Subject: The minimum age for marriage in T&T

Proposed by: The Hindu Womens Organization of Trinidad & Tobago Inc

PREAMBLE
Recognizing: that T&T is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the
Rights of the Child, which requires participating nations to set a legal age for
marriage; and
Recognizing: that The United Nations Convention on the Eliminations of
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) recommends age eighteen (18) to be
sufficient maturity for free consent to marriage and
Whereas, in the Caribbean male and female sexual initiation occurs at a very early
age: and
Whereas, common law unions are common in the Caribbean and
Whereas, common law unions are not promoted by faith-based organizations;
And
Whereas, child abuse and statutory rape are recognized as significant problems in
Trinidad and Tobago (In 2010. The police received 22 reports of incest and 278
reports of sex with minor females 14 16 years of age: these figures are the tip of
the iceberg as many incidents of incest and sex with minor males and females are
unreported) ; and
Whereas, the injurious consequences of early marriage should be taken into
consideration, such as:
a) Decreased opportunities for education

b) Exposure to serious health risks such as premature pregnancy, sexual

transmitted infections and risks of HIV/AIDS
c) Girls being physically and psychologically immature to carry and bear a child,
and for marriage and the related responsibilities of being a wife and mother
(IPPF 2007)
d) Higher risk due to early pregnancy such as death during delivery and
endangering the health of young mothers and their babies (pregnancy
related deaths are the leading cause of maternal mortality among 15 19
years old girls, and those aged under 15 years are five times more likely to
die than those aged over 20 years and
Whereas, the more education a girl receives, the less likely are the chances of
child marriage; and
Whereas, the age of consent is eighteen (18) in T&T;

Whereas, HWO held two public discussions, produced two publications and also
conducted several smaller consultations with Mandir memebers and individual
Hindu women across the country over the period November 2011 to April 2013.

Whereas the Hindu Marriage Act and the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act list
consent from the female parent as subordinate to the fathers consent and
consent of a guardian and
Whereas
in May 2013 HWO presented a petition with close to 1,000
signatures to former legal affairs minister, Prakash Ramadhar, at the Ministry of
Legal Affairs, Port-of Spain,

BE IT RESOLVED
That while we promote marriage between people who are 18 years old and
over, we recognize that in certain circumstances it may be desirable for a girl
between 16 and 18 to be married, but that this should be done:
a)

With her own consent and the consent of her parent(s) or guardian(s)

b)

That female parents have equal rights of consent

c)
After the parties wishing to be married have received pre-marital
counseling by qualified, professional counselors

d)
After an application is made to a judge in Chambers or a specially
appointed committee by the President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in
order to determine the circumstances of each case
e) Only after it is determined that the person to whom the between 16-18 old
girl is to be married is not undertaking the marriage for purposes of
exploitation, and
f) In cases where the person to whom the 16-18 year old girl is to be married is
no older than three (3) years her senior at the time of marriage.

Respectfully submitted,
Brenda Gopeesingh
Interim President,
The Hindu Womens Organization of Trinidad and Tobago Inc.