Constitutional Justice Enny Nurbaningsih speaking at a judicial colloquium organized by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM), Monday (8/21/2023). Photo by MKRI.

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MALAYSIA ((MKRI) — The Constitutional Court (MK) delegation led by Justice Enny Nurbaningsih went on a working visit to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Monday, August 21, 2023 to attend a judicial colloquium on “Breaking Barriers: Empowering Women and Girls through Human Rights and SDGs” held by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM). More than 100 participants attended the event, including judges from the Federal Court, Court of Appeal, High Court, Malaysian Judicial Secretariat, SUHAKAM, and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

Justice Enny was on a panel with SUHAKAM Commissioner and former Senior President of the Singapore Syariah Court (SYC) to discuss the protection of women and children in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.

In her presentation on “The Efforts of the Indonesian Constitutional Court in the Protection of the Rights of Women,” she said that the Constitutional Court of Indonesia acts as the guardian of the Constitution and the protector of human rights, including the rights of women and children. At the request of the petitioner, the Constitutional Court can play its role to protect, promote, and rehabilitate the constitutional rights of citizens that are considered to have been violated by certain laws. She also explained that the touchstone for determining the constitutionality of a law is the 1945 Constitution.

She then explained that one the Constitutional Court’s ruling on the protection of the rights of women and children, i.e. Decision No. 22/PUU-XV/2017 on the judicial review of Law No. 1 of 1974 on Marriage, filed by three women who got married while underage. In this case, the Constitutional Court canceled the enforceability of the minimum age limit of 16 years for women to marry, as set forth in Article 7 paragraph (1).

She revealed that the article was said to have been discriminating against women, since it sets the minimum marriage age for women at 16, which the Child Protection Law still considers a minor, in contrast to 19 for men. Therefore, it discriminates between women and men in terms of their constitutional rights–which include civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights.

Justice Enny also said such age-related discrimination has not only discriminated against the right to form a family (Article 28B paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution), but also against the protection and fulfillment of children's rights (Article 28B paragraph (2) of the 1945 Constitution). The Constitutional Court then ruled the marriage age of 16 for girls unconstitutional, and suggested that it be raised to 19. Justice Enny concluded her presentation by saying that with this decision, the Court plays an important role in protecting women's rights.

The colloquium began with an opening ceremony by SUHAKAM Chairman Dato' Rahmat bin Mohamad with a keynote speech by the Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Malaysia Tun Tengku Maimun binti Tuan Mat. At the end of the opening session, the Indonesian delegation exchanged souvenirs with the two. On the next session, a Child Commissioner of SUHAKAM, a UNICEF education specialist, and a Kuala Lumpur High Court judge discussed the progress of the implementation of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The symposium then ended with closing remarks by the UNICEF Representative to Malaysia and Special Representative to Brunei Darussalam.

Author       : MLC
Editor        : Lulu Anjarsari P.
Translator  : Tahlitha Laela/Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Disclaimer: The original version of the news is in Indonesian. In case of any differences between the English and the Indonesian versions, the Indonesian version will prevail.

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