Reviewer ’s report  
 
Title: Why Girls Get Married Early in Sarawak, Malaysia - An Exploratory Qualitative Study  
 
Version: 0 Date: 23 May 2019  
 
Reviewer: Shanta Pand ey 
 
Reviewer's report:  
 
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attachment. Please only upload as attachments annotated versions of manuscripts, graphs, 
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Title: Why Girls Get Married Early in  East Malaysia? - An Exploratory Qualitative Study  
 
Manuscript Number: BMWH -D-19-00170  
 
This manuscript examines child marriage in East Malaysia using qualitative data from 22 women 
married as children. The manuscript contributes to the current literature on  child marriage by 
documenting the socio -cultural aspects of child marriage. That said, below are my comments to 
the authors:  
 
1. On page 8, the first paragraph, the authors mention "six distinctive phases" concerning 
their method of analysis -- thematic ana lysis.  It would be helpful to the readers if the 
authors could briefly describe these six phases.  
 
2. On page 9, it appears that the authors interviewed women married as children but are 
currently between 18 and 49 years of age. This is a wide range of tim e. The way people 
think about sexuality and marriage may have changed over time.  It would be helpful if 
the authors could separate the sample of women by time, for example, by decade. Are the 
reasons for child marriage same for women who are currently bet ween 18 and 25 years of 
age vs. those &gt;25 to 35 or those   &gt; 35 yrs of age?  
 
3. Very nice description of the method and data analysis sections.  
 
4. The results section could be better organized. Perhaps, table 1 could summarize women 
into two or 3 cate gories — those currently over 35, 25 -35, and below 25.  
 
5. Of the 22 women that the authors have interviewed, how many fell into each of the six 
categories?  
 
6. Perhaps the six categories could be merged into fewer categories. For example, it appears 
that t he "School dropout" category is similar to "reduce burden on parents".  Also, 
perhaps, "high risk" and  "juvenile delinquency" could be combined under health risk 
behavior—to include unprotected intercourse, alcohol, and drug misuse.  
7. Finally, it would b e helpful if the authors could add the current age of the respondents in 
every quotation. This will document the historical perspectives on child marriage.  
 
8. The discussion section could be strengthened. On page 28, it appears that there is a need 
to exp and sex education content in schools. It would be helpful to know the kind of 
knowledge students in this part of Malaysia are currently getting. Can the authors be 
more specific on what they would like to see changed in the current sex education 
curriculum ? Are there examples of Islamic states that have done a better job of promoting 
sex education in schools? Similarly, try to be more concrete in each section of the 
discussion.  
 
9. The manuscript requires good editing.  
  
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Are the methods appropriate and well described?  
If not, please specify what is required in your comments to the authors.  
 
Yes 
 
Does the work include the necessary controls?  
If not, please specify which controls are required in your comments to the authors.  
 
Yes 
 
Are the conclusions drawn adequately supported by the data shown?  
If not, please explain in your comments to the authors.  
 
Yes 
 
Are you able to assess any statistics in the manus cript or would you recommend an 
additional statistical review?  
If an additional statistical review is recommended, please speci fy what aspects require further 
assessment in your comments to the editors.  
 
Not relevant to this manuscript  
 
Quality of written English  
Please indicate the quality of language in the manuscript:  
 
Not suitable for publication unless extensively edited  
 
Declaration of competing interests  
Please complete a declaration of competing interest s, considering the following questions:  
 
1.  Have you in the past five years received reimbursements, fees, funding, or salary 
from an  organisation that may in any way gain or lose financial ly from the 
publication of this manuscript, either now or in the fut ure? 
 
2.  Do you hold any stocks or shares in an organisation t hat may in any way gain or 
lose financially from the publication of this manuscript, either now or in the 
future?  
 
3.  Do you hold or are you currently applying for any patents relating to the cont ent 
of the manuscript?  
 
4.  Have you received reimbursements, fees, funding, or salary from an organization 
that holds or has applied for patents relating to the content of the manuscript?  
 
5.  Do you have any other financial competing interests?  
 
6.  Do you hav e any non -financial competing interests in relation to this paper?  
 
If you can answer no to all of the above, write 'I declare that I have  no competing interests' 
below. If your reply is yes to any, please give details below.  
 
I declare that I have no compet ing interests  
 
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