Peer-reviewed article
Abolition of Child Marriage Practices in Indonesia According to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
Iin Karita Sakharina, Aidir Amin Daud ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This paper examines child marriage practices in Indonesia, which predominantly affect girls in rural and poor communities. The study identifies poverty, lack of education, and local matchmaking traditions as key drivers of the practice. The authors argue that child marriage violates Indonesia's obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which the government ratified over 25 years ago, and call for stronger government action to eliminate the practice.
Key points
- Indonesia ranks second among Asian countries for child marriage practices, after Cambodia
- Child marriage primarily affects girls in rural areas from poor families
- Key causes identified are poverty, lack of education, and matchmaking traditions
- Child marriage violates the UNCRC, which Indonesia ratified through Presidential Decree Number 36 of 1990
- Indonesia has existing child protection legislation including Law Number 35 Year 2014 on Child Protection
Limitations
This is a normative legal analysis rather than an empirical study, so it does not provide quantitative data on prevalence rates, outcomes for affected children, or evidence on the effectiveness of potential interventions. The document presents arguments for abolition but does not evaluate any specific policy or programme implementation.
Abstract
The practice of child marriage in Indonesia is still prevalent to this day, and this is a serious problem.Indonesia still ranks second among Asian countries as a country that practices marriage against children after Cambodia.Generally, the practice of child marriage conducted in Indonesia is against children especially girls who are in rural areas and come from poor families.The purpose of this study was to see how the practice of child marriage of girls, especially in Indonesia and what efforts should be made to eliminate the practice of child marriage.This paper will discuss the steps that must be taken to eliminate the practice of child marriage in Indonesia, especially against girls as this becomes a serious and very detrimental issue, especially for girls.Because generally they are forced to undergo this.This research uses normative research type with qualitative method.The results show that the practice of marriage to girls in Indonesia occurs due to several factors, such as poverty, lack of education, and matchmaking tradition in some areas.The practice of marriage of girls is also contrary to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) that has been ratified by the Government of Indonesia through Presidential Decree of the Republic of Indonesia Number 36 Year 1990, besides the Indonesian Government has also issued Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 35 Year 2014 on Amendment to Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 23 Year 2002 on Child Protection, then refers also to the Marriage Law in Indonesia, Number 1 Year 1974 on Marriage.So in the opinion of the authors, the practice of marriage of children to girls in some areas in Indonesia is a form of violation of human rights to children according to the convention of children's rights which has also been ratified by the Indonesian government for more than 25 years so that there should be efforts made by the Government as a form of implementation of the UNCRC that has been ratified in the case of the protection and fulfilment of the rights of the child on the basis of the Convention, the author believes that the practice of marriage against girls should be abolished because it has been very long and very harmful for girls in Indonesia.