Peer-reviewed article
WOMEN, LAW AND POLICY: CHILD MARRIAGE PRACTICES IN INDONESIA
Sonny Dewi Judiasih, Susilowati Suparto, Anita Afriana, Deviana Yuanitasari ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001Child marriage is widespread in Indonesia, affecting girls primarily at age 16 and older, driven by customary and religious practices. Indonesia ranked 7th globally in child marriage prevalence by 2016, up from 37th in 2012. Current law permits marriage at 16 for women and 19 for men, though a constitutional court challenge sought to raise both to 18. Civil society organisations and government bodies have launched a national movement to stop child marriage and reform the marriage law.
Key points
- Indonesia ranked 7th highest in the world for child marriage as of 2016, up from 37th in 2012
- Legal marriage age in Indonesia is 16 years for women and 19 years for men under current Marriage Law
- A constitutional court judicial review (Decision 30-74/PUU-XII/2014) upheld the existing age limits despite calls to equalise and raise them to 18
- Child marriage practices are reinforced by strong influence of Indonesian customs and religion
- A national STOP CHILD MARRIAGE movement has been formed by civil organisations, the Commission of Child Protection, and the Ministry of Woman Empowerment to address child marriage as a national emergency
Limitations
The document provides no quantitative data on the prevalence or consequences of child marriage in Indonesia, and does not evaluate any intervention or programme aimed at reducing the practice. It focuses on legal frameworks and advocacy efforts rather than empirical evidence about child outcomes.
Abstract
Child marriages are common throughout Indonesia. This is due to a strong influence of Indonesian customs and religion that strongly influence the lives of its people. It is worth pointing that marriage age arrangements in Indonesian Marriage Law reinforces that legal age for men is 19 years and 16 years for women. The 2012 statistics show that Indonesia is the 37th highest in the world in child marriage, while at the Southeast Asian level, this country ranks second after Cambodia. The ranking went up dramatically since in 2016, based on UNICEF, Indonesia ranked the 7th in child marriage worldwide. This means that the practice of child marriage in Indonesia happens, especially to women at the age of 18 years, and there is no discrimination related to the age of marriage. Against this matter, there has been a file for judicial review that demands marriage age for men and women to be pegged at the age of 18 years. However, the Judge of the Constitutional Court, through Decision Number 30-74/PUU-XII/2014, states that age of marriage remains valid for the 19-year-old for man and 16-year-old for women. The struggle does not stop there because at this time, there a national movement of STOP CHILD MARRIAGE formed by civil organisations in cooperation with the Commission of Child Protection and Ministry of Woman Empowerment and Child Protection. This movement sees that the practice of child marriage is a national emergency problem that must be addressed seriously. Further, this movement demands immediate enactment of government regulation in favour of the law which must promptly revise the Marriage Law, especially related to the marriage age.