Are Indonesian Girls Okay? An Examination of The Discourse of Child Marriage, Victimization, and Humanitarian Visuality of Global South Girls

This paper looks at how child marriage involving Indonesian girls is talked about, both historically and in documents from international NGOs. It argues that the discourse often shows girls only as victims and blames their communities' traditions, backwardness and gender inequality. The authors say this hides the complexity and diversity of girls' lives and of marriage practices. They trace the discourse back to colonial ideas about modernity, childhood and marriage. The paper does not deny that child marriage is exploitative and harmful.

Key points

• Discourse on child marriage in Indonesia and the Global South often describes girls mainly as vulnerable victims.
• Humanitarian projects and interventions tend to reduce the issue to a single narrative of community tradition, backwardness and gender inequality.
• Child marriage discourse is historically rooted in colonial ideas about modernity, childhood and marriage.
• Documents from international NGOs tend to flatten the complex experiences and lives of Indonesian girls.
• The authors note that child marriage practices are inseparable from their exploitative and harmful nature.

Limitations

Only the abstract is available, so the sources analysed, the method and the specific NGO documents are not described. It does not evaluate any intervention or measure outcomes for girls.