No to Child Marriage

The Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection has declared child marriage, or marriage involving persons under 18, a national emergency. According to a report by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) and UNICEF published in 2016, around one in four girls were married before adulthood in 2008-2015. Movements to put an end to child marriage have emerged in various parts of Indonesia. In late December 2017, three women victims of child marriage filed for a judicial review of Law No. 1/1974 on Marriage with the Constitutional Court. Long before that, the Women’s Legal Aid Society in South Sulawesi had already called on youths to take action. Meanwhile, in East Nusa Tenggara, the Youth Coalition for Girls (YCG) formed by Plan International Indonesia is also making their mark in the fight for children’s rights. Tempo English reports.