Ivana Prazic, Yogyakarta – "You married?" This frequently asked question is one of the most typical ways to break the ice when chit-chatting with everyone from a complete stranger next to you on a bus, a newly made acquaintance, or a shop assistant. Even for a foreign Ph.D. student at the Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta it did not take many weeks in the country to grasp the overarching socio-cultural importance of marriage in Indonesia.

From simple, day-to-day situations, to more complex personal relationships, marriage seems to be the one social institution to which the vast majority of Indonesians – regardless of differences in their respective ethnicities, religions, economic statuses, cultural backgrounds, levels of education or age – are fully dedicated.

Not merely a personal observation, the steadfastness of marriage in Indonesia was confirmed by research presented at the recent Conference on Marriage, Culture and Poverty in Southeast Asia (Aug. 21) at the Graduate School of the Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta (ICRS).

Results of research conducted by G. Jones and B. Gubhaju (Asia Research Institute of the National University in Singapore) on "Trends in Age at Marriage in the Provinces of Indonesia," revealed that even though the, "age at marriage in Indonesia has been gradually rising over a number of decades", there is still a substantial number of "teenage marriages" in the country.

According to the research, "Indonesia falls squarely into the group of countries (formerly including virtually all of Asia, although more recently East Asia except for China, and much of Southeast Asia, has left the group) where marriage is universal", by which it is meant that, "fewer than 5 percent of women remain single by their late 40s".

The research revealed high figures in both teenage and "delayed" marriages (women who remain single until into their 30s). The study indicated problems in both categories: Whereas teenage marriages are often the result of arranged marriages or stem from premarital pregnancy, a woman not married in her 30s is burdened with the stigma of numerous, negative stereotypes.

Not surprisingly, there is considerable variation in age of marriage in Indonesia – urbanization and educational development are associated with the rising average in age of marriage.

Researchers have called for awareness among Indonesian family planners, not only at the provincial, but also at a national level. They have asked the authorities to take "both the marriage patterns and the issues associated with them" into consideration while designing family-planning policies. Indeed, given the severity of the problems related to both teenage and "delayed" marriages, their calls will hopefully not remain unheeded by governing bodies.

Indonesia's current Law on Marriage shows a conflicting relationship with both the institution and the politics of marriage in the country. The law, dating from 1974, complicates the (lawful) practice of marriage at numerous levels. For instance, according to the Law (Article 31), "the husband is the head of the family, whereas the wife represents the head of the household".

Does that imply that those families where decisions are mostly made by the wife, or where the wife is seen as the more dominant figure in the family, are "illegal"? Who would be the person in charge of passing such a judgment? Furthermore, the law (Article 34) designates the husband as the breadwinner of the family, and exhorts the wife to manage the household "at her best".

According to the same article, either spouse neglect his or her obligations, a formal complaint may be submitted to the authorities. Should it be understood then, that a family in which the wife is the breadwinner is basically an outlaw family? Which department, exactly, is in charge of enforcing this law?

In addition, the law (Article 6) specifies that the youngest age for legal marriage is 16 for women and 19 for men. However, official consent of both parents must be provided for couples under 21. Given the laws regarding early marriage, it should be no wonder that Jones and Gubhaju's research found the percentage of early marriages in Indonesia remains very high.

There have been some attempts to change the current legislation on marriage. It seems that there are quite a few who find the letter of the current Law on Marriage rather problematic, if not outright discriminatory.

Among those striving to amend the problematic nature of the law are the activists of the center for Women's Studies at the State Islamic University Sunan Kalijaga in Yogyakarta. Perhaps the Center's most important long-term projects are the various initiatives aimed at amending this law.

The theoretical framework underlying the Center's efforts is based on Islamic feminist frameworks, which allow for the recontextualization of the Koran and Hadith in a way that stresses the importance of protecting the rights of women and children. The center also emphasizes the need to bring Indonesia's marriage-related legislation in line with various international human rights conventions.

[The writer is a PhD. candidate at the Indonesian Consortium for Inter-religious Studies at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta. She can be reached at iprazic@gmail.com.]