Arya Dipa, Bandung – The different minimum marriage age for men and women in Law No. 1/1974 on marriage has been described as discriminatory.
A researcher at the Institute for Criminal Justice Reform, Anggara, said there should be no difference in the minimum age for marriage if the government intends to protect the rights of children.
Currently, under Indonesian law, women are legally allowed to marry at 16, while men are allowed to marry at 19.
"There is no clear basic reason for this difference in ages if we agree to protect children," said Anggara, speaking in front of a journalistic workshop on the reality and social impacts of early marriage in Indonesia in Bandung, West Java, on Friday.
He added that a proposal to change the minimum age for marriage had been submitted to the Constitutional Court. The proposal suggests Indonesia raise the minimum marriage age for women from 16 to 18.
"We are trying to make changes slowly. We want it to be the same because a difference is discriminatory," said Anggara, adding that the Constitutional Court had yet to issue a decision regarding the proposal.
During the trial at the Constitutional Court, one of the reasons offered for why women could be married at 16 was because their biological maturation was already complete and they therefore needed to be protected.
"Whereas, we must be fair if we wish to protect children. The issue of the minimum marriage age has drawn less public attention than marriage of different faiths," said Anggara.
Speakers from the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI), members of Commission IX of the House of Representatives and the United Nations Children's Funds (UNICEF) attended the workshop jointly organized by the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) and UNICEF.
KPAI secretary Erlinda agreed that there should be no difference in marriage age. However, advocacy efforts regarding the protection of children's rights can only propose changes to limit the age of marriage for girls from 16 years to 18 years.
"At 18 years, a girl is more psychologically prepared, so she can minimize undesired things," said Erlinda.
The 2012 National Socio-economic Survey showed one in four girls in Indonesia, or 25 percent, get married at 18. In addition, a UNICEF report in 2012 showed that the risk of dying during pregnancy and delivery was greater for girls aged 10 to 14 than those between 20 and 24.
Indonesia UNICEF HIV and Adolescent Development Officer Annisa Elok Budiyani said girls who married at young ages were at high risk of not pursuing their studies.
They also became mothers at an age when their level of readiness, be it physical or mental, remained low, and they risked maternal and infant mortality and were more at risk of being susceptible to domestic violence and sexually transmitted and reproductive diseases.
"So we have put child marriage age on top of our priority list in our strategic planning," said Annisa.
Regarding the journalistic workshop, Bandung AJI secretary Agustinus Tri Joko Herriadi said news coverage on the early marriage issue should be further promoted to the public.
He expressed hope that by understanding various perspectives and ethical issues, journalists could raise the issue in a professional manner. "We must remain focused on ethics in writing and reporting," said Joko.