"The high number of child marriages is a threat to the fulfillment of children's basic rights," BKKBN's deputy for training, research, and development, Rizal Damanik, said during the meeting in Jakarta.
The inter-regional meeting with a theme “Handling Youth Empowerment and Gender-Based Violence” will last until March 3, 2023.
As the host of the meeting, Damanik said that even though early child marriage cases in Indonesia have declined, the practice is still prevalent in many countries around the world.
According to him, early marriage causes children to lose their basic rights and puts children in a vulnerable position, which not only has physical and psychological impacts, but also worsens disparities between families due to the high poverty rate.
Another impact is low cognitive abilities because children are forced to drop out of school, he said.
Child marriages also widen the risk of cervical cancer for young women, and children who are born from early marriage are at risk of stunting, he added.
He said that the condition of child marriage in Indonesia is different from that in other countries. Based on data from the Religious Courts Agency (Badilag), 50,673 marriage dispensations were recorded in 2022.
Applications for early marriage are mostly submitted on account of a pregnancy before marriage, and at the encouragement of parents who want their children to marry to prevent adultery, he added.
Apart from that, cultural traditions and the paradigm of considering children as assets for the future are also behind the practice of early marriage in Indonesia, he said.
"Several studies have advised the government to take preventive measures, such as increasing care capacity and access to services, developing children's abilities, opening and equalizing access for children's development, and strengthening family social ties," he added.
Therefore, the BKKBN is of the view that each country needs to formulate policies regarding physical health, including those related to reproductive and mental health, parenting support, 12 years of formal education, and empowerment of livelihoods.
Damanik also provided best practices in Indonesia in preventing child marriage, such as implementing policies on reproductive health, especially for adolescents, and assisting the activities of youth groups called the Youth Information and Counseling Center (PIK Remaja).
"It is an honor for us to assist PIK Remaja. Tomorrow, some participants of the Arab-Asia Parliaments meeting will visit one of the PIK Remajas in Jakarta," he said.
Around 25 parliamentarians from Arab and Asian countries are attending the meeting virtually and in person to discuss issues that affect youth and gender-based violence and policy advocacy needed in the future.
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Translator: Hreeloita Dharma S, Resinta S
Editor: Anton Santoso
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