"Let there be no more child marriages because we all want Indonesia’s youth to grow into a healthy and educated generation in order to achieve Golden Indonesia 2045," she stated during a campaign to end child marriage at the West Nusa Tenggara Regional Hospital here on Wednesday.
She emphasized that all stakeholders must collaborate to eliminate the practice of child marriage in communities.
She urged junior high school students to avoid marrying at a young age, as doing so could disrupt their education.
"Focus on studying well, then continue to high school and on to university. I hope your dreams can come true, leading to good jobs and economic status stability. Only then should you consider moving on to the next stage, marriage," she advised.
According to data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS), West Nusa Tenggara consistently recorded the highest rates of child marriage nationally between 2021 and 2024.
In 2021, some 16.59 percent of girls married before the age of 18. The figure dropped to 16.23 percent in 2022, rose to 17.32 percent in 2023, and fell to 14.96 percent in 2024.
Meanwhile, the Mataram High Religious Court reported a steady decline in marriage dispensation cases across West Nusa Tenggara, from 1,116 in 2021 to 710 in 2022, 723 in 2023, and 581 in 2024.
Chairperson of the Mataram Child Protection Agency (LPA), Joko Jumadi, emphasized that the most effective strategy for eliminating child marriage is through integrated efforts, including prevention, risk reduction, and case handling.
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Translator: Sugiharto, Kenzu
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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