Education, Synergy and Empowerment Keys to Ending Child Marriage in Indonesia

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By: Sheany

Jakarta. Putting an end to child marriages remains a challenge for diverse and populous countries like Indonesia, but experts and activists believe that it can be achieved through enhanced efforts in education, synergy across institutions and communities and empowerment for young girls.
Indonesia ranks 7th among countries with the highest absolute numbers of child marriage, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef).

Around one in nine girls in the country are married before they turn 18-years old. The prevalence of child marriage in the country affects approximately 375 girls every day, according to data published by the Unicef.

“If you ask what must be done, then the best way is to work with formal and non-formal institutions, leaders from both, and in particular with the Muslim [community],” Lies Marcoes-Natsir, executive director of Rumah Kita Bersama Foundation, said on Thursday (08/03) at a press conference in Jakarta.

Established in 2010, Rumah Kita Bersama is a research institute for policy advocacy, working to fight for the rights of marginalized communities.

According to Lies, while the Indonesian government has shown commitment to ending child marriages, the problem is centered in the practice of dualism in Islamic and national law.

“There is a trend of fundamentalism or conservatism [among] government officers, who also use the Islamic jurisprudence for legal decisions,” Lies said.

The issue has received less attention than other emergencies recognized by the state, she added. While the legal age of marriage is 21 in Indonesia, there is an exemption to allow girls as young as 16 to wed with parental consent.

Often, child marriage is perceived as a tradition or a solution to economic hardship, and many girls are married through a traditional marriage, or nikah siri.

According to the chairwoman of Girls Not Brides, Princess Mabel van Oranje, there is a misconception as to the benefits of child marriage, and advocacy campaigns to end the practice must be centered on the benefits of the alternatives.

“If Indonesia doesn’t have child marriage, economic growth will increase by 1.7 percent … This is not just about girls’ rights, or the well-being of individuals. This is about a smart investment for families, for communities, for men and boys – they will benefit,” Mabel said, referring to a study on the impact of child marriage on economic growth conducted by Unicef.

Girls Not Brides is a global partnership comprising 900 civil society organizations across 95 countries and works to put an end to child marriage.

Mabel added that one of the key answers to ending child marriage is through education.

Lies echoed this sentiment during the press conference and emphasized that efforts to educate and raise awareness about the issue must also be directed toward adults and boys as part of a collective effort to prevent child marriage.

Education must also give space for awareness about sexual and reproductive health, despite social norms in the country that views intimate issues such as women’s health as taboo.

While these efforts might prove challenging for Indonesia, Mabel said that the work must continue onward.
“We need to find ways to tackle these difficult issues in a respectful way,” Mabel said.

In celebration of International Women’s Day, Unicef, Aksi Network, Girls Not Brides and the Embassy of the Netherlands in Indonesia hosted “Youth Voices Against Child Marriage,” which saw a hundred young Indonesians participate in a discussion on ways to prevent child marriage.

Nadira Irdiana, a committee member of the Aksi Network, said that gender inequality is an issue that affects how young girls see themselves in the public sphere.

It makes the work of empowering young girls important, Nadira said, as it allows girls to believe in their abilities and become independent.

In addition, Nadira argued that children and teenagers must be included in the decision-making processes.
“Give trust to young people, adolescents, to participate in finding the solution,” Nadira said.

Lauren Rumble, deputy representative of Unicef Indonesia, stressed the importance of partnerships among relevant stakeholders, including leaders in government, communities and religious institutions, as well as caregivers, parents and networks, to amplify the voices of girls.

“The perfect solutions are the ones that listen to the voices of girls, demonstrate the alternatives [to child marriage],” Rumble said.

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*) http://jakartaglobe.id/news/education-synergy-empowerment-keys-ending-child-marriage-indonesia/

Q&A: What you need to know about sharia in Aceh

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The latest news coming from Aceh is hardly comforting for foreign tourists and investors looking to spend their time and money in the province: A Christian couple were publicly flogged after being found guilty of using a children’s game for gambling, which is a crime under sharia.

Local officials claimed the Christians had the option of being prosecuted under the nation’s Criminal Code, but they willingly chose sharia. So they took eight and seven lashes in exchange for six and seven months’ imprisonment, respectively.

Human rights activists doubt such a claim, saying non-Muslim offenders are mostly deprived of legal assistance and thus pressured to be tried under sharia.

The news about the flogging of the couple, identified as David Silitonga, 61, and Tjia Nyu Hwa, 45, is by no means the first of its kind. At least five non-Muslims in Aceh have been caned for breaching Aceh’s jinayat (Islamic criminal law), which was fully implemented about three years ago.

Sharia in Aceh has been controversial ever since it was first introduced shortly after the downfall of Soeharto in 1998, when Jakarta was struggling to cope with an armed insurgency there. But what type of sharia is implemented in Aceh? And how does a sharia-based legal system work there?

Below are a few things you need to know about the legal system.

Terpidana pelanggar hukum Syariat Islam menjalani uqubat (hukuman) cambuk di Banda Aceh, Aceh, Senin (11/9). Mahkamah syariah Kota Banda Aceh menvonis 10 hingga 28 kali cambuk dengan menggunakan rotan setelah dipotong masa tahanan karena melanggar Qanun (peraturan daerah) Nomor 6/2014 tentang hukum jinayat. (Antara/Irwansyah Putra)

When did Aceh implement sharia, and why?

Aceh was once a major Islamic sultanate in Southeast Asia. Islamic values, therefore, are incorporated in Aceh’s hukum adat (customary law). The history of sharia in modern Aceh, however, goes back to the early days of the Reform Era, when Jakarta decided to grant the province a special status.

The conventional wisdom is that sharia in Aceh was a concession given by Jakarta under former president Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid” to Acehnese leaders to weaken the armed insurgency led by the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

It is no surprise that GAM leaders initially rejected the formalization of sharia on the grounds that Islam has long been an integral part of Aceh’s culture, and that their struggle was driven more by political grievances than religious zeal. Only after a peace agreement was signed by Jakarta and GAM leaders in Helsinki, Finland, in 2005 did GAM accept the implementation of sharia law.

For GAM, sharia in Aceh was a gift from Jakarta, served on a silver platter for the Acehnese people. “The gift [of sharia] was placed at our parliament’s door,” Malik Mahmud, a former GAM prime minister, told BBC Indonesia.

Under the 1999 law on Aceh’s status as a special region, coupled with the 2001 law on special autonomy for Aceh and Papua, Aceh was the only region in the country given the authority to formally implement sharia law.

However, only in 2003 did Aceh formally introduce sharia as the law of the land through the enactment of three bylaws banning the consumption of alcohol, gambling and khalwat (dating in secluded places).

A year earlier, Aceh established Dinas Syariat Islam (Sharia Agency). The agency is tasked with coordinating three core sharia institutions: Mahkamah Syariah (Sharia Courts), Majelis Permusyawaratan Ulama (Ulema Consultation Council) and the Wilayatul Hisba (Sharia Police).

In 2009, Aceh’s councillors enacted their first fully pledged qanun jinayat, which included new jarimah (crimes) such as adultery and homosexuality. The bylaw stipulated that adulterers could be sentenced to death by stoning. In 2014, the councillors revised the 2009 jinayat, scrapping the provision on stoning.

The 2014 jinayat took effect in October 2015.

Helsinki Cathedral, also known as the St. Nicholas Cathedral, is a distinctive landmark of the Finland’s capital. The historic Helsinki Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the government of Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) was signed on Aug. 15, 2005 in Helsinki. (Shutterstock/File)

What is ‘khalwat’? And how harsh is Aceh’s sharia law? 

It is a crime for a man and a woman who are not married to be in a secluded place together in Aceh. This is called khalwat and it is punishable by up to nine lashes, a fine of 150 grams of gold or 15 months’ imprisonment.

Alongside khalwat, maysir (gambling) and khamar (consuming alcohol) are also illegal under sharia.

Under the 2014 jinayat, zina (adultery and pre-marital sex), liwath (gay sex), musahaqah (lesbianism) and qadzaf (falsely accusing other people of adultery) are also classified as crimes. Those found guilty of such crimes could face up to 100 lashes or 1,000 grams of gold or 100 months in prison.

In countries where sharia is the law of the land such as Saudi Arabia and Brunei Darussalam, adultery and homosexuality are punishable by death.

According to historian Michel Feener, who has conducted extensive research on Aceh, the implementation of sharia was never driven by a “nostalgic utopian yearning for a return to seventh-century Arabia”.

In his 2013 paper, “Social Engineering Through Sharia: Islamic Law and State-Directed Da’wa in Contemporary Aceh”, Feener argues that sharia in Aceh is more of a “social engineering” attempt to rebuild Aceh following the Indonesian Military-GAM conflict and the 2004 tsunami that hit the region.

To support his argument, he cited the fact that only a few jinayat cases were handled by sharia courts each year. The Sharia Agency, he said, dakwah (campaigned) more than it focused on law enforcement. His study, however, did not examine the implementation of sharia after the enactment of the 2014 jinayat.

Does Aceh’s sharia apply to non-Muslims?

It does, but only for crimes that are not regulated under the Criminal Code such as khalwat, premarital sex or homosexuality. Non-Muslim offenders, however, could be prosecuted under sharia if they are willing to do so (the legal term for this is menundukan diri, which loosely translates to “submitting”).

Female dancers – who perform the Bines dance, a traditional dance from Gayo, Aceh –take a selfie during the event. JP/Hotli Simanjuntak (JP/Hotli Simanjuntak)

Is Aceh’s sharia legal? And can it be repealed?

Aceh’s lawmakers believe it is legal, as the 2001 law on Aceh’s autonomy and the 2006 law on Aceh’s administration, they claim, clearly gives the province the authority to devise its own legislation.

But human rights activists disagree, saying the bylaws enacted by Aceh’s council should not contradict the 1945 Constitution and national laws. They argue that the caning punishment goes against the 1999 law on human rights and the UN convention on torture, which Indonesia has ratified.

The adultery provision in jinayat, they say, overlaps with the morality provisions in the Criminal Code, which are also considered discriminatory. In many cases, the morality articles in jinayat tend to victimize women.

Activists grouped under the Civil Society Network for the Advocacy of Qanun Jinayat called on the government to review the Islamic bylaw and repeal it for going against the higher laws. But the Home Ministry said in 2015 that under the 2006 law on Aceh’s administration, it did not have the authority to do so and asked the activists to bring their fight to the Supreme Court.

The Institute for Criminal Justice Reform and the Solidarity for Women activist group have taken up the challenge by filing a judicial review request against jinayat at the Surpreme Court. The court, however, has suspended its examination as the House of Representatives is still deliberating revisions of the Criminal Code.

The House has said that it will pass the Criminal Code bill into law soon. The bill reportedly includes provisions criminalizing pre-marital sex and homosexuality. It is unclear how the new Criminal Code, which has become more like jinayat, will affect the implementation of jinayat. (srs/ahw)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2018/03/04/qa-what-you-need-to-know-about-acehs-sharia-law.html

International Women’s Day: Inspiring Activists & Their Call for Equality

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Today we celebrate International Women’s Day with a look at seven women’s rights activists and their tireless work to achieve equality for all.

Today, in celebration of International Women’s Day, people are being asked to: “Call on the masses or call on yourself to help forge a better working world—a more inclusive, gender equal world.” In honor of this, here’s a look at seven inspiring women and the work they did to create a more equal world.

Gloria Steinem

Gloria Steinem is a writer and advocate for women’s rights—she started Ms. magazine, co-founded the National Women’s Political Caucus and attended 1977’s National Women’s Conference. In 1970, she spoke to the Senate about the Equal Rights Amendment, saying, “I have been refused service in public restaurants, ordered out of public gathering places and turned away from apartment rentals. All for the clearly stated, sole reason that I am a woman.”

Today’s society is more equal and inclusive thanks in part to Steinem’s efforts (though despite her support, the ERA fell short of the number of states needed for ratification by its 1982 deadline). Work still has to be done for gender equality, but Steinem has hope for the future—as she noted in 2016, “I have seen profound changes and they help me have faith that they will continue.”

Reverend Addie Wyatt

Addie Wyatt, who worked in a meatpacking plant for years, understood the concerns of working women, and spent the better part of her union career trying to improve their lives. As a leader in the United Packinghouse Workers of America (she was the first African-American woman to become president of a local branch), Wyatt sought contracts that offered equal pay for equal work, and fought against on-the-job sexism and discrimination.

Increased representation and opportunities for women and minorities were another Wyatt initiative. And she pushed for more equitable treatment so women and minorities wouldn’t be the first to lose their jobs when layoffs hit. The impact of her work was recognized by Eleanor Roosevelt, who invited Wyatt to join the President’s Commission on the Status of Women in 1961. Wyatt also became a co-founder of the Coalition of Labor Union Women in 1974.

Betty Friedan

Betty Friedan‘s The Feminine Mystique (1963) told women they weren’t abnormal if they desired more than marriage, homemaking and caring for children—and the popular response to the book showed its author had hit a nerve. Friedan went on to fight for women’s rights by co-founding the National Women’s Political Caucus, the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws (which became NARAL Pro-Choice America) and the National Organization for Women. As NOW’s first president, from 1966 to 1970, she organized the Women’s Strike for Equality, which took place on the 50th anniversary of women’s suffrage: August 26, 1970.

Friedan has received justifiable criticism for her focus on the needs of middle- and upper-class white women and her bigotry against homosexuality (she deemed lesbians a “Lavender Menace” to the feminist movement, a sentiment she later repudiated). However, she deserves credit for inspiring millions to demand more opportunity.

Estelle Griswold

The birth control pill was approved as a contraceptive by the FDA in 1960—but in Connecticut, it was illegal, thanks to an 1879 law that outlawed using all forms of contraception. In November 1961, Estelle Griswold, director of the Planned Parenthood League of Connecticut, challenged this legislation by opening a birth control clinic in New Haven with Dr. C. Lee Buxton. By fighting for women to be able to control their fertility, Griswold wanted to give them more freedom to determine the course of their lives.

Griswold and Buxton’s convictions were upheld by Connecticut’s Supreme Court—but when lawyer Catherine Roraback appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, a 7-2 decision ended up throwing out Connecticut’s archaic law. Citing a right to privacy, Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) legalized birth control for all married couples. The same legal reasoning was used in the 1972 case that okayed contraceptive use for unmarried couples, and 1973’s Roe v. Wade gave women the right to terminate pregnancies.

Martha Griffiths

Martha Griffiths was an advocate for women throughout her time serving in the House of Representatives (1955 to 1974), but one of her most lasting accomplishments came during the fight for civil rights legislation in 1964. A conservative politician who opposed the proposed laws decided to introduce an amendment outlawing sex discrimination in employment—not because he wanted to support women, but because he felt it could stop the entire legislative process.

Griffiths waited for her colleague to speak, and for her fellow representatives to laugh at the idea of protecting women, then noted that their mirth demonstrated “that women were a second–class sex.” She also argued that without the amendment, women who didn’t fall into a protected category of race, color, religion or national origin would be left with no recourse against job discrimination. Her tactics worked—Title VII of the Civil Rights Act included sex as a protected category. It didn’t end employment discrimination—Griffiths herself would work to strengthen the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission established by the law—but it gave women a stronger foothold from which to demand better treatment in the workplace.

Florynce Kennedy

A Columbia-educated lawyer, Florynce Kennedy followed her own advice of: “Don’t agonize. Organize.” She also truly understood the power of attention-grabbing protests: in 1968, she participated in a picket of the Miss America pageant; five years later, she organized a “pee-in” at Harvard in order to highlight the lack of women’s bathroom facilities. A quick-witted speaker, Kennedy often appeared with Gloria Steinem.

Kennedy helped establish the National Women’s Political Caucus and the Coalition Against Racism and Sexism; in 1971, she founded the Feminist Party. When Shirley Chisholm made her barrier-breaking run to become the Democratic presidential candidate in 1972 (she was the first woman and the first African American to seek a major political party’s presidential nod), many women and male politicians of color backed other candidates. But Kennedy’s Feminist Party supported Chisholm, who won 152 delegates.

Dolores Huerta

Dolores Huerta was a founder, along with Cesar Chávez, of the National Farm Workers Association, which became United Farm Workers. Her accomplishments in this role included improved working conditions and wages, which made life easier for male and female workers alike. She also negotiated for equal wages for men and women, and encouraged women to take on jobs previously reserved for men. In addition, Huerta urged the union and Chávez to welcome women into leadership roles and involve them in decision-making.

Huerta, who’s referred to herself as a “born-again feminist,” has continued to fight for women’s rights as part of her organizing work. She took part in the Feminist Majority Foundation’s “Feminization of Power: 50/50 by the Year 2000” campaign to get more Latinas into public office. And on January 21, 2017, she was one of the millions who participated in a Women’s March.

Featured photo: An International Women’s Day March in 1977. (Photo: Fairfax Media/Fairfax Media via Getty Images)

Source: https://www.biography.com/news/international-womens-day-famous-activists

Women’s March Returns to Fight Against Gender-Based Violence

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Jakarta. Thousands of women and men will march through the streets of Indonesia’s capital to campaign against gender-based violence on Saturday’s (03/03) Women’s March.

The marchers are demanding the protection of the rights of women and other marginalized groups such as migrant workers, factory workers, domestic workers, indigenous people, people with HIV/AIDS, people with different gender identities and sexual orientations and people with disabilities.

According to a 2017 report from the National Commission on Violence Against Women’s (Komnas Perempuan), nearly 270,000 cases of violence against women – committed both in the home and in public – were reported last year.

Rights group Counting Dead Women Indonesia recorded 173 women were killed last year, 95 percent of them by their husbands, fathers or partners.

Komnas Perempuan commissioner Mariana Amiruddin said femicide, or murder of women on account of her gender, simply has to stop.

“Femicide happens because victims are not protected when their lives are most at risk, including in cases of domestic violence. It occurs because of the continuing strength of the patriarchy, that is, the domination of men in their power relations with women,” Mariana said.

The commissioner pointed out that the existing Domestic Violence Law (KDRT) still does not guarantee the protection of women.

“We demand that the government eradicate gender-based violence including those committed against people with different gender identities and sexual orientations at policy and legal levels,” she said.

WMJ 2018’s Demands

According to an official statement from the organizers of Women’s March Jakarta 2018 (WMJ 2018), this year’s march will also push for the ratification of the Elimination of Sexual Violence bill that has been stuck in parliament since 2016.

It will also protest against the discriminative revisions of the criminal code that contain articles outlawing “zina,” or adultery, and sharing of information on contraception and sexual education.

WMJ 2018 organizers have come up with a total of eight demands to be delivered to the government on Saturday.

The list of demands include eliminating violence against women, protecting female workers, assisting the recovery of victims of gender-based violence, eliminating discrimination and violence against women and eliminating stigma and discrimination based on gender, sexuality and health status.

The marchers will also demand not only the protection of but also legal aid and compensation for survivors of gender-based violence.

Pre-events

A series of pre-events have also been held prior to Saturday’s march.

Hollaback, an online initiative to end harassment against women, held a poster-making workshop in South Jakarta on Sunday.

Members of Rumah Faye, Jakarta Feminist Discussion Group, Lentera Indonesia, Do Something Indonesia and Naobun Project took part in it.

Many first-time marchers joined in, turning their thoughts and experiences on the life of women in Indonesia into colorful posters.

Metta Arya, a member of Rumah Faye and first-time marcher, said she’s joining the march to protest violence against children in Indonesia.

“Violence against children happens every day. It causes long-term damage to children and costs us a lot as a society. It’s time for us to pay more attention to it,” Metta said.

Women’s Marches Across Indonesia

Following the success of Women’s March Jakarta 2017, the sequel this year will be held in several cities across Indonesia: Bali, Kupang, Pontianak, Sumba, Bandung, Lampung, Salatiga, Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Malang, Serang and Tondano.

“We initially just wanted to invite people from other cities to come to Jakarta for the Women’s March. But the responses we got were overwhelming and so we decided to organize it in 13 other cities as well,” Women’s March 2018 deputy organizer Naila Rizki Zakiah said.

Women’s March Jakarta will focus on gender-based violence, and Naila said every city has the freedom to choose its own theme.

“Every city has its own unique issues. We’re not going to restrict them in any way,” Naila said.

Last year, WMJ attracted 400 marchers. This year, Naila said they expect to double that number.

“Looking at the overwhelming support and enthusiasm we’ve been getting, 800 sounds like a reasonable number. We hope it will be a huge success.”

WMJ 2018 will start from in front of the Sari Pan Pacific Hotel on Jalan Thamrin in Central Jakarta and finish at Aspiration Park in front of the State Palace.

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Indonesian Movie Tackles the Bugis Marriage Custom of Giving Dowry to the Bride

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An Indonesian film has reignited public discussion about a unique marriage custom among the Bugis Tribe in Sulawesi Island where the groom gives Uang Panai’ or dowry to the family of the bride before marriage.

The amount of Uang Panai’ depends on many factors like the education level and social status of the bride. Writing about the Uang Panai’, scholar Sharyn Graham Davies notes that “there is a complex set of rules regulating the payment of bride price.”

Without the Uang Panai’, the wedding cannot take place. Because of this tradition, the Bugis woman is sometimes called ‘the most luxurious woman in Indonesia’.

Blogger Nani Rachman explains how the Uang Panai’ reflects the commitment of the groom to his future wife:

If the amount requested (Uang Panai’) is fulfilled by the groom, it would give prestige (honor) to the woman’s family. Honor is meant here in the sense of an award given by the groom to the woman he wanted to marry by providing a magnificent marriage feast through the Uang Panai’.

Another blogger, Indra Mae, emphasized that Uang Panai’ is not strictly similar to the Western concept of dowry:

This is the amount of money given by the groom to the bride which is a form of appreciation and respect for the norms of reality and social strata. Uang Panai’ is not counted as a marriage dowry but as customary money, an amount agreed to by both parties or families.

In the Uang Panai’ movie, the father of the groom lamented that the giving of dowry has become a social problem.

The film tells the story of a store clerk who earns 5 million rupiahs (379 US dollars) a month but needs to raise 120 million rupiahs (9,000 US dollars) as dowry to the family of the girl he wants to marry. His father borrowed money from a moneylender to help him.

It is not uncommon to hear sad news reports related to the Uang Panai’ custom. There was a news story about a soldier who was beaten by his bride’s family in Gowa regency because he failed to deliver the full amount of Uang Panai’. Another story involves a young girl from Bulukumba who narrated how her boyfriend failed to marry her because their families could not agree on the matter of Uang Panai’ Recently, a widower in Pinrang made news after it was reported that he gave 599 million rupiahs (about 45,000 US dollars) to his bride.

The Uang Panai’ movie generated mixed reactions about the marriage custom. Some believe it inspires the groom to prove his love to his bride while others reject it as an unfair imposition. But there were also viewers who insist that Uang Panai’ is more than a dowry or money required to marry a Bugis woman. They assert that it shows commitment and devotion on the part of the groom.

This is the first time that a mainstream film in Indonesia has focussed on the Uang Panai’ marriage custom.

The giving of Uang Panai’ is still widely practiced today among the indigenous Bugis-Makassar tribe.

Source: https://globalvoices.org/2016/09/11/indonesian-movie-tackles-the-bugis-marriage-custom-of-giving-dowry-to-the-bride/

Female Genital Mutilation violates human rights, Muslim groups say as campaign in launched in Dublin

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Everyone should respect the law banning female genital mutilation (FGM) and support the global campaign calling for an end to the practice, three Muslim groups have said.

The Irish Muslim Peace & Integration Council (IMPIC), the Al-Mustafa Islamic Centre Ireland and the Ifrah Foundation said FGM was a violation of human rights.

The groups joined in the criticism of remarks by an Irish Muslim cleric advocating female circumcision.

Dr Ali Selim of the Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland told RTE last week that female circumcision should be carried out if a doctor advised it needed to be done.

“We see female circumcision in the same way we see male circumcision,” Dr Selim said.

“It might be needed for one person and not another, and it has to be done by a doctor and practised in a safe environment,” he said.

Dr Selim’s comments came as Ifrah Ahmed, a survivor of the practice, launched #MeTooFGM, a worldwide social media campaign against FGM.

The 29-year-old, who was born in Somalia, said FGM is happening outside of developing countries, including reports of it occurring in the UK.

Ifrah Foundation founder Ms Ahmed, Ifrah Foundation board member Dr Chris Fitzpatrick and IMPIC chairman Shaykh Dr Umar Al-Qadri met in Dublin on Monday to voice their opposition.

“There is no medical, religious or cultural justifications for FGM,” they said.

“Muslim leaders and scholars categorically reject that the practice offers any benefits and considers it in direct contradiction to the basic tenets of Islam.

“FGM is associated with serious medical complications in young girls and women. It is also associated with complications relating to childbirth and is responsible for the deaths of mothers and babies in counties where it is practised.”

The groups added: “[We] call on all Irish Muslims to respect the law in relation to FGM in Ireland and supports the global campaign to end FGM.”

IMPIC and the Al-Mustafa Islamic Centre in Ireland are backing Ms Ahmed’s global campaign.

Health Minister Simon Harris and Trinity College Dublin, where Dr Selim is a part-time language teacher were among those who have been critical of Dr Selim.

On Sunday Mr Harris tweeted: “Female genital mutilation is never ever justifiable, has no place in healthcare, is illegal, dangerous, can have a devastating impact & is a violation of human rights.”

A spokesman for Trinity College Dublin said university teachers and students believed the practice was always wrong.

FGM comprises all procedures involving altering or injuring female genitalia for non-medical reasons and is recognised internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women.

It is estimated that at least 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone some form of FGM, according to the UN.

Girls aged 14 and younger represent 44 million of those who have been cut, most commonly in Gambia, Mauritania and Indonesia.

The procedure is mostly carried out on young girls between infancy and age 15, the UN protest organisers said.

It causes severe bleeding and health issues including cysts, infections, infertility and complications in childbirth.

The #MeToo movement began after claims of serious sexual misconduct surfaced in Hollywood allegedly involving producer Harvey Weinstein, which he denies.

Source: https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/female-genital-mutilation-violates-human-rights-muslim-groups-say-as-campaign-in-launched-in-dublin-36596734.html

Legal Dilemma of Child Marriage

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KOMPAS, 6 February 2018 – The legal aspect seems to be the weakest in efforts to prevent child marriage in the country. In practice, isbat nikah (a marriage conducted according to customary religious law) and the dispensasi nikah (marriage dispensation; an application to the religious court for permission to marry an underage partner) are two loopholes that can turn the illegal act of marrying a child, legal. Furthermore, both tacitly acknowledge the “legality” of non-state regulations that should thus be deemed illegal, with legal sanctions for violators.

Historically, the existence of non-state laws, including religious and customary laws, are inseparable from the wealth of laws that have existed in Indonesia long before the colonialists brought with them the concept of laws as a consequence of a modern state.

Colonial advisors such as Snouck Hurgronje or Islamic law expert Van den Berg assured that maintaining the customary and religious laws of a colonized people would prevent uprisings.

At the same time, the stance would help the colonial government gain support and acknowledgment for applying ethical policies to a colonized people. Therefore, legal pluralism emerged through recognizing the practice of religious and customary laws, especially in family matters, including marriages, inheritances and donations.

Legal domination and tyranny

During the New Order, advocacy continued for establishing customary and religious laws on an equal standing with state laws. This was especially relevant in relation to indigenous people who wanted to maintain their traditional laws to protect their communal right to customary lands. Activists fought for the implementation of legal pluralism to prevent the unilateral domination of state laws that might be abused to take over indigenous lands as concession areas.

The political nuances that underlined this movement might have been different from those during the colonial era. If legal pluralism was implemented during the colonial regime to tame the colonized population, it was used under the New Order to protect the lands of indigenous groups and tribes that were vulnerable to state occupation in the name of economic development.

However, in relation to family law, the state attempted to consolidate all marriage laws through the Marriage Law (Law No. 1/1974), and the Compilation of Islamic Laws (KHI) under Presidential Instruction No. 1/1991. Under these two regulations, all citizens, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, are required to abide by national laws. The regulations also affirm the authority of state laws above religious laws.

Different from agrarian issues in which activists fight for and defend legal pluralism for the protection of nature-dependent indigenous groups, providing space for customary and religious laws has never been a focal point of struggling for legal pluralism in family law. On the contrary, activists tend to agree on regulating family law through state laws.

In this context, Barry Hooker, an Australian professor of Islamic law, introduced the concept of big laws and small laws to differentiate the level of legal sources between state laws and religious laws (or fikih in Islam) in resolving family matters. For Hooker, what was important was that small laws must abide by big laws.

Such a mindset is manifested in practice through regulations that necessitate a legal hierarchy in which the 1945 Constitution and national laws must serve as the foundations of all derivative regulations. In such a hierarchy, religious and customary laws must not contradict state laws or other regulations that rank above them.

However, it seems that, in the discourse over legal pluralism, no one could imagine that communal, customary and religious laws would be powerless in the face of state laws that were established as a concept of the post-colonial modern state.

Recognizing legal pluralism, which originally aimed to provide recognition and protection for communal, customary and religious laws against the intimidation and oppression of state laws, could lead to legal domination or, at the very least, legal contestation. No one took into account the prerequisites necessary to create such a legal order.

Legal pluralism can only be implemented in a democratic and egalitarian society with equality in social relationships and one that relies on legal philosophy instead of mere personal beliefs. In a non-egalitarian and undemocratic society that does not believe in the principle of equality, legal pluralism can become tyranny. Small laws can be used to shackle bigger laws.

This is being prompted by legal contestations in which religious laws are prioritized over state laws, based on a belief in the sanctity of its source. This is reflected in justifying child marriage through the use of Islamic textual laws that are accepted as actual laws.

In order to resolve this issue, University of Indonesia professor Sulistyowati Irianto said that legal pluralism should be open to new and global regulations, including international conventions on human rights. Legal pluralism should also serve as a tool to correct customary laws when these are not in line with principles of justice.

Loose age boundary

Conventions on child rights and discrimination against women are stronger legal foundations in efforts to prohibit child marriage.

Islamic family law researcher Stjin van Huis of the Netherlands wrote in his research on religious courts in Cianjur and Bulukumba that, in relation to child marriage, judges can refer to social laws and norms in issuing dispensations as long as a minimum age restriction is enforced.

The problem is that Indonesia does not recognize a minimum age restriction for filing marriage dispensations, leading to judges relying mostly on their own discretion in marriage dispensation cases. Therefore, in cases of child marriage, the state seems to lack firmness in implementing age restrictions as stipulated in the Marriage Law. This shows that religious laws still have a significant influence on people – even beyond state laws. Perhaps the influence of religious laws is growing along with the expanding landscape of religious politics in Indonesia’s increasingly conservative public spaces.

As Michael Pelatz wrote in his book, Modern Islam, Religious Courts and Cultural Politics in Malaysia, family law and their implementation by religious courts are critical in helping to create a civil society that abides by national laws and individual rights. At the same time, these laws can free individuals – especially women – from the unjust primordial shackles of ethnicity, traditional customs and gender.

KOMPAS/TOTO SIHONO

Lies Marcoes

Coordinator of Empowerment Programme, Rumah Kitab

Conflicts and disasters forcing 59 million young people into illiteracy – UNICEF study

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31 January 2018 – Nearly three in ten young people between the ages of 15 and 24 living in conflict- or disaster-affected countries are illiterate, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said Wednesday, calling for greater investments in the education, particularly for the most disadvantaged children and youth.

The situation is particularly dire for girls and young women in that age group, with 33 per cent of them in emergency countries failing to learn even the basics, compared to 24 per cent of boys.

“These numbers are a stark reminder of the tragic impact that crises have on children’s education, their futures, and the stability and growth of their economies and societies,” said Henrietta H. Fore, the Executive Director of UNICEF, in a news release announcing the findings.

“An uneducated child who grows into an illiterate youth in a country ripped apart by conflict or destroyed by disasters may not have much of a chance.”

The findings, calculated using literacy data from the UN Educational, Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 27 emergency countries, also revealed that Niger, Chad, South Sudan and the Central African Republic – all with a long history of instability and high levels of poverty – recorded the highest illiteracy rates among those aged 15-24 with 76 per cent, 69 per cent, 68 per cent and 64 per cent, respectively, unable to read or write.

Globally, the number stands at 59 million.

Ensuring adequately funding for education programmes, particularly during humanitarian crises, is critical to improve these statistics.

At present, only 3.6 per cent of humanitarian funding goes toward providing education for children living in emergencies, making it one of the least funded sectors in humanitarian appeals.

UNICEF estimates that over the next four years, it will spend approximately $1 billion a year on education programmes.

In its 2018 Humanitarian Action for Children appeal, launched on Tuesday, the UN agency called for $900 million for education in countries affected by conflicts and natural disasters. Some of its key interventions include accelerated education and non-formal learning opportunities, training teachers, rehabilitating schools and distributing school furniture and supplies.

At the same time, UNICEF also called on Governments and partners to provide young children with access to quality early education programmes to support their development and set them up to continue learning throughout their childhood; and offer illiterate young people the opportunity to learn to read and write and further their education through specially designed alternative and accelerated education programmes.

“Education can make or break a child’s future,” said Ms. Fore.

“For all children to fully reap the benefits of learning, it is key that they get the best quality education possible, as early as possible,” she stressed.

The UNICEF analysis has been released ahead of the Global Partnership for Education Replenishment Conference in Dakar, Senegal, (1-2 February) which aims to raise funding for education from partner countries, and current and new donors in order to ensure that all children and youth are in school and learning.

Source: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=58511#.WnQViOcxXIV

Divorced at 15: Inside the Lives of Child Brides

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For Syrian refugee families in Turkey, early marriage is seen as a pathway to security though the outcome is not always as hoped.

By Alexa Keefe
Photographs by Özge Sebzeci

 

K., 15, is recently divorced from her 20-year-old husband. She fled to Turkey when she was 12, was engaged at 13, and got married at 14. She says she is happy to be divorced because the couple did not get along but she is not hopeful about continuing her education. She left school when she was in fourth grade when the war started in Syria.

Photograph by Özge Sebzeci

When the war came to Syria, even families who opposed it felt they had to marry off their teenage daughters for their protection. Now, as refugees, they face the same dilemma. In neighboring countries like Turkey young girls are becoming single mothers amid an ignored child marriage epidemic.

The industrial city of Kayseri in the Anatolian region of Turkey is home to about 60,000 Syrian refugees. Photographer Özge Sebzeci recently spent time documenting a story she says is largely unknown in her native Turkey—the prevalence of marriage and divorce among Syrian refugee children.

The dress worn by a 14 year-old bride to is laid out after her wedding day to an 18 year-old. Sebzeci attended the wedding but was not allowed to take pictures. “[The bride’s] eyes were full of emotion,” Sebzeci recalls. “She was definitely afraid and surprised and trying to understand why all of the attention was on her. She was smiling sometimes as well. It was a powerful moment.”


Photograph by Özge Sebzeci

Girls as young as 13 are getting married in unofficial ceremonies. Sometimes these unions don’t last, leaving the girls divorced at 15 with children to raise, facing barriers to the education and opportunities that would pave the way for success in their new country. “Divorce is easy because all the husband has to do is to say ‘I divorce you’ three times,” Sebzeci says, of a law in Sunni Islam known as “triple talaq.” “The girls don’t have the rights they would otherwise have, such as inheritance and alimony.”
Up: H., 15 (right), and her 13 year-old sister share a moment at their home in Kayseri. They are originally from Aleppo and lived in a refugee camp on the border with Syria for four years.

Down: The infant son of 16 year-old Z. and her 21 year-old husband sleeps on his first day at home from the hospital. Due complications from premature birth, the newborn had to stay in the hospital for more than a month. Z. got married when she was 14.

Photograph by Özge Sebzeci
With the help of a well-connected member of the Syrian refugee community, Sebzeci interviewed girls and their mothers to understand the problem’s root. While some of these mothers had been teen brides themselves, most had not. According to the United Nations Population Fund, child marriage was significantly less common among Syrians before the war began. Some estimates now show child marriage rates to be four times higher among Syrian refugees today than among Syrians before the crisis.

İ., 20, and A., 17, with their 5-day-old baby at their home in Kayseri. The couple were engaged in Syria. 5 days later, İ. stepped onto a mine and lost his leg. He is now a day laborer at mobile phone shops or with shoemakers. They are happy that A. gave birth without complications.

Photograph by Özge Sebzeci

The reasons why families consent to early marriage range from practicality—marrying off their daughters can ease a financial burden—to a desire to protect their honor from men outside of the community who might take advantage of them.

In one instance, a young bride who had lost her father in the war told Sebzeci: “If my father was alive he would have never given permission,” but her mother succumbed to pressure from suitors.

The legal age of marriage in Turkey is 18, or 17 with parental consent. In exceptional circumstances, people can marry at 16, subject to court approval. Religious marriages at ages younger than that still exist at different levels throughout the country as “a known secret,” Sebzeci says. These pockets of acceptance might also explain a reluctance to intervene in refugee communities, perceiving the practice as part of their tradition.

H. shows Sebzeci her engagement ring and dress before her engagement party. “H. asked for a teddy bear when I asked her what she wanted for her engagement,” Sebzeci says. H.’s suitor was a friend of her brother’s, who gave his hand at the wedding.

Photograph by Özge Sebzeci

“Even at weddings [the Syrian families] invite Turkish neighbors who say, ‘This bride is really young,’ but they don’t do anything,” says Sebzeci. “One of the brides went to the hospital to give birth at 15 and was taken by the police to a safe house but she didn’t speak Turkish. The police made her sign [a document] saying that she wouldn’t live with her husband until she was 18 but there is no way to police this. She goes to the station every week to say that she isn’t living with him even though she is.”

Though the girls spoke freely within the safety of their homes, Sebzeci spent more time listening than photographing. Some would not consent to being photographed without their floor-length abayas and she was not allowed to photograph wedding ceremonies. Instead, she used a metaphorical approach—sometimes showing the girls behind the curtains that were literally shielding them from view.

M., 17, pushes her daughter in a stroller outside their home in Kayseri. M. was married when she was 14 and became pregnant shortly thereafter. Her husband left her 20 days after she gave birth to their daughter. She says he was abusive and she is relieved that he is gone but struggles to care for her child by herself. She recently started working as a pharmacy assistant and supports her family on the equivalent of $26 per week.

Photograph by Özge Sebzeci

The key to empowering these families and their daughters to choose differently is education on the local level, including learning Turkish. “We have to think how we can help them adapt to the society,” Sebzeci says.

The woman who introduced Sebzeci to the refugee community sees herself as an activist, Sebzeci says, and tells these stories to put a stop to the practice. When she heard that a 12-year-old schoolmate of her daughter’s was being pursued by a family interested in marriage, she put her foot down. “No,” she warned. “I will tell the journalist.”

Source: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/proof/2018/01/child-marriage-divorce-syrian-refugees-turkey/

 

Module Preparation of Child Marriage Prevention through Strengthening of Formal and Non Formal Institution

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BERDAYA Program (Formal and Non-Formal Institutional Empowerment Program) Rumah KitaB conducted a workshop on module preparation of Child Marriage Prevention through Strengthening of Formal and Non Formal Institutions on January 17, 2018 in Jakarta. The workshop is supported by Australia Indonesia Partnership for Justice 2 (AIPJ2) with the aim of gaining input on six modules text. The draft module was prepared by Rumah KitaB Team under the coordination of Mrs. Lies Marcoes and six coauthors. According to the plan, this module will be used by the BERDAYA facilitator in 4 working areas of this program; Bogor, Cirebon, North Jakarta and South Sulawesi.
The workshop was attended by staff of BERDAYA, Rumah KitaB and resource persons representing various institutions, including Mr. Adib Machrus, Head of KUA Development and Sakinah Family Ministry of Religious Affairs, Mrs. Rohika from the Ministry of Women Empowerment and Child Protection, Dr. Nur Rofiah from Alimat / KUPI (Indonesian Congress of Women Scholars), Mr. Mohammad Noor from Cilegon Religious Court, Mrs. Dani from Rahima, Mr. Marzuki Wahid from Fahmina and Irene Isnandjaja, representative of DFAT Australia. The total number of participants is about 20 people.


In the introduction, Lies Marcoes explains the background of the BERDAYA program activities and their relevance to the preparation of this module and the training that will be carried out using this module. Research of Rumah KitaB in 2014-2016 shows the relationship between child marriage with the weakening of men’s economic role due to changes in living space, loss of men’s access to resources, especially work and land. “The demand for female labor (wife) does not necessarily change the status of the role of the man (husband) as the head of the family. At the same time, men lose their authority and they reinforce their status with moral guard roles, “Mrs. Lies said in her presentation. “The government has tried to overcome the marriage of children, but the role of officials such as KUA and PA become more severe because the encouragement of the practice of child marriage comes from men who lost their economic role, but is getting tighter in maintaining the traditional morale in which they still have a role. This is reinforced by the changing landscape of religious authorities that tend to be more puritanical. The survey on child marriage acceptance index in Probolinggo and Sumenep, East Java (2017) organized by Rumah KitaB and UNICEF shows the attitude of men who are more accepting of child marriage practices.


On the situation, the training curriculum was developed with a framework to strengthen institutions that work in the prevention of child marriage through the provision of an understanding of the facts of child marriage, the rights of children agreed upon in the Child Protection Act, and text-reading methodologies that have the opportunity to reinterpret domination father in imposing child marriage. This activity also seeks to explain that the fulfillment of children’s rights and obedience to positive law is a way of avoiding legal dualism which has been a problem in the issue of child marriage. This legal dualism has resulted in many marriage practices that are illegal on positive law viewpoint but are considered valid by interpretation.


The workshop produced a curriculum flow that absorbed all proposals from the participants to be followed up by rewrites in several chapters or revisions for chapters considered to be sufficient. The BERDAYA program will pilot this training module in March 2018 following the revision process as recommended by the workshop. [Lies Marcoes / Seto Hidayat]