Child Pride, Not Bride

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TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – The incident a few months ago still lingers in Fahri Ramadhan`s mind. At the time, Fahri and his friend, both still in their high school uniforms, stopped at a roadside stall to buy snacks.

Unexpectedly, Fahri ran into an elementary school friend. What ruined his mood was that his friend told him that she was at the stall to buy some infant formula. “Apparently she was already married and was buying milk for her kid,” said the 10th grader at the Kalukku State School I in Mamuju, West Sulawesi.

It was not Fahri’s first time running into a friend who had married at a very young age. According to the 16-year-old, some of his friends marry early because of their families’ finances. Their parents feel that they cannot afford to pay for their education. Meanwhile, the parents of their would-be husbands would then propose, offering panaik. Panaik, also known as panai, is the equivalent of “bride price” given by the parents of a would-be groom to the would-be bride’s family as a sign of serious intention. The amount varies, from over Rp10 million to hundreds of million rupiah.

Observing this phenomenon made Fahri restless, which is why he joined in the campaign to prevent child marriage. He learned about the campaign when a community called Lingkar Remaja (Teen Circle) held an event to raise awareness at a mosque near his home at the end of last year. Not only he felt the desire to fight against child marriage, Fahri joined the movement because he also hoped he would be able to positively contribute to society. “My grandfather once said, wherever I would one day go to school, no matter how many certificates I would receive, none of it would matter if I wasn’t yet benefiting the people around me,” said the teen.

The Lingkar Remaja is a community founded by the Karampuang Foundation, headquartered in Mamuju. The community brings young people together, and was formed to run an anti-child- marriage program.

After joining the Lingkar Remaja community early this year, Fahri says he has obtained plenty of new information, facts that were once neglected, including the causes and impacts of child marriage as well as some strategies for preventing it.

Fahri and other Lingkar Remaja members have organized plays and poetry readings on the theme of child marriage several times, at the Karampuang Foundation secretariat office. These events are usually attended by the community, including street vendors who sell snacks. Members of the community began asking questions about the negative impacts of child marriage and its effect on the reproductive health of adolescents.

To improve their campaign reach, Fahri and other Lingkar Remaja members would occasionally visit villages in Kalukku to distribute brochures on the fight against child marriage.

Source: http://en.tempo.co/read/news/2018/08/02/313920468/Child-Pride-Not-Bride

Proper Sex Education as a Child’s Rights

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Recently I read an article about a teenage girl who was convicted for abortion after she was raped by her teen brother. On the same day, in one of the WhatsApp group chats I belong to, a friend told her story of meeting teen boys who contracted HIV through unconsented same-sex intercourse. Meanwhile, even in my neighborhood I see teen couples who got married because of pregnancy.

All of these, to me, is evidence of what is crucially needed by our children: a proper sex education that addresses all the contemporary needs and problems that they face.

Sex education has been part of the current curriculum (K-13) used in Indonesia’s education system, but its content is still sorely lacking, particularly when it comes down to details. In 2016 the Director of Elementary and High School Education Department in the Education Ministry Hamid Muhammad told CNN Indonesia that because sex education is given at school, there is no need for further sex education outside of what is laid out in the curriculum.

I received my first sex education in middle school, ironically, in my Religion subject, in this case Catholicism. One of the topics in that subject was related to sex education. While teaching the topic, our teacher looked uncomfortable, still, I admired her determination to speak clearly about the subject. We did not learn much on that day, except how a baby is conceived and that sex before marriage is a sin.

The next sex education I received was in a biology class also in middle school. It was pretty similar to what we had learned in the Catholic religion class, except the teacher was willing to dedicate more time to answering our questions related to sex. As the internet was not so widespread yet at the time, books and magazines were our only sources. We brought women’s magazines and asked “weird” questions to our teacher, who would calmly respond to them.

He admitted that he could not answer some of our questions, but we did not mind. To this day he is still one of my favorite teachers for his effort in giving sex education. There were more similar sex education material in my biology class in high school and moral philosophy class in university.

But in all the sex education that I received, sex was treated as a separate science, a subject in which we learn about human’s reproductive system. If not science, then sex was connected to religion. Rarely did we discuss other aspects of sex, such as the fact that it is part of building healthy relationship, that it can be a way of relaxing, and that unsafe sex can destroy your life. There was also very little – even no – discussion on the process before sex happens. We jumped into sperm meets egg and, voila, there comes a baby.

We never talked about feelings, nor were we given warning signs of sexual predators. We were never taught how to differentiate human’s touches to know signs of sexual violence, though we, girls, were repeatedly reminded to take care of ourselves and not to “invite” people to do something bad to us.

I have been harassed in three different occasions in public transportation. I remember how helpless, angry and embarrassed I felt at the time. Looking back, I would’ve been more empowered had I received a proper sex education that taught me what consent is and how to defend myself when being harassed.

To celebrate the National Children’s Day that falls on July 23 every year, I think it’s time we start thinking about giving proper sex education to our young generation to reduce or even eliminate cases of sexual violence against them. The world is moving faster than we have ever imagined and our children deserve to receive a substantial answer other than “because it is a sin.”

Source: https://magdalene.co/news-1820-proper-sex-education-as-a-child%E2%80%99s-rights-.html

Syrian Child Brides Increasingly Contemplate Suicide

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Salwa, a 14 year old girl, remembers chugging bleach for as long as she could. She ignored the burn as it went down her throat, and she tuned out the sound of gunshots outside her window.

But Salwa, a Syrian refugee, wasn’t trying to escape the Syrian war — she was trying to escape her forced marriage.

In Lebanon, nearly 40% of young Syrian refugee girls are being married off by impoverished families who erroneously believe that they are protecting their daughters against sexual assault. Often they are wedded off to much older men who rape and beat them if they refuse to sleep with them.

Such was Salwa’s case. Her drunk husband wanted to have sex, but Salwa said she would be right back. She left the room and tried to poison herself.

 

 “I returned to the bedroom and thought, this will be the last time,” said Salwa. “When I woke up the next morning, I said, ‘F*ck you, God.’”

 

The Times of Israel reports that this isn’t an isolated case:

Halima’s death certificate says she fell down the stairs. But according to SB Overseas — an NGO working with Syrian refugees across Lebanon, including Halima’s camp — the 13-year-old actually killed herself.

It started one night in October, when she ran away from her abusive husband at a refugee camp outside Beirut. She fled back to her family and asked if they’d help her divorce him. No way, was their answer, she had to stay with him. So, that night, Halima overdosed on pills.

SB Overseas has noticed how common suicide has become among child brides — and how often families lie about it.

“They cannot admit the decision they made led to this result,” said Veronica Lari, a former spokesperson for SB Overseas. “What happens often is girls disappear completely. We know it’s a consequence of the marriage, but we don’t have any data or news from her. And the family says they don’t know anything.”

Hasan Arfeh, a Syrian journalist, has even noticed the same trend in Syria.

“Parents know their daughter committed suicide, but in small communities in Syria, they hide the issue,” Arfeh said. “They feel ashamed of the community around them. They do not offer the body to the forensic doctor, claiming it is the body of a girl and they have the right not to show it.”

In Lebanon, Syrian girls face an uphill battle against forced marriage. There is no minimum age for marriage in the country as the government allows religious parties to decide. On top of this, martial rape is not criminalized.

Lebanon has also created a rule that Syrians can only work in temporary, low-paying sectors including agriculture, construction and cleaning. With families unable to provide for their children, many parents see marriage as a ticket out of poverty.

Monthly cash support from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is one saving grace, but its severely underfunded and only able to reach 13% of Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

Until Syrian families find a way out of poverty, the trend of abused child brides turning to suicide will likely continue.

Child brides like Layla, a 16 year Syrian refugee threw herself into a river knowing she couldn’t swim. Her sister managed to save her.

“I thought, ‘I want to die. It’s better than living this miserable life,’” said Layla.

Source: https://www.freedomunited.org/news/syrian-child-brides-increasingly-contemplate-suicide/

11 and Married: Malaysia Spars Over Child Brides

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GUA MUSANG, Malaysia — Norazila and Ayu were best friends and they shared everything that girls do: sleepovers, selfies, musings about cute boys.

But their friendship, which had blossomed in their placid hamlet in northern Malaysia, was destroyed late last month when Norazila, 14, discovered that Ayu, 11, had secretly become her father’s third wife.

“My best friend is my stepmother now,” said Norazila, whose family name is Che Abdul Karim, as she scrolled through her Facebook page filled with posts of the girls posing with adolescent pouts and fingers forming peace signs. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

Ayu’s marriage to Che Abdul Karim Che Abdul Hamid, a 41-year-old rubber trader with a prominent role at his mosque and a fleet of fancy cars, has reignited debate in Malaysia about the persistence of conservative Islamic traditions in this modern, multiethnic democracy.

In its election manifesto, the opposition coalition that won power in May promised to outlaw child marriage.

Nuraini Che Nawi, the first wife of Mr. Che Abdul Karim, showing a photograph of her husband’s marriage to Ayu, his third wife.CreditLauren DeCicca for The New York Times

“This is a practice from many centuries ago and at this stage in Malaysia’s growth and development, child marriage is not acceptable,” said Charles Santiago, a lawmaker with the governing coalition.

But ever since outrage over Ayu’s case erupted on social media in Malaysia — after Mr. Che Abdul Karim’s second wife posted pictures on Facebook of the marriage ceremony with a sarcastic “happy wedding” message to him — critics say the new government, under the guise of religious freedom, has done too little to protect minors.

Malaysia’s deputy prime minister, who also serves as minister of women, family and community development, called the marriage an “alleged incident.” The minister, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, said last week: “It would be unjust to lynch someone on social media because of how we feel about the issue.”

Ms. Wan Azizah, who has previously expressed opposition to child marriage, declined to discuss Ayu’s case because it involved continuing investigations by several government agencies, including for the crime of sexual grooming.

Last year, Malaysia criminalized sexual grooming, in which an adult creates an emotional bond with a child for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

“The girl is a victim, no doubt about it,” said Latheefa Koya, a prominent human rights lawyer. “Why are we dillydallying in protecting a child? The lack of serious urgency about this case is disturbing,” she added.

Siti Noor Azila, the second wife of Mr. Che Abdul Karim, with her two daughters in her family’s home in Gua Musang. She said she and her husband’s first wife had told him, “It is us or that girl.”CreditLauren DeCicca for The New York Times

“As a Muslim, I am offended by the idea that we should not protect a child because of an assumption that this has something to do with Islam,” Ms. Latheefa said.

Ayu was taken to a hospital for a virginity test this month, but later the same day was reunited with her husband and has been with him often since, family members said.

“I love her,” Mr. Che Abdul Karim said by phone, stressing he would not “touch” his new wife until she was 16 years old.

For her part, Ayu said in a text message that she loved her husband, who has six children with his two other wives. She used a heart emoticon to describe him.

Constitutionally, Malaysia’s legal system is bifurcated. Non-Muslim Malaysians, mostly from the nation’s ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities, are bound by civil law. Under the law, unless special consent is given by a high-ranking state minister, Malaysia’s non-Muslims cannot get married until they are 18.

The country’s ethnic Malay Muslim majority, however, must hew to Islamic law. A Shariah court must grant permission for minors below the age of 16 to marry. If a Muslim receives approval from Shariah authorities, there is no minimum age for marriage.

Ayu’s family’s home in Gua Musang. Child marriages in Malaysia are sometimes driven by the poverty of the bride’s family.CreditLauren DeCicca for The New York Times

“In Islamic procedure, as long as a bride agrees, her parents agree and the girl has had her menstrual period, then a marriage is O.K.,” said Sayed Noordin, the imam at the Kuala Betis mosque that Mr. Che Abdul Karim attends.

“Che Karim is a good Muslim,” Mr. Sayed added. “He always comes for prayer, and he is a responsible man.”

But Mr. Che Abdul Karim did get in minor trouble for not following all the requirements for a child marriage. The Shariah Court in Kelantan this month fined him $450 for the infraction of marrying Ayu in neighboring Thailand without the court’s prior permission.

Malaysian child rights activists said that about 15,000 girls under 15 were in child marriages in 2010. Globally, Unicef estimates that there are about 650 million girls and women of various faiths who were wed before they turned 18.

But an effort to outlaw underage unions for all Malaysians amid the toughening of child sex crime legislation failed in Parliament. Arguing against the ban, Shabudin Yahaya, a legislator from what was then the governing party, said that a girl as young as 9 could be ready for marriage if she had gone through puberty.

“Their body is already akin to them being 18 years old,” Mr. Shabudin, a former Shariah court judge, said in a parliamentary session. “So physically and spiritually, it is not a barrier for the girl to marry.”

Ms. Nuraini, right, in her family’s restaurant, where Ayu’s mother worked. Ayu would often go there with her mother.CreditLauren DeCicca for The New York Times

Many child marriages in Malaysia are informal pairings that are not legally recognized by any court. But couples who do try to register their marriages find little resistance. A study by the Malaysia office of Unicef found that of 2,143 child marriage applications made to Shariah courts in seven Malaysian states from 2012 to 2016, 10 were refused.

In some instances, girls have ended up married to men charged with raping them. In 2015, a man from the eastern Malaysian state of Sarawak was charged with the statutory rape of a 14-year-old girl. But the case was dropped after he married her with permission from a Shariah court. Marital rape is not a crime in Malaysia.

Sometimes, Shariah courts accept underage unions to legitimize out-of-wedlock pregnancies, the Unicef report said. Other child marriages are driven by the poverty of the bride’s family.

In the case of Ayu, which is a shortened version of her full name to protect her identity, the income discrepancy was clear. Ayu is a Thai citizen whose father moved the family over the border to Gua Musang in Kelantan State to work as a rubber tapper. She grew up in a shabby, stilted wooden house with no running water.

Mr. Che Abdul Karim, by contrast, lives in a modern villa, his prized Mazda RX-8 parked in front. His first wife, Nuraini Che Nawi, runs a restaurant and grocery next door.

One of her employees was Ayu’s mother, Aminah Hitam. Because Ayu did not go to school, she often accompanied her mother to work.

Ms. Nuraini and her daughter, Norazila, center, at the restaurant.CreditLauren DeCicca for The New York Times

Kelantan is one of Malaysia’s poorest and most conservative states. An Islamic political party has governed the state for decades, urging Muslim women to wear head scarves in public and ordering Arabic to be displayed on signs.

Mohamad Amar Nik Abdullah, Kelantan’s deputy chief minister and vice president of the Malaysian Islamic Party, stressed that child marriage was legal in Islam and said the country had more pressing social issues to address.

He said the existence of homosexuals and single parents in Malaysia “should be a concern for our government and society.”

Liberal Malays have questioned whether child marriage is truly an Islamic tradition or simply an outdated cultural practice. They have challenged the notion that the Prophet Muhammad married one of his wives when she was 6, saying that she was, in fact, much older.

“We cannot use a historical error about the Prophet Muhammad to condone child marriage,” said Ms. Latheefa, the human rights lawyer. “That’s sickening.”

Muslim-majority countries like Morocco and Egypt have outlawed child marriage, although underage unions remain common there.

The entrance to Gua Musang. The town is in Kelantan, one of Malaysia’s poorest and most conservative states.CreditLauren DeCicca for The New York Times

This month, Malaysia’s Islamic affairs minister, Mujahid Yusof Rawa, said that his ministry had begun efforts to prohibit child marriage for Muslims, even as he cautioned that putting such a ban into effect would take time.

Meanwhile, Mr. Che Abdul Karim’s first two wives have banded together.

“We have said to him, it is us or that girl,” said Siti Noor Azila, Mr. Che Abdul Karim’s second wife. “We said, you choose. You cannot have all three of us.”

Malaysia follows general Islamic custom by allowing Muslim men up to four wives.

Ms. Siti Noor said her husband never gave her enough money to care for their four children, including one with spina bifida. She works as a baker to pay her bills.

“He is so stingy with us, but he has enough money to get married to Ayu and take her on holiday,” Ms. Siti Noor said, referring to a trip to a hill retreat that Mr. Che Abdul Karim posted about on social media. Ayu, she said, was the only one of the wives allowed to ride in their husband’s Mazda sports car.

As Ms. Siti Noor spoke, two toddlers screamed for space in her lap. She looked exhausted.

“Their father never takes care of them,” she said. “He doesn’t even like children.”

Ms. Siti Noor corrected herself. “Except one,” she said. “That Ayu.”

Sharon Tan contributed reporting from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A1 of the New York edition with the headline: Wed at 11: Child Bride Ignites Debate in Malaysia. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/29/world/asia/malaysia-child-marriage.html

‘Cultural, religious norms’ used as ground for early marriage: Minister

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Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Yohana Susana Yembise said it was difficult to combat early marriage in Indonesia because “cultural and religious values and norms” had been used as a basis for the practice.

“Child marriage has been such an ongoing, controversial issue. It has been practiced on the grounds of cultural and religious values and norms here in Indonesia,” Yembise said during an interview with The Jakarta Post recently.

Minister Yembise highlighted the problem during the commemoration of National Children’s Day on July 23. “I wish to extend a happy Children’s Day to the future of Indonesia. Save the children, save the future of our nation. Protecting them from early marriage is one of our efforts,” she said.

In a village in Boyolali, Central Java, for example, getting married before 18 is the norm. Parents there encourage their daughters to marry quickly to avoid zina (adultery and premarital sex). They also believe that when a girl is 17 but not yet married, she is an “old virgin”.

UNICEF and the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) published a report in 2016, which showed that the prevalence of early marriage stood at 22.82 percent in 2015, slightly down from 24.17 percent in 2013.

The number shows that one in five women aged between 20 and 24 said they had been married at least once before they reached 18 years old. The report showed that many of them had married when they were 16 or 17.

In 2015, the prevalence of women marrying before 16 was 3.54 percent, and the prevalence decreased to 1.12 percent when it comes to marrying before 15.

The prevalence is also higher in rural areas, with 27.11 percent, compared to 17.09 percent in urban areas, according to data in 2015.

In ASEAN, Indonesia ranks fifth in terms of child marriage prevalence, after Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and the Philippines. However, due to its large population, Indonesia has the highest burden of child marriage in the region.

“The government, together, with civil society groups, international agencies, local and international NGOs [non-governmental agencies] have been struggling for years to fight to end child marriage as it strongly links to the Indonesian government’s strong commitment to protect children’s rights,” the minister said.

The United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) state that child marriage is a violation of children’s rights. Goal five, point three of SDGs requires nations to eliminate all harmful practices of early and forced marriage.

Research has shown that early marriage contributes to maternal mortality rates.

Emilie Minnick, child protection and gender specialist at UNICEF Indonesia, said there were many interrelated factors that underlie the practice of child marriage in Indonesia. Analysis of data conducted by the BPS indicated that poverty, poor education and social norms are three key factors behind the high numbers of girls marrying before 18.

“However, the causes may vary from place to place as social norms, poverty levels and access to education differ,” Minnick said.

Child marriage not only harms the girls, their families and the community, but also has a significant cost on the economy and the development potential of Indonesia, with 1.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) being lost due to child marriage, she added.

Ending child marriage, she said, would help the nation achieve at least eight other development goals, including education, poverty and health goals.

Minister Yembise said the government had launched a campaign last year called “Stop Child Marriage”. The aim of the program was to demonstrate Indonesia’s commitment toward the Convention on the Rights of the Child, she said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2018/07/24/cultural-religious-norms-used-as-ground-for-early-marriage-minister.html

Poverty Rate Drops to Single Digit, Inequality Declines

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Jakarta. Indonesia’s poverty rate declined to a single digit  in March — for the first time in the country’s history — thanks to the government’s social assistance programs, the Central Statistics Agency, or BPS, reveled on Monday (16/07).

A decline in poverty has been recorded for two decades, since the 1997 monetary crisis, when the poverty rate reached 23.43 percent.

BPS data shows that 25.95 million people, or 9.82 percent of the population, live below the poverty line of less than Rp 401,220 ($29) a month — the minimum amount allowing a diet of 2,100 calories a day.

Last year, 27.72 million people (10.64 percent of the population) were under the poverty line.

“In March 2018, for the first time Indonesia achieved a single digit poverty rate … It is due to an increase in the rice distribution program [Rastra] and non-cash food assistance in the first quarter of 2018, which is right on schedule,” BPS head Suhariyanto told reporters.

According to him, the implementation of the program was nearly 100 percent, with 99.65 percent in January, 99.66 percent in February and 99.62 percent in March.

The government’s social assistance, which was 87.6 percent higher in the first quarter of 2018 than in last year’s first quarter, also played a big role in reducing poverty. In the first quarter of 2017, social assistance grew only 3.39 percent.

Under its non-cash food assistance program, the Ministry of Social Affairs wants to distribute rice to 5.2 million families by the end of July. Out of 15.5 million families in need of food aid, 4.2 million have already received it.

The government this year increased the ministry’s aid budget to Rp 34 trillion, from only Rp 17.3 trillion last year.

Indonesia’s poor live mostly in the countryside — 15.81 million people — especially in Java (13.34 million people).

The highest poverty rate, however, is recorded in eastern Indonesia, particularly in Maluku and Papua (21.20 percent), followed by Bali and Nusa Tenggara (14.02 percent), Sulawesi (10.64 percent) and Sumatra (10.39 percent).

Infrastructure development in the region is expected to help reduce poverty, Suhariyanto said.

Inequality Also Declines

BPS data shows that the level of income inequality in Indonesia, measured by the Gini coefficient, fell slightly to 0.389 in March from 0.393 in the same period last year.

In urban areas the coefficient decreased to 0.401 from 0.404, while in rural areas it rose to 0.324 from 0.320.

The most equal income distribution is recorded in Bangka Belitung, North Kalimantan and North Sumatra, the least equal in Yogyakarta, Southeast Sulawesi and West Java.

According to the government’s medium-term development plan, the poverty rate next year is expected to decrease to between 7 percent and to 8 percent, while the Gini coefficient to 0.36.

Source: http://jakartaglobe.id/business/poverty-rate-drops-single-digit-inequality-declines/

Book Launching and the International Seminar on the Reformation of Family Law in Moslem Countries

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Rumah Kita Bersama (Rumah KitaB), in collaboration with LIPI and with support from the OSLO Coalition Norwegia, proudly presents an International Seminar to welcome the launching of the new book entitled “REFORMATION OF THE ISLAMIC FAMILY LAW: A Struggle for Upholding Gender Justice in Moslem Countries.” The original version of the book is written in English, while the translation into Indonesian is done by LKiS Yogyakarta. The book presents the result of several studies undertaken in various moslem-majority countries, one of them is Indonesia, which took an in-depth look into their struggle in reforming the family law. This event will be held in Gedung Widya Graha LIPI, 6th Floor, Room 6.07, Jakarta, on Wednesday, 11  July 2018, 09.00 – 13.00 WIB.

 

The international seminar will present experts on the family law and gender from the international fora. They are: Prof. Dr. Muhammad Khalid Masud from Pakistan; Dr. Aicha El-Hajjami from Marroco; and Dr. Lena Larsen from Norwegia. From the national stage, the event will invite Prof. Dr Nina Nurmila from UIN Bandung; Dr. Faqihuddin A. Kodir from Fahmina Institute; Kyai Ulil Abshar Abdalla, MA; and Lies Marcoes, MA. The moderator of the seminar will be assumed by Dr. Widjajanti M. Santoso (a researcher on gender from P2KK LIPI).

 

“Moslem-majority countries have a strong interest in reforming family law because that’s where the justice for women begins”. Ziba Mir Hosseini, the editor and the leader of the family law reform research project explains. “This is because the family law is where the rights of the (moslem) women in the domestic space are determined, and thus it will further shape and influence their social and political roles in the public sphere”.

 

Lies Marcoes, Director of Rumah Kita Bersama, asserts that gender analysis tool will be very critical in determining whether or not the rights for justice for women have been fulfilled in the current context where the social relationships that are not always equal. Further according to Lies, “More democratic countries have a key trait of harboring and demonstrating more equal relationships between men and women in the family. However, it is a long, hard road to get to that point given the fact that the relations occurring in the family are largely perceived as part of the worshiping regime itself, which makes people become very resistant to the idea of changing it. On this basis, a reform in the family law is imperative in ensuring justice for women.

 

Dr. Lena Larsen from the OSLO Coalition affirms that, “What happens with the family law reform in Indonesia brings up hope and solidify good practices that also occur in other (Islamic) countries. It can also be a model for those countries. This success owes to the fact that not only Indonesia is a country that successfully harmonizes the law between Western law, Islamic law and customary law into a national law, but also because Indonesia is a leading country that has successfully developed gender analysis and translated it into a series of formal laws. PERMA no 3/2017 on the need for gender sensitivity in the legal and court process is one of the key examples. Dr. Larsen also appreciates the fatwa issued by the Indonesian Women’s Ulama Congress (KUPI), which calls on the state’s obligation to prevent child marriage, eliminate any forms of violence against women, and prevent environmental damage which exacerbates the two earlier issues.”

 

During the seminar the participants will be facilitated to look at more depth into the reform initiatives undertaken in various moslem-majority countries. The efforts usually takes two major forms: the adoption of international convention and the interpretation of the Islamic texts serving as the source of the family law in concern. The learning from other countries in how they try to change the family law is highly relevant to Indonesia’s interest because the Islamic family law has served as the main source of many national laws of the country and that Indonesia has been struggling on this arena since post-reform era in the early 2000s in the bigger goal to fulfill the rights of justice for its citizen indiscriminately.

 

The book in concern comprises of 12 chapters and written by Ziba Mir-Hosseini, Kari Vogt, Lena Larsen and Christian Moe. In the Indonesian version, the book presents annotation from Dr. Nina Nurmila. In the book we will find critical references written by Ziba Mir-Hosseini, Mukki Al-Sharmani, Marwa Sharafeldin, Aicha el Hajjami, Zainah Anwar, Muhammad Khalid Masud, Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd, Faqihuddin Abdul Kodir, Hassan Yousefi Eshkewari, Mohsen Kadivar, and Anver M. Emon. From Indonesia, there are essays written by Dr. Faqihuddin Abdul Kodir from Fahmina entitled “Gender Equality and Muhammad’s Hadits in the re-interpretation of the Mahram and Qiwama concepts”.

 

The book is a result of a knowledge project from the University of Oslo in that took form in a research. The findings and analysis of the research was later compiled and written as a book entitled “Reformation of the Islamic Family Law: A Struggle for Upholding Gender Justice in Moslem Countries.“ The Indonesian version of the book is done by LKiS Yogyakarta and is published in 2017.

Indonesian President Jokowi to Ban Child Marriage

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Pending Presidential Decree Will Raise Minimum Marriage Age

 

When celebrating R.A. Kartini, a Javanese feminist (1879-1904) who wrote about women’s rights in the early 20th century, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo invited a number of women rights’ defenders in Jakarta to talk about women’s empowerment.

Naila Rizqi Zakiah of the Community Legal Aid Institute, took the opportunity to ask Jokowi to end child marriage in Indonesia. Zakiah made a reference to a recent viral social media discussion about a 14-year-old Indonesian girl who had wanted to register her marriage to her 15-year-old boyfriend.

Jokowi told Zakiah that he was committed to ending child marriage. He said two ministries, the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Cultural Affairs and the Ministry of Women Empowerment and Child Protection, are now preparing a presidential decree to amend the 1974 Marriage Law.

It was a bold statement in a country in which child marriage is widespread. According to UNICEF, 14 percent of girls in Indonesia are married before age 18, and one percent marry before age 15. The 1974 Marriage Law permits women and men to marry at 21 but allows girls to marry at 16 and men to marry at 19 with parental permission. Parents can also ask religious courts or local officials to authorize marriages of girls even earlier, with no minimum age in such cases. UNICEF reported that more than 90 percent of these exemption requests are accepted.

Globally, there is overwhelming evidence child marriage has devastating consequences. Married children often leave school, sinking them into poverty. Married girls often have early – and closely spaced – pregnancies, which carries serious health risks, including death for both the girls and their babies. They are also more likely to experience domestic violence.

In June 2015, Indonesia’s Constitutional Court rejected a petition to end child marriage by an 8-to-1 vote. It was a setback, but the ruling also energized many to push for the end of child marriage. Yohana Yembise, the Minister of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection, frequently spoke out against the court’s ruling. She also urged the parliament to amend the Marriage Law.

Indonesia is a party to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child and has obligations to end child marriage. Jokowi should follow through on his commitment without delay.

Source: https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/04/23/indonesian-president-jokowi-ban-child-marriage

Profile of the BERDAYA Program’s Youth Activist: YUYUN KHAIRUN NISA

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Her name is Yuyun Khairun Nisa. To those who know her, she is simply called Yuyun. Yuyun was one of the participants of the training for youth organized by the BERDAYA Program in Cirebon on the theme of “Strengthening Youth’s Capacity for Child Marriage Prevention” in late May 2018. During the event, Yuyun proved her commitment and enthusiasm in the theme discussed and, together with her peers, was declared to become one of the youth activists and pioneers who will speak against child marriage practices within their communities.

Yuyun was born 19 years ago in Indramayu, West Java, as the youngest child in the family. After completing high school in 2017, she had an aspiration to continue her education to college to undertake studies on International Relations. However, due to her family’s economic condition, Yuyun decided to postpone the plan and has instead enrolled in an Islamic Boarding School (pesantren) in Babakan, Ciwaringin, Cirebon called Pondok Pesantren Bapenpori Al-Istiqomah. In her current school she is actively involved in both learning and teaching activities with other members of the school, whilst still maintaining her other activity, which is taking an English course.

Yuyun provides a good example of how youth can contribute actively and significantly in the initiatives for combating child marriage. She is among the youth pioneers and activists who manage to make their voices heard in the discourse. One such occasion was the commemoration of International Woman’s Day (IWD) in Jakarta in early March 2018, which was organized by the AKSI Network and Girls Not Brides with support from UNICEF and the Netherlands Embassy for Indonesia. In the event, which was witnessed by Princess Mabel van Oranje, Yuyun shared outspokenly with the audience about her wishes to be an Ambassador who will play a key role in ending and preventing child marriage. “I am a pesantren student. One day I want to become an Ambassador of Indonesia who will be able to part take in the global efforts to tackle the issue of child marriage through diplomatic work,” Yuyun said in front of hundreds of other teenagers, from whom she received warm applause.

Yuyun’s first encounter with the issue of child marriage took place a long time ago. When she was still at elementary school, she witnessed one of her female friends being married right after completing school. Yuyun recalled it as a heartbreaking moment.

When she was in junior high school, a similar occurrence took place. One of her female classmates was forced into marriage in the dawn of her graduation. And once again the experience was repeated when Yuyun was in high school, when one of her friends was ushered into marriage by her parents and family. Yuyun observed that all of the incidents were made possible by one obvious factor: the obedience of her friends to their parents. “All of my friends are afraid of their parents. They are afraid of being disobedient, afraid of being called ungrateful children. We as girls are always taught to be good girls and to always follow what our parents tell us to do. Therefore, it is very hard for us to say no when our parents tell us, or force us, into marriage. The truth is, none of them, and none of us, wanted to be married when we are still in school. We still want to study,” Yuyun further explained.

Yuyun participated in sharing session at the IWD, Erasmus Huis, Dutch Embassy, AKSI- UNICEF, Jakarta 2018

These memories surged into her mind when in late February 2018 her pesantren’s headmaster, Ibu Nyai, appointed her as one of the school’s representatives in the IWD commemoration event in Jakarta. With all of her past encounters with the practice of child marriage, without hesitation Yuyun responded positively to the offer and went all in to the new experience.

Although the event was only one day long, the activity has confirmed Yuyun’s intention and will to dive fully into the issue in the hope of being able to do something about it. Having learned new knowledge and skills from the event, she was more determined than ever to give and dedicate herself in the campaign and other activities aiming at preventing and ending child marriage practices, especially those that take place in her surrounding and neighborhood. Her determination was further supported and facilitated to manifest by the BERDAYA Program when it invited her to join one of its trainings on child marriage prevention in May this year. In this training, Yuyun learnt a lot more new knowledge and skills that are useful to enhance her already growing capacities.

While the IWD commemoration was her mind-opening gate that broadened her perspective on the issue and affirmed her heart’s calling to dedicate herself to the theme, the BERDAYA Program’s training has served as a significant building block and a critical stepping stone that continued to build, develop and solidify her capacities on the theme and provides her with further support and a platform to maintain her activism as a staunch advocate of child marriage prevention in her surroundings and beyond. One of the issues that Yuyun found concerning related to child marriage is girls’ obedience to their parents. This certainly is something that resonates with her past experiences, but this issue itself remains a relevant issue up to today. One of the key factors that has successfully sustained this problem is religious teachings. “We live in a religious environment where children’s obedience to their parents, especially for girls, is very strongly implanted and instilled. It is ingrained in our lives.

As much as I agree with its intent and purpose, I still think that this matter, the obedience to parents (birrul walidain), should not be put into practice in all arenas, especially when it proves to bring more suffering than benefit, as in the case help because he thinks it’s a wife’s/girl’s duty. Things will be even more difficult if the husband is also still a teenager, as he also does not yet have a stable and sufficient income and resources for his family.”

Yuyun: leads the role play on Negotiation to stop child marriage, BERDAYA program, Cirebon, June 2018

From her training with BERDAYA, not only is Yuyun able to identify and lay out in detail the causal factors of child marriage, she is also now able to generate ideas to help prevent the practice. For the youth or teenagers, the most effective way to prevent them from entering this worrisome practice is by providing them with information and knowledge about self-esteem and self-empowerment, personal development, character building, and healthy relationships. All of this is aimed at equipping the youth so that they can grow their potential and can still be popular amongst their friends in a healthy and non-harmful way: a way that will not inflict self-pain or lead to self-destruction. Included in this is a skill in negotiation. According to Yuyun, negotiation skill is important for youth because it can help them negotiate with their parents when they ask or tell them to marry before they are ready. This skill is one of the topics taught in the BERDAYA training, and Yuyun sees it as a very helpful subject that she and others can take out and apply in their everyday life. With this new knowledge and skill, they now know how to discuss and negotiate with parents in a respectful yet more effective manner and without fear of being perceived as disobedient to their parents.

When it comes to economic factors, Yuyun finds it hard to understand why many parents would see marrying off their daughters as the solution. According to her, if economic or financial problem is the reason why parents decide to pull their daughters out of school and thus expose them to early marriage, there are actually other ways that may help to solve the problem other than getting into a marriage. One such way is enrolling the girls into a pesantren (Islamic boarding school). Many pesantren offer their education services for free. Therefore, parents using the family’s economic situation as the reason for stopping their girls’ education is irrelevant here. By studying in pesantren, not only can the parents save money, it can also “save” the girls from entering marriage, as the study at a pesantren can take several years, which will take the girls through to their early adolescence, and the learning system and materials will prepare them to become stronger, more mature and more independent girls. Because of this, Yuyun thinks that it is imperative to raise parents’ awareness about the alternative ways to solve the family’s economic problems in a way that will not jeopardize their girls’ future, as well as to increase parents’ knowledge about the danger and harm of child marriage practices.

Yuyun presented the result of discussion about the key actors of Child Marriage:
BERDAYA program Rumah Kitab, Cirebon, June 2018.

As an active member of her community, Yuyun also suggests that the formal and non-formal leaders, such as community leaders, kampong leaders, religious leaders, etc., should be more sensitive and open-minded towards the aspirations of the youth or teenagers. One of the best ways to do so is by being willing to listen to them and engage in genuine dialogues with them, especially when it comes to their goals, aspirations, and future wishes. Imposing child marriage on them will only kill the dreams and potentials of these young people. [YD]

 

BERDAYA PROGRAM FOR THE YOUTH

“An Ever Lucrative Investment”

Yuyun’s story above is a testament of how important and critical capacity development for the youth can be. It is an investment that will pay off greatly and will go a long way into the future. From Yuyun’s experience, we learnt that because of this investment, a girl has successfully and beautifully transformed from a passive and disengaged subject in her community into an active advocate and relentless activist who speaks against child marriage practices in her locality and beyond.

There are many forms of capacity development for youth: regular discussions, workshop, training, internship, direct involvement in campaign and other advocacy activities, are among them. In  Yuyun’s case, it only took two quick events to unleash the many potentials in her: one was a one-day IWD commemoration event and the second a three-day training from the BERDAYA Program. Albeit only receiving relatively a small amount of investment in the form of capacity development on the child marriage theme, Yuyun has developed and thrived significantly in that she has now become one of the pioneers in her community and a leader of her peers in the discussion on prevention of child marriage. One can only imagine: if a one-day event and a three-day activity can so much and have so much positive impact in the life of a girl, what can we as a community gain if we continuously and systematically put our effort, energy, focus and resources into making an even greater investment in building and enhancing the capacities of hundreds and thousands of our girls out there? I feel a shiver – a positive one – just trying to think about it. It must be a door for endless, positive and beautiful possibilities….

Yuyun is one of the youth activists supported by the BERDAYA program in its effort to contribute in the broader initiatives of child marriage prevention in Indonesia. From her, we learnt again and again that investing in girls, especially in their education and capacity strengthening, is always promising, powerful and strategic. In fact, it forms one of the fundamental building blocks in our roadmap to achieving each and all development goals and outcomes. The investment put into the girls will always go a long way and is the broadest way possible, as they will always share everything that they have gained and achieved with all of their circles, and they will do it throughout their life, passing on the knowledge to their offspring. Knowing this truth, it is an obligation for us to not only continue our investment, but also to enhance, widen and step it up in every way possible. Because, from what we learn from Yuyun and many other girls having similar experiences, capacity development for girls is a lucrative investment that will never get old. [Yooke Damopolii]

Launching Buku dan Seminar Internasional

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