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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

Indonesia urged to end discriminatory virginity test for female security force applicants

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New York based rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to order the chiefs of the National Police and Indonesian Military (TNI) to immediately ban virginity testing for female applicants, saying the practice is a form of gender based violence.

The decades old practice that includes a “two-finger” test to determine whether a female applicant’s hymen is intact was degrading and discriminatory, as well as harming women’s equal access to job opportunities, HRW women’s rights advocacy director Nisha Varia said.

“The Indonesian government’s continuing tolerance for abusive virginity tests by the security forces reflects an appalling lack of political will to protect the rights of Indonesian women,” Varia said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Indonesian women who seek to serve their country by joining the security forces shouldn’t have to subject themselves to an abusive and discriminatory virginity test,” she said.

Despite criticism from human rights campaigners, security forces continue to impose the test, classified as psychological examinations, on the grounds that the virginity test was for “mental health and morality reasons”, senior police and military officers told HRW.

All females who took part in the test told HRW that the experience of having doctors inserting two fingers into their vagina to check the level of vaginal laxity was traumatic, painful and embarrassing.

World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines issued in 2014 stated that virginity testing has no scientific validity. The discriminatory practice has also been internationally recognized as a violation of human rights.

The rights group further urged Jokowi to prohibit virginity tests by the Police and TNI, and establish an independent monitoring mechanism to ensure the two institutions comply.

By ending the practice, the Indonesian government would abide by its international human rights obligations as well as honor the goals of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, which falls on Nov. 25, HRW said.

“The Indonesian police and military cannot effectively protect all Indonesians, women and men, so long as a mindset of discrimination permeates their ranks,” Varia added. (afr/dmr)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/11/23/indonesia-urged-to-end-discriminatory-virginity-test-for-female-security-force-applicants.html