Religious Court Initiates Joint Effort to Prevent Child Marriage

TheIndonesia.id - Bogor Religious Court has initiated a joint effort with the government of Bogor municipality and Bogor Ministry of Religious Affairs office to lower the number of marriage dispensation in an attempt to prevent child marriage.

Head of class IA Bogor Religious Court Nasrul said the effort to reduce marriages that involve children under the age of 19 was based on the many numbers of marriage dispensation requests submitted after Law No. 16/2019 on Marriage was passed. The Law stipulates that the minimum age for marriage is 19 for both women and men.

“Marriage dispensation can be interpreted as child marriage, so [this step] is to prevent marriage before 19,” Nasrul said on Sunday, August 14, as reported by Antara.

Prior to the law, the minimum marriage age in Indonesia was 16 for women and 19 for men, and since the revision was passed, requests related to marriage dispensation (which will allow marriage between people who are not yet 19) have been increasing.

Such application can only be submitted after both set of parents reach an agreement on the matter.

Currently, Nasrul said, there were 50 marriage dispensation cases in the city of Bogor.

Through the team effort, the Religious Court expects to reach and educate more people on the importance of following the minimum marriage age, so authorities can reduce the number of marriage dispensation application.

Aside from education, the collaboration also includes other activities like health assessments in public health facilities (puskemas) and counseling sessions for teenagers to offer comprehension and understanding about the rules and consequences of child marriage.

“If [some people] continue to ask for marriage dispensation, we will be looking at the reason; if it is emergency, we will grant it,” Nasrul explained.