Indonesia’s parliament has revised the country’s marriage law to lift the minimum age at which women can marry by three years to 19. (Photo: AFP/VNA) Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesia’s parliament has revised the country’s marriage law to lift the minimum age at which women can marry by three years to 19, a move welcomed by campaigners as a step towards curbing child marriage in the world’s biggest Muslim-majority country.
All factions in parliament agreed upon the revision at a plenary session on September 16.
Indonesia is among the 10 countries in the world with the highest number of child brides, according to campaign group Girls Not Brides. Meanwhile, a report by Indonesia’s Statistics Agency and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) showed that one in four girls in the country is married before they turn 18.
Indonesia previously allowed girls of 16 to get married or younger, with no minimum age, if their parents requested it.
Indonesia’s Constitutional Court ruled in December 2018 that it was discriminatory to have a lower marriage age for women than for men, who could legally marry at 19.
Child marriage in Indonesia has been blamed for causing maternal and infant deaths, as well as encouraging child labour, Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Yohana Yembise said./.
VNA
