The Rise of Early Marriage in Indonesia

Early marriage is a marriage carried out by couples who are still categorized as children or teenagers under the age of 19 years or under. According to Republic of Indonesia Law number 1 of 1974 article 7 paragraph 1 states that marriage is only permitted if the man has reached the age of 19 years and the woman has reached the age of 16 years. If you are still under age, it is called early marriage. 

According to article 81 paragraph 2 of Law number 23 of 2002, a child is someone who is not yet 18 years old and is categorized as a child, including children who are still in the womb. If a marriage takes place, it is expressly said to be an underage marriage. Underage marriages that have not yet reached the marriageable age limit are essentially called young or child marriages.

There are so many factors that influence the occurrence of early marriage, both from individual factors, family or the surrounding environment. In individual factors, the physical and mental development of the child is the cause. The faster this development is experienced, the faster the marriage will take place so that early marriage is moved. 

Low education also affects the sustainability of early marriage, due to a lack of insight or learning about marriage and the boundaries between women and men. In family factors, socio-economic factors are also the cause of early marriage. As a result of the economic burden experienced in the family, the parents took the initiative to marry off their children in order to benefit because their burdens of life were gone. 

Education within the family is also important, as parents it is imperative to provide an understanding of family life. Environmental factors are also very dangerous if we can't sort them out properly, one of which is in the friendship environment, choosing friends is very important, you can be friends with bad kids, but don't follow their actions. We must also limit friendships between men and women.

The impact resulting from early marriage is also no joke. Biologically, the reproductive organs of children have not reached maturity so they are not ready to have sexual intercourse, especially if they are pregnant and give birth. Infections and tears in the birth canal can harm reproductive organs and life. Psychologically, children don't know much about sexual relations. So it can cause trauma to the child's soul and may be difficult to heal. Economically, early marriage makes it difficult to increase family income, resulting in poverty which leads to divorce.

According to the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), in discussing Islamic jurisprudence there is no explicit provision regarding the age limit for marriage. 

"And marry those who are still single among you, and also those who are worthy (to marry) of your male and female servants. If they are poor, Allah will empower them with His grace. And Allah is All-Encompassing (His gifts), All-Knowing." (QS. An-Nur/24:32)

In Islam, the teaching of marriage is obligatory for people who are ready in all aspects. The concept of early marriage is mostly misused as a solution, where instead of having a forbidden relationship and approaching adultery, namely dating, early marriage is the solution. There are many things we can do to address early marriage, including empowering teenagers who are productive and must complete their education, providing appropriate sex education, increasing public awareness of the risks of early marriage, and improving the quality of children so that children are able to act decisively by refusing marriage if not old enough. 

Poverty and welfare rates will continue to increase if early marriage is passed down from generation to generation. Children resulting from early marriage will face the same impacts and suffering, and in the end will cause psychological pressure that may be worse than what their parents previously experienced. Therefore, let's prevent early marriage from an early age.