JAKARTA - The Commission for the Protection of Indonesian Children (KPAI) has expressed concerns about the high number of marriages involving underage children. According to the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) some one third of all marriages taking place in Indonesia each year involve at least one person that is under the age of 18.
The province of East Java reported an even higher figure than average with 39 percent. "What gets reported by the media is just the tip of the iceberg," said the head of the commission, Hadi Supeno. "In most cases early marriage is not a voluntary choice. The young people have no other option as poverty has denied them access to schools or vocational institutions," Hadi said.
Many parents think that marriage will change the situation they find themselves in. Vice-president of the Indonesian Council of Islamic Scholars (MUI), Aisyah Aminy, said that that people around the teenagers, including religious figures and people from their own community, encourage marriages under the age of 18. "Those people encourage early marriage by saying that it is not against religious norms and that it will prevent adultery," she said.
There are no reactions on this blog entry yet. Be the first one to give a reaction here!
Log in to write a reaction
You are not logged in to the website. You have to be logged in to write a reaction on this blog entry.
· If you already have an account, please login. · If you have lost your password, please retrieve it. · If you don't have an account yet, you can create one.
ABOUT THIS ENTRY
Add this blog entry to your email, your own blog, MySpace, Facebook, or whatsoever via AddThis:
Login if you want to receive emails for reactions on this blog entry. You will receive an update as soon as a reaction on this blog entry is posted.