INDONESIA

The price paid by a child bride

 

“My age is 17 years old and I’m supposed to sit in Grade 2 in Junior High School. Unfortunately, I no longer attend school now.” The sadness and regret at not being able to go to school is evident from the words of Mawaddah, a Muslim girl belonging to the Madura tribe in Indonesia. Even at a young age, Mawaddah knew that she wanted to study to become a doctor.

She grew up in a remote village on Madura Island, East Java province. It is 35 kilometers away from the nearest city, travelling through rough and rugged roads. The nearest public health facility (Puskesmas) is around three kilometers away. “Although there are staff in Puskesmas, there are no doctors. There is no proper equipment to treat people who are ill,” she wrote.

The lack of medical facilities contributes to poor understanding of women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). Customary practices also undermine these rights. Young girls like Mawaddah receive no medical advice when they experience menstrual pain. Women give birth only with the assistance of a shaman[1].

Mawaddah was still in Junior High School when her mother betrothed her to a 16-year-old boy. She got married at the age of 15. “My mother said that our marriage was to maintain good relations between our families. I was not sad but I was not too happy. I could only let go, because it has already become a tradition to marry off children. Girls who are still unmarried at the age of 17 will be deemed not ‘sold,’ and their parents will be ashamed,” she wrote.

The prevalence of child marriage in Indonesia is among the highest. According to a 2015 study by UNICEF, one out of four Indonesian girls married before they were 18 years old. Child marriage is found to be 1.5 times higher in rural areas than in urban areas and twice more prevalent in low-income families. Girls marrying before the age of 18 are also six times less likely to complete their secondary education.

After getting married, Mawaddah and her husband stayed in her parents’ house. But the marriage was full of household strife. One day, her husband left without any explanation. “If anyone wants to marry you, accept,” he said, before leaving their home. The marriage lasted only 30 days.

 

Vietnam

  • Centre for Creative Initiatives in Health and Population (CCIHP)

Indonesia

  • Aliansi Satu Visi (ASV);
  • CEDAW Working Group;
  • Hollaback! Jakarta;
  • Institut Kapal Perempuan;
  • Kalyanamitra;
  • Komnas Perempuan;
  • Remaja Independen Papua/Independent Youth
    Forum Papua (FRIP/IYFP);
  • Perkumpulan Keluarga Berencana Indonesia (PKBI);
  • Perkumpulan Lintas Feminis Jakarta;
  • Perkumpulan Pamflet Generasi;
  • RUTGERS Indonesia;
  • Sanggar SWARA;
  • Women on Web;
  • Yayasan Kesehatan Perempuan (YKP); 
  • YIFOS Indonesia

Maldives

  • Hope for Women
  • Society for Health Education (SHE)
Indonesia

INDONESIA

The price paid by a child bride

 

“My age is 17 years old and I’m supposed to sit in Grade 2 in Junior High School. Unfortunately, I no longer attend school now.” The sadness and regret at not being able to go to school is evident from the words of Mawaddah, a Muslim girl belonging to the Madura tribe in Indonesia. Even at a young age, Mawaddah knew that she wanted to study to become a doctor.

She grew up in a remote village on Madura Island, East Java province. It is 35 kilometers away from the nearest city, travelling through rough and rugged roads. The nearest public health facility (Puskesmas) is around three kilometers away. “Although there are staff in Puskesmas, there are no doctors. There is no proper equipment to treat people who are ill,” she wrote.

The lack of medical facilities contributes to poor understanding of women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). Customary practices also undermine these rights. Young girls like Mawaddah receive no medical advice when they experience menstrual pain. Women give birth only with the assistance of a shaman[1].

Mawaddah was still in Junior High School when her mother betrothed her to a 16-year-old boy. She got married at the age of 15. “My mother said that our marriage was to maintain good relations between our families. I was not sad but I was not too happy. I could only let go, because it has already become a tradition to marry off children. Girls who are still unmarried at the age of 17 will be deemed not ‘sold,’ and their parents will be ashamed,” she wrote.

The prevalence of child marriage in Indonesia is among the highest. According to a 2015 study by UNICEF, one out of four Indonesian girls married before they were 18 years old. Child marriage is found to be 1.5 times higher in rural areas than in urban areas and twice more prevalent in low-income families. Girls marrying before the age of 18 are also six times less likely to complete their secondary education.

After getting married, Mawaddah and her husband stayed in her parents’ house. But the marriage was full of household strife. One day, her husband left without any explanation. “If anyone wants to marry you, accept,” he said, before leaving their home. The marriage lasted only 30 days.

 

Morocco

  • Association Marocaine de Planification Familiale (AMPF),
  • Morocco Family Planning Association

India

  • CommonHealth;
  • Love Matters India;
  • Pravah;
  • Rural Women’s Social Education Centre (RUWSEC);
  • SAHAYOG;
  • Sahaj;
  • Sahiyo;
  • SAMA – Resource Group for Women and Health;
  • WeSpeakOut;
  • The YP Foundation (TYPF)

Lao PDR

  • Lao Women’s Union;
  • The Faculty of Postgraduate Studies at the University of Health
    Sciences (UHS)

Sri Lanka

  • Bakamoono;
  • Women and Media Collective (WMC),
  • Youth Advocacy Network – Sri Lanka (YANSL)

Malaysia

  • Federation of Reproductive Health Associations of Malaysia (FRHAM);
  • Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG);
  • Justice for Sisters (JFS);
  • Reproductive Health Association of
    Kelantan (ReHAK);
  • Reproductive Rights Advocacy Alliance Malaysia (RRAAM);
  • Sisters in Islam (SIS)

Maldives

  • Hope for Women;
  • Society for Health Education (SHE)

Myanmar

  • Colourful Girls Organization;
  • Green Lotus Myanmar

Nepal

  • Beyond Beijing Committee (BBC);
  • Blind Youth Association of Nepal;
  • Blue Diamond Society (BDS);
  • Nepalese Youth for Climate Action (NYCA);
  • Visible Impact;
  • Women’s Rehabilitation Centre (WOREC);
  • YPEER Nepal;
  • YUWA

Pakistan

  • Aahung, Centre for Social Policy Development (CSPD);
  • Forum for Dignity Initiative (FDI);
  • Gravity Development Organization; Green Circle Organization;
  • Indus Resources Center (IRC);
  • Idara-e-Taleem-O-Aaghai (ITA);
  • Rehnuma – Family Planning Association Pakistan;
  • Shelter
    Participatory Organisation;
  • Shirkat Gah;
  • The Enlight Lab

Philippines

  • Democratic Socalist Women of the Philippines (DSWP);
  • Galang;
  • Healthcare Without Harm;
  • Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities;
  • Likhaan Centre for Women’s Health;
  • Nisa UI Haqq Fi Bangsamoro;
  • PATH Foundation Inc. (PFPI);
  • Women’s Global Network for
    Reproductive Rights (WGNRR)

Singapore

  • End Female Genital Cutting Singapore
  • Reproductive Rights (WGNRR)

Mongolia

  • MONFEMNET National Network