Indonesia recognizes need to protect girls from child marriage

Indonesia’s Parliament has taken an important step forward to protect girls with the recent revision to the country’s marriage law, raising the minimum age for girls to marry from 16 to 19 this week.

This was an unanimous decision by the country’s legislators, according to a statement on Indonesia’s House of Representatives’ website. Until now, according to UNICEF, 14 per cent of girls in Indonesia are married before the age of 18, and one per cent are married before their 15th birthday.

Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Minister, Yohana Yembise, called the ruling “a present for Indonesian children.”

Changes to existing laws will take place within three years.

Christian Children’s Fund of Canada is committed to ending the practice of child marriage and helping children know their rights and how to effect change so they can be better protected in and out of school.

Learn more about how you can partner with us to help children help themselves.

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