© 2020 |Published by Scholars Middle East Publishers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 202
Scholars International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice
Abbreviated Key Title: Sch Int J Law Crime Justice
ISSN 2616-7956 (Print) |ISSN 2617-3484 (Online)
Scholars Middle East Publishers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Journal homepage: https://saudijournals.com/sijlcj
Original Research Article
Abolition of Child Marriage Practices in Indonesia According to the
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
Iin Karita Sakharina
*
, Aidir Amin Daud
Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Hasanuddin University, Indonesia
DOI: 10.36348/sijlcj.2020.v03i06.009 | Received: 15.06.2020 | Accepted: 22.06.2020 | Published: 26.06.2020
*Corresponding author: Iin Karita Sakharina
Abstract
The practice of child marriage in Indonesia is still prevalent to this day, and this is a serious problem. Indonesia still
ranks second among Asian countries as a country that practices marriage against children after Cambodia. Generally, the
practice of child marriage conducted in Indonesia is against children especially girls who are in rural areas and come
from poor families. The purpose of this study was to see how the practice of child marriage of girls, especially in
Indonesia and what efforts should be made to eliminate the practice of child marriage. This paper will discuss the steps
that must be taken to eliminate the practice of child marriage in Indonesia, especially against girls as this becomes a
serious and very detrimental issue, especially for girls. Because generally they are forced to undergo this. This research
uses normative research type with qualitative method. The results show that the practice of marriage to girls in Indonesia
occurs due to several factors, such as poverty, lack of education, and matchmaking tradition in some areas. The practice
of marriage of girls is also contrary to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) that has been ratified by
the Government of Indonesia through Presidential Decree of the Republic of Indonesia Number 36 Year 1990, besides
the Indonesian Government has also issued Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 35 Year 2014 on Amendment to
Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 23 Year 2002 on Child Protection, then refers also to the Marriage Law in
Indonesia, Number 1 Year 1974 on Marriage. So in the opinion of the authors, the practice of marriage of children to
girls in some areas in Indonesia is a form of violation of human rights to children according to the convention of
children's rights which has also been ratified by the Indonesian government for more than 25 years so that there should be
efforts made by the Government as a form of implementation of the UNCRC that has been ratified in the case of the
protection and fulfilment of the rights of the child on the basis of the Convention, the author believes that the practice of
marriage against girls should be abolished because it has been very long and very harmful for girls in Indonesia.
Keywords: Abolishment, Children Marriage, Indonesia, UNCRC.
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INTRODUCTION
The practice of child marriage in Indonesia is
still happening to this day. Even Indonesia ranks 37th
(thirty seven) highest in early marriage rate among
countries in the world, and secondly after Cambodia
among The Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) countries [1]. According to Psychiatrist from
Al-Islam Hospital Bandung, Untung Sentosa said
Indonesia ranked 37th in the world, and ranked 2nd in
Asia in the percentage of early marriage or pregnancy
in adolescents. This figure is a fantastic figure, because
it shows that Indonesia is one country with a high
unexpected marriage rate [2]. Although the Government
has issued a ban on the practice of child marriage, but
still there are many who do the marriage, especially in
areas in several Provinces in Indonesia.
The most horrendous and viral case in some
media was the marriage case of a pair of children that
occurred in April 2018 in Bantaeng district, one of the
districts of South Sulawesi Province, where the two
couples were children of 15 years old, while a 14-year-
old woman, escorted by her family, wants to register
their marriage to the Ministry of Religious Affairs
office to obtain legal marriage certification, but
fortunately it has been successfully thwarted by the
KUA by not giving permission to marry. Then there is
another case, there is also South Sulawesi Province,
Sinjai district, where the male is 21 years old but the
woman is known to be 12 years old[3].
According to Jakarta Central Bureau of
Statistics reported, there are five provinces in Indonesia
that have high rates of marriage or underage rates,