Surabaya Ambitions to Zero Early Marriages

The Surabaya City Government has the ambition to realize zero early marriages in order to ensure the success of the program to eradicate maternal and child deaths and tengkes.

The following article was translated using both Microsoft Azure Open AI and Google Translation AI. The original article can be found in Surabaya Berambisi Nihil Pernikahan Dini

KOMPAS/BAHANA PATRIA GUPTA

The wedding couple during the mass isbat marriage ceremony at Empire Palace, City of Surabaya, East Java, on Tuesday (30/8).

SURABAYA, KOMPAS — The Surabaya City Government, East Java, has the ambition to realize zero early marriages by 2024. Preventing early marriage will guarantee the success of the program to eradicate cases of maternal and child mortality as well asstunting or tengkes.

The statement was delivered by the Mayor of Surabaya, Eri Cahyadi, on Wednesday (27/9/2023). To realize zero cases of early marriage, strong cooperation is needed, marked by the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Surabaya Religious Court and the Surabaya Ministry of Religious Affairs Office.

Also read: Girls Victims of Early Marriage

KOMPAS/P RADITYA MAHENDRA YASA

One activist carried a campaign message about the issue of early marriage on Slamet Riyadi Street, Surakarta City, Central Java, on Sunday (24/7/2022). This issue is important because of the high number of cases of forced marriages that underage children have to endure.

"In discussions with the courts and religious offices, the root of the problem of maternal and child deaths and stunting turned out to be early marriage," said Eri. Health problems, especially maternal and child mortality andstunting, are an important concern for countries, including Surabaya. For this reason, alleviation is done by removing the "root of the problem" namely early marriage.

Eri continued, his team has instructed the officials in the village to not issue marriage certificates or N1 model letters to couples who are not of the ideal age to get married, which is a minimum of 19 years old. This minimum age for marriage is in accordance with the Law Number 16 of 2019 as an amendment to the Marriage Law No. 1/1974.

Also read: It's Not Enough to Change the Marriage Age Limit

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO (KUM)

A mural containing a message urging to avoid early marriage and focus more on achieving success and creating art on Jalan Bekasi Timur Raya, North Jakarta, Thursday (20/2/2020). According to Law Number 16 of 2019 concerning amendments to Law No. 1/1974 concerning Marriage, the minimum age for marriage is 19 years old.

According to the National Population and Family Planning Board, the ideal age for marriage for women is at least 21 years old, while for men it is at least 25 years old. This takes into account the potential psychological problems that may arise from being too young or immature and how it can affect a child's upbringing.

Age and mental maturity have an impact on the nutrition and health of children. Early marriage puts teenage girls at risk of health problems, especially cervical cancer caused by sexual intercourse at too young an age.

If the husband runs away, population administration services will be revoked.

Eri stated that the MOU also includes obligations for citizens, especially husbands (men), who, despite having separated or divorced from their wives, must continue to provide for their children resulting from the marriage. If the husband runs away, their administration services will be revoked.

"We will also maximize the role of puspaga (family learning center) in all RW halls for the socialization of prevention of early marriage and handling the potential for divorce," said Eri. The socialization will be supported by a network of resident communities that have formed great parent schools, PKK, Surabaya Hebat Cadres, and Surabaya Children's Forum.

Also read: Involve Young People to Prevent Child Marriage

KOMPAS/MOHAMMAD HILMI FAIQ

Chairperson of the Teenage Posyandu Ningsi Selan (18) demonstrated the knowledge transfer process to her friends about the danger of early marriage in Enonapi Village, Kie District, South Central Timor Regency, NTT, on Monday (30/05/2022).

Based on the recapitulation of data on marriage dispensation cases in 2022 at the Surabaya High Religious Court, there were 15,486 applications and referrals from the previous year. Out of these, 15,253 dispensation cases were decided. Throughout the previous year, there were 266 applications and referrals in Surabaya, with 261 cases being decided.

Separately, Chairman of the Surabaya Religious Court, Samarul Falah, stated that in the past nine months, there have been less than 100 cases of marriage dispensation requests. This currently makes Surabaya the district/city with the lowest amount of marriage dispensation requests in East Java (High Religious Court).

"If the submission can continue to decrease and efforts for collaboration can be maximized, we are confident that zero cases of early marriage can be achieved in Surabaya," said Samarul.