DistantNews
Support us
🇮🇩 Indonesia /Culture & Society

Lebak Regency Urges Prevention of Child Marriage for Future Generations

From Republika · () Indonesian

Translated from Indonesian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News From a news agency Context piece
  • Lebak Regency in Banten, Indonesia, urges residents to prevent child marriage to ensure a healthy future generation.
  • High rates of child marriage contribute to risks of mortality, divorce, and children born with stunting.
  • The local government promotes pre-marital programs and collaboration with community organizations to encourage ideal marriage ages and family planning.

The Lebak Regency government in Banten, Indonesia, is actively campaigning against child marriage, emphasizing its detrimental effects on young lives and the nation's future. Officials are urging residents to refrain from marrying off their children at young ages due to the significant risks involved.

I think the rate of early marriage is quite high and risky.

— Tuti NurasiahHead of Population Control and Family Planning at the Lebak Regency's DP2KBP3A office, commenting on the prevalence of child marriage.

These risks include increased mortality rates for young mothers, higher divorce rates, and the likelihood of children being born with stunting, a condition resulting from impaired growth. Tuti Nurasiah, head of Population Control and Family Planning at the Lebak Regency's DP2KBP3A office, noted that child marriage remains a concern, evidenced by the high number of births among teenagers aged 15-19. While specific data is limited, the Age Specific Fertility Rate (ASFR) for this age group has fluctuated, with the latest analysis in 2024 showing a decrease to 27.7 percent, meaning approximately 27 births per 100 occur to mothers aged 15-19.

Nurasiah identified several contributing factors to early marriage, including economic hardship, low educational attainment, cultural norms, and geographical challenges. The local government is promoting the ideal marriage ages of 21 for women and 25 for men, believing individuals at these ages possess the maturity for stable family life.

We believe that pre-marital programs help them build strong households by having stable jobs and good religious attitudes.

— Tuti NurasiahExplaining the importance of pre-marital guidance and support.

To combat this issue, the government is implementing pre-marital programs, such as the "Elektronik Siap Nikah dan Siap Hamil" (Elsimil) application, which provides guidance on reproductive health and religious matters for couples planning to marry. Collaboration with organizations like BKKBN, the Health Office, and the Office of Religious Affairs offers further support. Nurasiah expressed hope for community involvement in preventing child marriage to foster a healthy and quality generation for Indonesia's "Golden Indonesia 2045" vision.

We hope the community actively participates in preventing child marriage to create a healthy and quality generation towards Indonesia Emas 2045.

— Tuti NurasiahCalling for community involvement in the initiative.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Republika in Indonesian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog