The rate of child marriage in East Java Province remains alarmingly\nhigh. Throughout 2023, 12,334 marriage dispensation requests were\nrecorded in religious courts across East Java\u2014a decrease from 15,095\ncases in 2022, but still far from the expected level, with the majority\ninvolving girls under the age of 19. Social researchers identify this\nphenomenon as one of the primary causes of structural poverty that is\ndifficult to break in East Java.<\/p>\n
Data from the East Java Central Statistics Agency (BPS) shows that\nthe regencies with the highest child marriage rates\u2014Sampang, Bangkalan,\nBondowoso, and Situbondo\u2014also rank lowest in the province\u2019s Human\nDevelopment Index (IPM). Academics suggest this correlation is not\ncoincidental.<\/p>\n
Since the revision of the Marriage Law No.\u00a016 of 2019, which raised\nthe minimum marriage age for women to 19, the religious court\ndispensation route has become increasingly busy. Although the provincial\nnumber of dispensations fell from 17,151 in 2021 to 15,095 in 2022 and\n12,334 in 2023, patterns in certain regencies remain concerning. In\n2025, the Ministry of Religious Affairs\u2019 SIMKAH system recorded 7,590\nmarriages involving under-19s in East Java, with 6,453 cases involving\nchild brides. The Sampang Religious Court is one of the courts with the\nhighest volume of dispensation cases. Supreme Court records indicate\nthat approximately 89 percent of marriage dispensation requests in East\nJava are granted by local religious courts. The most common reasons\ncited are the bride-to-be already being pregnant (48 percent), followed\nby family economic reasons (31 percent), and customary or family\npressure (21 percent).<\/p>\n
One of the most tangible impacts of child marriage is the disruption\nof education. A 2024 survey by the East Java Office of Women\u2019s\nEmpowerment, Child Protection, and Population (DP3AK) found that 91\npercent of women married under the age of 18 did not continue their\nformal education afterwards. More than half did not even complete junior\nhigh school. This situation directly blocks women\u2019s access to decent\nemployment. Without diplomas and skills, they are forced to depend\nentirely on their husbands, who in many cases are also young and lack\nhigher education.<\/p>\n
From a macroeconomic perspective, the impact of child marriage on\nEast Java is significant. A 2023 study by the East Java Regional\nDevelopment Planning Agency (Bappeda) and an international institution\nestimated that the loss of women\u2019s productivity due to child marriage\ncontributes to regional economic losses of Rp 4.2 trillion per year,\nequivalent to nearly two percent of the provincial budget. Furthermore,\nthe high maternal mortality rate, partly triggered by high-risk teenage\npregnancies, burdens the provincial health budget. East Java records\nshow that 23 percent of maternal deaths in 2023 occurred in the 15-19\nage group, an age medically unprepared for pregnancy and childbirth.<\/p>\n
A number of non-governmental organisations and academics are urging\nthe East Java Provincial Government to take more concrete steps. The\nEast Java branch of the Indonesian Women\u2019s Coalition has requested that\nthe distribution of social assistance not become a disincentive for\nfamilies to educate their daughters. The Head of East Java DP3AK stated\nthat the agency has established seven priority programmes for 2025,\nincluding accelerating the prevention of child marriage and\nstrengthening the Technical Implementation Unit for the Protection of\nWomen and Children (UPTD PPA) in all regencies and cities. The agency is\nintegrating family mentoring programmes, scholarships for girls, and\nreproductive health education into a single, unified intervention\npackage. The Chair of the East Java MUI Education Commission stressed\nthat early marriage requires significant mental readiness to avoid\nnegative consequences for the household and children.<\/p>\n
Behind the bleak statistics, there are small stories of hope. In\nBondowoso Regency, a special scholarship programme for girls rolled out\nby an Islamic philanthropic organisation has succeeded in reducing the\nschool dropout rate in three sub-districts by 60 percent over two years.\nHundreds of teenage girls who were almost married off are now continuing\ntheir education to senior high school and even university. This success\nproves that change is possible, provided there is real intervention, not\njust rhetoric.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/thousands-of-east-java-girls-forced-into-early-marriage-entrenching-intergenerational-poverty-1782579096", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }