Polygamy, unregistered marriage hamper family planning

Chairman of the National Family Planning Board Sugiri Syarief deems polygamy and unregistered marriage as hurdles to the national birth control program.

Sugiri lauded the government’s plan to draft a new bill on marriage that will ban unofficial marriage, or nikah siri, and regulate polygamy, saying it would encourage the family planning program. The two practices are permissible under Islam.

“Unofficial marriage and polygamy can indeed hamper the family planning program as they cause an increase in married couples and, eventually, the population,” Sugiri told Antara on the sidelines of the opening of a national meeting on family planning at the vice presidential office on Wednesday.

He said restricting polygamous practices would enhance the family planning program, which has been declared a national priority program.

The fact that Indonesian women get married at an average of 19.8 years old remains a cause for concern in the country’s efforts to curb an increasing birth rate, Sugiri added.

“Hopefully, we can see women delay marriage to the age of 21 years old by 2014. That would have a great impact on our family planning program,” he said.