T

he National Population and Family Planning Board (BKKBN) in Jambi is working to implement a government program aimed at raising the minimum age for marriage in Indonesia, as the province grapples with a rising number of child marriages.

Based on Demographic and Health Survey (SDKI) data, marriages involving minors in Jambi increased to 21.6 percent in 2017 from 20.1 percent in the previous year, said BKKBN Jambi head Mukhtar Bhakti.

Meanwhile, based on the 2010 Population Sensus, 25 percent of married women in Bungo are still teenagers, making it the regency with the highest rate of child marriages in Jambi, followed by Merangin and Tebo at 24 percent, and Kerinci and Sarolangun at 21 percent.

“Teenagers in Jambi usually get married at 19 on average. This is below the ideal age of marriage determined by the BKKBN: 21 years for women and 25 years for men,” Mukhtar said.

He added that 61.89 percent of women in Jambi get married at a young age, far above the average national rate of 42.76 percent.

He hoped to decrease that figure to 21 percent in 2018.

To reduce the number off teenage marriages, BKKBN Jambi has intensified campaigns to increase awareness on the health risks of early marriage in schools and pesantren (Islamic boarding schools), particularly the fact that a woman’s reproductive readiness is at the age of 21, Mukhtar added.