Her letters to  JH Abendanon, who was in charge of implementing the ethical policy in the Dutch East Indies in the early 20^th century, were later published in a Dutch magazine as From Darkness into Light, Women's Life in the Village and Letter of a Javanese Princess. These are inspiring manuscripts not just to girls and women but also to men and to those who are interested in modernity and progress.

Additionally, Kartini was a strong advocate for modern education for girls and along with her sisters established several schools for them. She was brilliant but her personal life was tragic. Though she managed to escape child marriage, thanks to the support of her enlightened father and elder brother, she could not avoid a polygamous marriage and sadly died just a few days after giving birth to her child on Sept. 17, 1904. Kartini died young at the age of only 25.

Child marriage was clearly common during Kartini's time and ironically remains rampant in the 21^st century Indonesia. The COVID-19 pandemic has clearly worsened the prevalence of this harmful practice. There is an increasing number of reports that remind us of the severe economic and social impacts of COVID-19, including worsening poverty and school dropout rates that directly or indirectly push many families to catastrophic circumstances, including child marriage.

It is noteworthy that even before the COVID-19 pandemic, child marriage in certain areas in Indonesia was quite common. According to the 2018 Socio-Economic National Survey (SUSENAS), one in every nine girls aged 20-24 got married before the age of 18, affecting around 1.2 million young girls. As a matter of fact, Indonesia has the eighth-highest number of child marriages in the world. Several provinces in the country such as West and East Nusa Tenggara, as well as Aceh and West Sulawesi are regions with high rates of child marriage.

In special conditions such as natural disasters, humanitarian crises or big shocks such as an epidemic or pandemic, the incidence of child marriage could triple. The reasons, among many other things, are that parents wish to release their economic burdens or due to safety considerations and fear of unintended pregnancy.

Moreover, online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic has also unintentionally pushed many students to drop out due to lack of financial and technological means to continue their education.

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