Getting Married is a Simple Matter: Early Marriage among Indonesian Muslim Girls in Rural Areas of Java

Abstract

The high rate of child marriage has become a global community concern, including in Indonesia as the world's biggest Muslim country. This study explores the views and experiences of Muslim girls and local actors about early marriage in rural areas of Java, Indonesia. The case study was performed in a hamlet on Mount Sumbing, approximately 10 km from Temanggung District, Central Java, Indonesia. Eighteen female informants were interviewed, consisting of girls married before 18 years old during the 1990-2020 periods. The data were also collected from several vital informants: community figures, parents, and married couples. This study concluded that women who married at a young age still consider early marriage normal and acceptable from a socio-cultural perspective. For the local community, marrying their child at a very young age will guarantee labor availability, psychological security in old age and strengthen family bonds. On the other hand, the seriousness of life's challenges towards adulthood leads marriage at a young age to become a choice of socio-psychological coping mechanisms idealized by some young women. This phenomenon is also influenced by the existing local socio-cultural values that place marriage as a solution to socio-economic, socio-cultural problems and guarantee future generations' continuity. The seriousness of life's challenges towards maturity lead youth marriage as a socio-psychological coping mechanism was idealized by some young women due to gaps in knowledge about the impact of young married labor. This perspective is also influenced by the existing local socio-cultural values that place marriage as a solution to socio-economic problems and a simple procedure for marrying young through marriage dispensation.