Photo of Indonesia teen couple trying to tie the knot went viral, government moves towards banning child marriage
While Indonesia is facing a lot of backlashes and heading towards a ban on child marriage on Tuesday a picture of a teen couple went viral in social media. The duo 15-year-old boy and the 14-year-old girl tried to tie the knot.
World's most populous Muslim nation Indonesia is among the top 10 countries that have the highest number of child marriage.
The picture that went viral had the couple trying to register their marriage. The picture of the couple have been shared widely on social media and has sparked fresh pressure on the government.
Earlier there was news that President Joko Widodo is planning to sign a decree that would ban child marriage. Ministry has been compelling the government to raise the minimum age for marriage to 20 for girls, and 22 for boys. However, there was no detail about the matter.
As if now under Indonesian law the marriage age for girls is 16 and 19 for boys. Even girls can marry at an early age if religious courts permit.
According to United Nations' children agency, UNICEF, "One in four girls marry before they turn 18 in Indonesia. On average over 3,500 Indonesian girls are married off every day."
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First published: 24 April 2018, 15:19 IST