There Are Still Many Child Marriages In 4 Regions Of South Sulawesi: Pangkep, Wajo, Barru And Tana Toraja

PIXABAY ILLUSTRATION

MAKASSAR - The Office of Empowerment, Protection of Women and Children, Population Control, and Family Planning (DP3AP2KB) in South Sulawesi, revealed that child marriage is still high in four districts in South Sulawesi in the last four years, namely the period 2018 - 2021.

The four regions with their respective percentages are Pangkep Regency (26.80 percent), Wajo (24.04 percent), Barru (21.11 percent), and Tana Toraja (19.49 percent).

"It takes education and the participation of the community, religious leaders, as well as the government and village officials, to suppress child marriage cases," said Head of South Sulawesi DP3AP2KB, Andi Mirna in Makassar as reported by ANTARA, Wednesday, August 10.

Child marriage in question is a marriage in which one or both partners are under the minimum age for marriage, namely children under 19 years of age.

"The case in Wajo yesterday, the child's parents have received social sanctions. We have also conveyed that village officials should not attend the invitation if those who are married are minors," he said on the sidelines of the Coordination Meeting on Prevention of Child Marriage at the Provincial and Regency Levels /city in Makassar.

In Wajo Regency, the South Sulawesi DPPPA has signed a commitment with the Regent and Forkompinda, then the vertical agency of the Ministry of Religion, community leaders, village heads, to village priests, to prevent child marriage.

Andi Mirna said that his party had written to the district/city to take measures to prevent child marriage.

"Later, a circular letter for districts and cities will be made. It will contain all how to prevent and protect children," said Andi Mirna.

He gave an example, two villages in Bone Regency have zero population of child marriages, because the village heads are committed to rejecting child marriage.

Based on data from the South Sulawesi DPPPA, child marriage in South Sulawesi as a whole has decreased, from 11.25 percent in 2020 to 9.25 percent in 2021.

Andi Mirna explained that the effort to abolish child marriage is a response to the growing evidence that shows the scale and scope of the multi-dimensional problems caused by child marriage.

Some of them are closely related to community customs and traditions, economy, access to health information, access to education services, risky relationships, and so on.

Meanwhile, the Sub-Coordinator for Islamic Religion at the South Sulawesi Ministry of Religion, Andi Moh Rezki Darwan, said that the ranks of the Ministry of Religion, from the provincial, district and city levels, to the KUA, are making great efforts to prevent it, by not accepting prospective grooms and brides who do not meet the requirements according to the regulations. statutory provisions.

It also seeks to educate the public through several programs.

"We have a marriage guidance program, a sakinah heritage or sakinah family service center, and a youth guidance program for school age," he said.