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5/02/2017

Topic Reading-Vol.1847-5/2/2017

Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Female Islamic clerics in Indonesia issue rare child marriage fatwa
The Republic of Indonesia is the fourth largest country in the world in terms of population. Of the 260 million Indonesians, nearly 90% are Muslims, the world’s largest Muslim country.
It is also one of the top ten countries with the highest absolute numbers of child brides: 1,408,000 women aged 20 to 24 were married before the age of 18, the nation’s legal age, or one in every seven girls. In some rural areas, the child marriage is estimated to go over 30%. It’s mainly because of the cultural traditions but other factors drive the practice, such as poverty, economic dependency, financial incentives and dowry practices, as well as a lack of access to education and health services.
Now female Islamic clerics gathered and issued an Islamic religious decree, urging the government to raise the minimum legal age from the current 16 to 18 for women to marry. Whether the government or the congress bring it to the discussion table is still uncertain, but the sheer number of female Muslims can’t be easily ignored.
Enjoy reading and learning about the problem of child marriage. 

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