Causes and implications of the loss of access to education among child marriage victims : a case study in Central Lombok

Abstract

Indonesia is one of many nations with a notable incidence of child marriages. West Nusa Tenggara province, particularly Central Lombok, exhibits the most prevalent child marriage victims. Child marriage in this region is propelled by economic factors, social dynamics, and the strong cultural traditions of the local community known as Merarik. The practice significantly undermines children’s rights to education, which is the most basic human right. This study aims to (1) explore the local communities' perceptions of educational rights for child marriage victims; (2) examine determinant factors that prevent child marriage victims from receiving their rights to education; (3) investigate national, local, and educational institutions' regulation that protects educational rights of child marriage victims; (4) analyze the effect of child marriage on children's educational and personal development in Central Lombok. This study uses a qualitative research approach to provide relevant information for the study's aims. The data were obtained through semistructured and deep interviews. Subjects of the study involve parents, the victims of child marriage who cannot continue their education due to underage marriage, schools which have students marry during school age, and village governments, in which the local community often practice child marriage. These subjects all originated from Central Lombok villages, comprising 22 participants. This study finds that: (1) Most of the local community in Central Lombok perceives child marriage as a normal and culturally accepted the practice. Local community tend to neglect the educational rights of the victims of child marriage. Social stigma, discrimination, and a conservative mindset foster the belief that once married, children, especially girls should no longer continue their education, prioritizing marital and domestic tasks; (2) The factors which prevent child marriage victims from obtaining the educational rights are: first, discrimination against children who wished to return to school due to their marital status; second, putting community's interest over the children; third, lack of support from the closest family; fourth, silencing the voices of the children; (3) Early marriages lead to a loss of educational rights for children. Despite there are clear regulations at the national and international levels, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and Indonesia’s national child protection laws, local authorities tend to focus on the prevention of child marriage rather than educational intervention to help victims to regain their educational rights. Schools also hesitate to accept married students for fear that married students will be bullied at school and fear of being perceived supporting child marriage. (4) Child marriage effects on children's educational and personal development are that child marriage restricts children’s educational access and intellectual growth, causes mental pressure, obstructs children from accessing better employment opportunities, inhibits financial autonomy and reduces women independence. In accordance to the findings above, it is crucial to involve customary, religious and women's stakeholders as catalysts to change the mindset of the local community not to accept child marriage as a normal practise. Village governments are expected to be proactive in elaborating national regulations to be implemented at the local level and not only focusing on the prevention of child marriage but also collaborating with schools and NGOs to support and facilitate child marriage victims to access educational opportunities without discrimination.