Source: BBC
Female Islamic clerics in Indonesia have issued an unprecedented fatwa against child marriage.
The fatwa, which is not legally binding but will be influential, was issued after a three-day congress of female clerics in the country.
The clerics urged the government to raise the minimum legal age for women to marry to 18 from the current 16.
Indonesia is a majority Muslim country and has among the highest number of child brides in the world.
According to the UN’s children office Unicef, one in four women in Indonesia marries before the age of 18.
More:
In a Muslim society ‘the start of sexual activity’ must / should conform with the age of marriage. Why call for marriage age of 18 when the start of sexual activities worldwide is lower than that? In Europe the average age is 15 1/2. (average= some higher some lower)
The average age in Europe for adultness is 18 years. ‘Sexual activity’ has nothing to do with marriage. Perhaps you have not considered what it means for a girl of 16 to be married, most of the time with a husband twice her age? No education, dependent upon a husband, lots of childern. As a male you might be more interested in sexual life, but leave it to women to decide about marriage of 16years old girls. They have their reasons!
I agree with M Lebert. A girl may be physically able to engage in sexual activity at puberty, that can be as young as 9 years, and that has been the guideline for ‘marriage’ by many societies in the past. But we have advanced, and want more for our children, such as education, and ultimately a happy marriage when the child is mature enough to make decisions for herself, not to be sold off or forced into a marriage arranged by her elders. Children need protection, and 18 is the earliest when a young person can start to make such life-changing decisions as marriage. So the focus should be on education first.