Stop Child Marriage launched for Indonesian Family Planning Association to create awareness on children's rights to their future
M&C Saatchi Indonesia has launched a poignant and thought-provoking campaign: Stop Child Marriage, to bring to light a practice of child marriage which is common in Indonesia as well the rest of the world.
Stop Child Marriage aims to generate awareness about a child’s right to education that prevents them from achieving their future potential, but more importantly, letting children be children. The campaign was developed for Indonesian Family Planning Association (PKBI), a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that works across 26 provinces in the country on issues such as women’s health, sexual rights and reproductive health, maternal mortality rate and child marriage.
Influenced by deep-set religious beliefs, adherence to cultural norms and in part to overcome economic difficulties, girls in Indonesia are married off well before they attain reproductive maturity, often leading to maternal mortality arising from neonatal complications.
In September last year, with an aim to curb child marriage, Indonesia’s parliament revised the country’s marriage law by increasing the eligibility age from 16 to age 19; it was universally welcomed by all, including the UNICEF.
According to UNICEF, one in nine married women in Indonesia were married as children. “Child marriage robs girls of their childhood and threatens their lives and health, as child brides are more likely to become pregnant at a younger and riskier age. Girls who marry before 18 are also more likely to experience domestic violence and less likely to remain in school.” - UNICEF Girls Not Brides, another NGO that is committed to ending child marriage and enabling girls to fulfil their potential states that child marriage is a global problem that cuts across countries, cultures, religions and ethnicities. “Child marriage can be found in every region in the world, from the Middle East to Latin America, South Asia to Europe. Some 12m girls are married before the age of 18 each year.” - Child Not Brides Earlier this month, the Government of Indonesia committed to end child marriage in Indonesia. Reduction of child marriage is one of the targets set in the National Mid-term Development Plan from 2020 to 2024. The government also pledged its support to the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations which has called for a global action to end the human rights violation by 2030. Anish Daryani, CEO of M&C Saatchi Indonesia, said: “At M&C Saatchi Indonesia, we are putting our weight behind this social issue and showing our commitment to address child marriage in Indonesia by raising awareness about it.” Added Anish: “Child marriage deprives the girl child of a normal childhood and the basic right to education. It robs them off their innocence, and an opportunity to become contributors to the society at large. Society needs to nurture a culture, environment and practices which encourage kids to remain kids.” Dami Sidharta, co-founder and executive creative director, M&C Saatchi Indonesia, added: “The idea came from the thought that if you keep your eyes closed to the issue, you are changing their life for the worse; you’re putting them in that situation; you’re ruining their childhood. Hence, we ask people to open their eyes to injustice happening to the girl child, which is hidden in plain sight.” Ahead of this year’s International Women’s Day, M&C Saatchi Indonesia hopes that the campaign inspires everyone to continue in their fight against inequalities, actively choose to challenge stereotypes, fight bias and celebrate achievements that will improve situations for women’s rights.
