Indonesia: Indonesia has an estimated population of over 260 million people and it is the world's fourth most populous country, as well as the most populous Muslim-majority country at 87.2% in 2010, with the majority being Sunni Muslims. The fatwa is an Arabic word, and it literally means "opinion". Muslim scholars are expected to give their "fatwa" based on religious evidence, not based on their personal opinions. Therefore, their "fatwa" is sometimes regarded as a religious ruling or religious edict.
At the end of three-day conference of female Islamic clerics they issued an unprecedented fatwa against child marriage in Indonesia in a bid to stop young girls from becoming brides. Fatwa is very influential among Muslims but not legally binding. “Maternal mortality is very high in Indonesia. We — as female clerics — can play a role on the issue of child marriage,” conference organizer Ninik Rahayu told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
In issuing the fatwa, the women clerics cited studies saying many Indonesian child brides could not continue their studies once wed and half their marriages ended in divorce. Besides quitting school, it also increases the risks of exploitation, sexual violence, domestic abuse and death in childbirth. Increase in education equals decrease in child marriages and Indonesian girls mustn’t quit their studies for their own good.
In Indonesia, there are a high number of child brides and it puts the most populous Muslim-majority country among the top 10 countries worldwide. Thursday’s fatwa, or religious edict, called underage marriage “harmful” and said its prevention was mandatory. Female clerics urge the government to raise the minimum marriage age for girls to 18 instead of currently minimum of 16 years. About 50,000 girls wed before they turn 15 according to the United Nations children’s agency UNICEF.
Fatwas are issued regularly in Indonesia, but usually by the Indonesian Ulema Council — the highest Islamic authority in the country which is made up almost entirely of men. This is a rare example of women assuming a lead role in religious affairs in Indonesia. Most of the clerics — experts in Islamic sacred law and theology — were from Indonesia, but speakers travelled from as far away as Kenya, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to take part in the conference.
The congress also issued two other serious edicts against environmental destruction and sexual violence, which the clerics said are against Islamic teaching and fundamental human rights.
Photo Credits: Humanosphere
