Child Marriage as a ‘Solution’ to Modern Youth in Bali
Objectives
The study aims to challenge dominant international narratives that portray child marriage solely as a harmful traditional practice. It seeks to show, through ethnographic evidence from Bali, that many adolescent marriages are tied to modern social realities, especially unplanned pregnancies, and represent young people’s attempts to navigate overlapping and conflicting moral, religious, and social expectations. The paper examines how pluralised normative systems, changing sexual behaviours, and constraints around reproductive health shape adolescents’ decisions to marry.
Findings
The study finds that child marriage in Bali is less a reflection of “tradition” and more a practical response to teenage pregnancy and the fear of social stigma. Adolescents operate within multiple and often conflicting normative systems: modern lifestyles that encourage courtship and sexuality, and customary or religious norms that prohibit premarital sex and punish pregnancy outside marriage. Because sex education is limited, contraception is difficult to access for unmarried youth, and safe abortion is legally restricted, unwanted pregnancy is common. In this context, marriage becomes the only socially acceptable option for pregnant adolescents, driven by pressures related to shame, community expectations, lineage rules, and fear of exclusion. Young people exercise agency, but their choices are shaped by relational obligations to family and community rather than individual autonomy alone.
Recommendations
The study concludes that efforts to reduce child marriage in Indonesia should focus on the root issue, unplanned teenage pregnancy, rather than treating marriage itself as the core problem. Policies should expand access to comprehensive sexuality education, youth-friendly reproductive health services, and contraception for unmarried adolescents. Strengthening legal and safe pathways for reproductive healthcare, including safe abortion within the law, is also essential to reduce unsafe practices. Finally, programmes must recognise adolescents’ relational autonomy and the social realities shaping their decisions, avoiding overly simplistic or moralising approaches that disregard young people’s agency.
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