Legal Literacy - Early marriage remains one of the pressing issues in Indonesia. Law Number 16 of 2019, which changed the minimum age for marriage to 19 years for both men and women, aims to strengthen the protection of children from the negative impacts of early marriage. However, in many regions, especially in areas with strong customary influences, the practice of early marriage persists. This poses a serious challenge to the implementation of the law and highlights the need for synergy between national law and customary law in the prevention of early marriage.

Customary law is recognized in Article 18B paragraph (2) of the 1945 Constitution, which states that the state recognizes and respects customary law communities and their rights as long as they are still alive and in accordance with the development of society and the principles of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. This constitutional recognition provides a strong foundation for customary law to continue to exist and play a significant role in regulating social relations in customary communities. However, in the context of early marriage, the application of customary law in some areas contradicts the principles of child rights protection that are internationally recognized, particularly in relation to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Indonesia has ratified through Presidential…