Public Health of Indonesia Widyastari DA et al.
Public Health of Indonesia.
2016 June.
: 40-46
http://stikbar.
org/ycabpublisher/index.
php/PHI/index ISSN: 2477-1570 Review Article SUHARTOAoS POPULATION POLICY IN CONTEMPORARY INDONESIA:
FAMILY PLANNING PROGRAM.
MARRIAGE ACT OR COMPULSORY
EDUCATION HAS THE GREATEST IMPACT TO FERTILITY DECLINE?
Dyah Anantalia Widyastari1*.
Pimonpan Isarabhakdi1 Institute for Population and Social Research.
Mahidol University.
Thailand Accepted: 24 May 2016 *Correspondence:
Dyah Anantalia Widyastari Institute for Population and Social Research.
Mahidol University Salaya.
Phutthamonthon.
Nakhon Pathom.
Thailand.
Email : dyah.
anantalia@gmail.
com, dyah.
ana@student.
Copyright: A the author.
YCAB publisher and Public Health of Indonesia.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
ABSTRACT
Fertility in Indonesia has been falling significantly, from an average total fertility rate of 5.
6 children per women in 1970s to 4.
1 in 1980, and 2.
6 in 2010.
This paper attempts to explore which and how SuhartoAos population policies have played role in IndonesiaAos fertility decline.
Whilst the adoption of modern contraceptive was perceived as the major determinant of fertility decline in Indonesia, changes in IndonesiaAos political order and socio-economic development also contribute a considerable effect to IndonesiansAo familial norms.
The implementation of 9-year compulsory education had placed a strong foundation for the future Indonesian human capital and enabled women to obtain higher opportunities for Beside facilitates the diffusion of ideas among young people and opened up their perspective toward reproductive rights and self actualization, education also increases womenAos opportunities to participate in laborforce.
With the increasing roles outside the domestic sector, delaying age of marriage and limiting family size becomes a choice for women in contemporary Indonesia.
The marriage act, however, was perceived as an accelerator rather than a predictor in increasing age of first marriage.
Regardless the existence of the Marriage Law 1974, age of first marriage is likely to increase with increasing of education, although maybe in a slower rate.
Key Words : population policy, contemporary Indonesia.
Suharto
INTRODUCTION
Fertility in Indonesia has been falling significantly, from an average total fertility rate of more than 5.
6 in children per women in 1970s to 4.
1 in 1980, 3.
2 in 1985 and 2.
6 children in 2010.
Although it is difficult to determine the levels and trends of fertility in Indonesia due to unavailability of reliable data prior to 1970, nevertheless, scanty evidence based on socio-economic condition of the time indicates that fertility has probably APublic Health of Indonesia Ae YCAB Publisher.
Volume 2.
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April-June 2016 | 40 A risen and reach peak in 1950s and started to decline in 1960s.
The contraceptive was perceived as the major determinant of fertility decline in Indonesia.
9 The successful of family planning program has been well known as the leading factor in fertility transition in Indonesia since it was established in early On the other hand, changes in IndonesiaAos political order was also mentioned in several paperworks7-9 and also showed that fertility decline in Indonesia might be a result of combined socio-economic development of the families and institutional changes such as increasing age of marriage and womenAos The turning point of IndonesiaAos fertility transition was marked during SuhartoAos era in 1967.
SuhartoAos population policies in birth control, marriage law and compulsory education had forced the past Indonesian families to This paper attempts to explore which and howAos Suharto population policies played role in IndonesiaAos fertility SOCIO-ECONOMIC REFORM AND FAMILY PLANNING PROGRAM Socio-economic changes of Indonesia has been embeded in the history since preindependence, over more than 300 years of being colonialized.
Under the Dutch colony, premodern Indonesian were mostly relied on agricultural sector as the main feature of living.
Dutch built up plantations and developed export industry such as sugar, coffee and indigo which required a substantial amount of labor.
7,9,12 During the transition period from colonialism to independence in 1945-1950s, there was a considerable change in economic structure.
When Dutch expelled from Indonesia, business and plantation were closed.
Agriculture was in decline, and family welfare generally at the lowest.
Increasing desire to prevent births was diminished by technology, thus resulting in a total fertility rate of 5.
5 per woman and family size Improvement in economic condition in 510 year post- independence led mortality started to decline and childbearing underwent a period of recovery.
Export revenues had returned and led the grow of large investment in infrastructure.
Green revolution also brought to increased employement, increased access to land and public services.
Economic improvement in this era was likely to support higher fertility and large family size.
8,12
A decisive turning point in Indonesia's history occured in 1966-67 with the transfer of power from President Sukarno to President Suharto by a soft military coup.
Suharto used the SukarnoAos pluralist ideology Nationalist Religious and Communits and forced him to resign as President after an incident of what-socalled G30S/PKI (September 30th movement by communist part.
where some military generals were kidnapped and murdered by the communist.
Suharto, who was a commander of special force then took over the countryAos leadership and dismissed Communist Party that was believed closely related to Sukarno.
Suharto then established of what immediately became known as the New Order government.
Transition from pro-natalist Sukarno to anti-natalist Suharto marked the IndonesiaAos fertility decline.
As of Indonesian population growth showed a rapid increase.
from 97 million in 1961 to 120 million in 1970, national family planning program was then established in early 1970s.
The program was started in Java and Bali in the early 1970s, expanded to the other developed provinces in the mid-1970s, and encompassed all of the APublic Health of Indonesia Ae YCAB Publisher.
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The Suharto government provided an equivalent of US$ 3 million as counter budget to US$ 3 millions from donors to NFPCB in 1970 to show its commitment to control fertility and continue to increase up to US$ 65 million as a share to US$ 25 million from donors in 1985.
Suharto also successfully mobilized people by changing the social institution.
The Suharto regime has actively promoted Pancasila .
ive pilar.
values and removed political party activities from the villages, and replaces it with organizations that support the government.
Sometimes, military bureucracy were also involved into the program as Suharto command military to serve the nation in two functions, defense and social mobilization.
As a result.
Indonesian peasants families have historically followed the advice of their village leaders and conformed to village practices with a minimum of questioning and a high degree of There is no doubt that the success of family planning program in Indonesia was due to SuhartoAos policy.
In his era, a massive and comprehensive family planning program was campaigned through multiple channels, such as mass media and health personels.
Suharto also approaching community and religious leaders in order to obtain their supports in family planning.
Thus, people were well informed and society gradually accepted the program as a new norm.
The cost of fertility regulation therefore was very low because information and means were widely provided by the government at a very low cost or even free 12.
The massive campaign of family planning program in the past also brought a message that population policy has not only aimed to reduce the fertility rate, but is also promoted to improve family welfare.
By having smaller size, families are expected to be able to optimizing their incomes for a better living As a result, during the past 30 years under the New Order regime.
Indonesia has made substantial progress, particularly in stabilizing political and economic conditions.
Income per capita increased sharply from about US $50 in 1968 to US $385 in 1986 and US $1,124 in 1996, thus more families are enjoying a better quality of life in the recent times 13,14 With organization and economic development, the national family planning program has been successfully mobilizing people to comply with birth control,7 even in a country with Muslim as majority.
Prior 1970s, premodern Indonesian families were generally relied on natural fertility to regulate their family size.
With the success of family planning program, modern contraceptive means were accessible and widely available.
Contraceptive prevalence rate among Indonesian women increased sharply from 3 percent in 1970 to 13, 29 and 51 in 1975, 1980 and 1985 As a result, family size in Indonesian has been halved from 5.
6 prior 1970s to 2.
8 in 1997.
1-3,15
YOUNG WOMEN EDUCATION AND
NATIONAL MARRIAGE ACT 1974 IN
INCREASING AGE OF MARRIAGE
Increasing age of marriage is one of the determinant of fertility decline.
When a woman entering marriage union at early age, she will have longer reproductive period and may has higher fertility compared to her counterparts who married As reproductive capability of women decreased by age, delayed marriage also associated with lower fecundity and shorter reproductive period.
16,17
Traditionally.
Indonesians married young, and marriage usually took place by parentsAo initiative.
8,18,19 Indonesian Fertility APublic Health of Indonesia Ae YCAB Publisher.
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April-June 2016 | 42 A Survey in early 1970s reported forty percent of women age 30 in 1976 were married at the age of 15.
9,20,21 As a country with Muslim as majority.
Indonesian families in the past tend to marry their children close to puberty in order to avoid being committed in sins.
Marriage in traditional Indonesia was also a familial rather than individual concern.
19 In the absence of schooling and employment for women, low or middle class parents sent their daughter marry-out as an economic relieve for their families.
18,22,23
Socio-economic differentiation of fertility among Indonesian are very The highest fertility is commonly found among low to middle social strata, which education was commonly used as a proxy.
Again, the role of Suharto is remarkable during his legacy leading Indonesia for more than 30 years.
Despite his controversial case prior his fall in 1997, he brought a lot of socioeconomic Indonesia.
The implementation of 9-year compulsory education had placed a strong foundation for the future Indonesian human capital and enabled women to enjoy higher opportunities for schooling.
With the increase of schooling.
Indonesian couples then tend to marry later and have more lasting unions.
Age at first marriage also increases with level of education.
Women aged 25-49 who completed secondary school married at 22.
9 years in average, whilst women who have no education married earlier at 17.
2 years 14,17,24 Figure 1 shows that school enrollment rate rapidly increased from below 50 percent prior 1970s to 70 percent after 1970s and gradually increased until 97 percent in 1990s and 2000s, following the increased age of marriage.
The role of education in delaying age of marriage is very obvious.
First, it simply because school attendance, especially in elementary level, is not allowing students to marry.
Secondly, schooling facilitates the diffusion of ideas among young people and opened young peopleAos perspective of their rights and self Thirdly, education increases womenAos opportunities to participate in When women participation in laborforce is higher, the likelihood to delay marriage is higher because women may want to enjoy earning more incomes.
Figure.
1 Singulate Mean Age at Marriage and School Enrollment Rate Indonesia, 1960s-2005 Apart from compulsory education and succesful family planning program in Suharto era.
Marriage Act 1974 may also contributed to fertility decline in contemporary Indonesia.
The act regulated minimum age of marriage 19 years old for APublic Health of Indonesia Ae YCAB Publisher.
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SuhartoAos government often claimed its successful program in increasing age of marriage after the implementation of Marriage Law, shown by the changing patterns of child marriage after 1974,8,12,28,29 declining in divorce and poligamy and also increasing number of registered marriage.
30 However, the above argument is not completely clean from debates.
Resistances toward marriage act among conservative Muslims were often reported.
21,31 The three main articles of the marriage lawAiincreasing age of polygamyAiare definitely contrary to Muslim teachings.
Muslim believes that early marriage will prevent the youngsters from committed to sins.
Divorce in Muslim Law also used to be very simple.
Once the husband said AuI divorce youAy, they are no longer husband and wife.
The act also restricted a man from taking a second wife without judicial review and first wifeAos In terms if registering a prior to 1974, marriage in Muslim was not necessarily to be By syariah law, a man and a woman will be automatically become husband and wife once they stated the Aoijab-qabulAy .
arriage contrac.
However, to calming the conservative Muslim.
Suharto compromized strategy by stating that there is nothing in Islamic law will be changed.
Conservative Muslim then considered this as a win-win solution especially when the government promising an increasing power and stature of Islamic court in regulating marriage, divorce and polygamy by increasing the national budget for the The law also gained a strong support from local organization such as women organization, because of its aims in increasing womenAos status.
The marriage act was rather an accelerator than a predictor of increasing age of first marriage.
30 ItAos mean, with or without the implementation of Marriage Law, age of first marriage will increase eventually with increasing of education, although maybe in a slower rate.
The effect of Marriage Law in increasing age of marriage is also likely to be weaker among society with strong Muslim beliefs and low education such as Priangan ethnic group in West Java and Maduranese ethnic group in East Java.
It should be noted however, early marriage remains prevalence in some ethnic groups in Indonesia, but not in Socio-economic reform resulted from education policy by Suharto has empowered young people to take their own initiative to find their own mates.
The age of marriage increased because the youngsters may need a certain period of Industrialization and Westernization was also believed to affect Indonesian families by allowing couples to take responsibilities of their own economic-related decisions.
Marriage then are no longer arranged by parents with socio-economical reasons but because of love and self-fulfilment.
Nevertheless, self-choice marriage is not completely young peopleAos autonomy.
Parental approval remains important in self-choice marriage, both for men and CONCLUSION Undoubtely.
Suharto has an important role in Indonesian family changes.
His population policy was not only covered birth control to promote smaller family size, but also accompanied by marriage law and compulsory education.
Under his leadership, family planning program of Indonesia has known as one of the success A massive comprehensive family planning program combined with social .
enforcement resulted in a joint effect in changing people idea of family size, thus APublic Health of Indonesia Ae YCAB Publisher.
Volume 2.
Issue 2.
April-June 2016 | 44 A declining fertility from 5.
6 in children per women in 1970s to 4.
1 in 1980, 3.
2 in 1985 and 2.
8 in 1990.
Beside changes in its size, family change in Indonesia is also marked by the changing of familial patterns in terms of marriage.
With the influence of education policy, younger generation after 1970s married later than the previous times, and by their own choice, no longer under parentsAo Despite his autoritarian style.
Suharto brought a lot of socio-economic development throughout Indonesia.
The implementation of 9-year compulsory education had placed a strong foundation for the future Indonesian human capital and enabled women to obtain higher opportunities for schooling.
Beside facilitates the diffusion of ideas among young people and opened up their perspective toward reproductive rights and self actualization, education also increases womenAos opportunities to participate in With the increasing roles outside the domestic sector, delaying age of marriage and limiting family size becomes a choice for women in contemporary Indonesia.
The marriage act, however, was perceived as an accelerator rather than a predictor in increasing age of first marriage.
Regardless the existence of the Marriage Law 1974, age of first marriage is likely to increase with increasing of education, although maybe in a slower rate.
REFERENCES