The voices of unmarried pregnant girls and the girlhood discourse in Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper discusses the discourse of girlhood in Indonesia in the narratives of unmarried pregnant girls, based on ethnographic research in Yogyakarta. Given cultural taboos regarding these girls such instances are kept hidden. I seek to explain problems regarding teenage pregnancy here, with a focus on the experiences of pregnant girls to reveal how gender norms operate against them with respect to romantic relationships, dropping out of school, early marriage, and sexual violence. Further, this paper sees the paradox of gender and sexuality in post-reformation Indonesia. Although the discussion on teenage pregnancy and girlhood has become part of public discourse, there is a need for an alternative gender sensitive approach.