Urban Javanese Women Postpone Marriage, but Are Less Financially Independent Than Their Rural Counterparts

Abstract

This report presents findings from the 1979-80 Indonesian portion of the Asian Marriage Survey in Java among a sample of about 1000 women aged 15-44 years and 540 men. Urban women were better educated married later and were less likely to have arranged marriages but were more economically dependent upon men than rural women. Being employed delayed the timing of marriage among urban men and among men and women in rural areas. Average marriage age was 16.3 years for rural women 18.5 years for urban women 22.3 years for rural men and 24.3 years for urban men. Men in either urban or rural areas had flexibility in choosing a spouse. Rural women had the least freedom of partner choice. 77% of rural women and 44% of urban women had arranged marriages. 58% of rural men and 85% of urban men selected their own spouse. 63% of rural men and 55% of rural women came from land-holding families; 12% of each gender were from landless families. 76-77% of urban men and women came from working class families; the rest had agrarian backgrounds. 96% of urban men and 81% of urban women had some education and 26% of men had more than a high school education. 17% of urban women and 3% of rural women had more than 10 years of schooling. 88% of rural men and 73% of rural women had some schooling. Urban women had the least work experience before marriage. 33% of urban men and only 3% of urban women had white-collar jobs. Rural women from a white-collar family were about half as likely as rural women from land-holding families to marry at any given age. Rural women were less likely to marry if they were in school or employed. Rural mens marriage age was not affected by family background. Level of schooling did not affect rural mens or womens marriage timing. Family background was a key marriage timing factor for urban women but not men. More recent effects of modernization may have changed patterns.