Protection of Women’s and Children’s Rights After Divorce in Religious Courts: Challenges in Implementation and Legal Reconstruction

Abstract

The protection of women’s and children’s rights following divorce is one of the crucial issues in Islamic family law in Indonesia. Although the national legal framework, including the Marriage Law, Compilation of Islamic Law, and various Supreme Court policies, has recognized post-divorce rights such as iddah alimony, mut’ah, and child support, their implementation still faces various obstacles, resulting in these rights often not being effectively fulfilled. This study aims to analyze the implementation of protections for the rights of women and children after divorce in religious courts, identify the structural and cultural factors that influence the effectiveness of their implementation, and formulate a model for reconstructing legal protections oriented toward substantive justice. This study employs a juridical-normative approach through conceptual analysis integrating an analysis of religious court rulings. The findings reveal a significant gap between the normative recognition of post-divorce rights and the reality of their implementation. This gap is influenced by weak mechanisms for enforcing rulings, the suboptimal use of ex officio authority by judges, and the strong patriarchal social constructs that affect compliance with post-divorce obligations. These conditions result in legal protection that is more formal in nature rather than capable of providing real justice for women and children. This study proposes a model of enforceable justice that integrates the perspectives of gender justice and Sharia objectives through seven key mechanisms: conditional execution before ṭalāq, asset seizure as security, a maintenance payment system based on income deductions and monitored accounts, sanctions based on contempt of court, a maintenance enforcement system, an asset-based affirmative approach for the informal sector, and cross-sectoral institutional collaboration. This study contributes to the development of Islamic family law by presenting a protection framework that is more implementable, effective, and oriented toward fulfilling the rights of women and children after divorce.

[Perlindungan hak perempuan dan anak pasca perceraian merupakan salah satu isu krusial dalam hukum keluarga Islam di Indonesia. Meskipun kerangka hukum nasional, termasuk Undang-Undang Perkawinan, Kompilasi Hukum Islam, dan berbagai kebijakan Mahkamah Agung, telah mengakui hak-hak pasca perceraian seperti nafkah iddah, mut’ah, dan nafkah anak, implementasinya masih menghadapi berbagai kendala sehingga hak-hak tersebut sering kali tidak terpenuhi secara efektif. Penelitian ini bertujuan menganalisis implementasi perlindungan hak perempuan dan anak pasca perceraian dalam peradilan agama, mengidentifikasi faktor-faktor struktural dan kultural yang memengaruhi efektivitas pelaksanaannya, serta merumuskan model rekonstruksi perlindungan hukum yang berorientasi pada keadilan substantif. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan yuridis-normatif melalui analisis konseptual mengintegrasikan analisis terhadap putusan peradilan agama. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan adanya kesenjangan yang nyata antara pengakuan normatif atas hak-hak pasca perceraian dan realitas implementasinya. Kesenjangan tersebut dipengaruhi oleh lemahnya mekanisme eksekusi putusan, belum optimalnya penggunaan kewenangan ex officio oleh hakim, serta kuatnya konstruksi sosial patriarkal yang memengaruhi kepatuhan terhadap kewajiban pasca perceraian. Kondisi ini menyebabkan perlindungan hukum lebih bersifat formal daripada mampu memberikan keadilan yang nyata bagi perempuan dan anak. Penelitian ini menawarkan model enforceable justice yang mengintegrasikan perspektif keadilan gender dan tujuan syariah, melalui tujuh mekanisme utama, yaitu conditional execution before ṭalāq, sita jaminan atas aset, sistem pembayaran nafkah berbasis pemotongan penghasilan dan rekening terpantau, sanksi berbasis contempt of court, maintenance enforcement system, pendekatan afirmatif berbasis aset untuk sektor informal, dan kolaborasi kelembagaan lintas sektor. Penelitian ini berkontribusi terhadap pengembangan hukum keluarga Islam dengan menghadirkan kerangka perlindungan yang lebih implementatif, efektif, dan berorientasi pada pemenuhan hak perempuan dan anak pasca perceraian].