Pasuruan, NU Online
With the central government considering a bill on the religious court that will regulate unregistered marriages, Pasuruan regency administration is pushing to ban them.
The bill, submitted by the Religious Affairs Ministry to the State Secretary early this month, seeks punishments for perpetrators of up to 3 months’ imprisonment and Rp 5 million in fines.<>
The bill will have to get through deliberation by the House of Representatives before being enacted.
The Pasuruan Religious Affairs Office has taken the initiative to launch a public campaign, distributing stickers that read “Stop unofficial marriages, because they have no legal grounds and bring misfortune to descendants”.
Chairman of the East Java's Nahdlatul Ulama Regional Board (PWNU) KH Mutawakkil Alallah said he disagreed with sanctions and fines for perpetrators because unofficial marriages were accommodated by Islamic law and were often chosen to avoid pre-marrital intercourse.
“The number of unofficial marriages in Pasuruan is quite high. Mostly by better-off people get married this way,” religious official Munif told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
Based on data filed by his office, 2,244 couples were married unofficially in 2008. Of these, 540 took place in Rembang district, which is notorious for women’s receptiveness to unofficial marriage.
“In facts the numbers could be higher, because many couples get unofficially married discreetly,” Munif said, while refuting that such a marriages were a result of the high cost of getting marriages registered.
A marriage certificate costs Rp 30,000, he said.
“If a married couple can not afford to register their marriage, they just need to enclose a letter stating their inability to pay from the village head or a local official, and they will be exempted from the expense,” he said.
Munif said his office had sent recommendation letters to people married unofficially, inviting them to register their marriages with expenses covered by the administration.
Men who wanted to marry unofficially usually had to provide a dowry, for example in the form of a sewing machine, farm land or Rp 35 million, Islamic Center for Democracy and Human Rights Empowerment (ICDHRE) director Ali Sodikin said.
Such marriages were a popular option because either the women were financially motivated or couples wanted to avoid pre-marriage intercourse, Ali said, adding that this impacted the sanctity of marriage.
“In Pausuruan, many women have been unofficially married three or four times. There’s also a case of one getting married 29 times.”
A recent incident in which a couple were threatened by a mob in Pilangsari, has led many local residents to believe unofficial marriages need stricter regulation.
A group had attempted to prevent Utami, a widow with two children, from tying the knot with Pardi during their unofficial marriage, Antara reported on the weekend.
“Although the majority of us are Muslim, we refuse to allow this unnofficial marriage because it will harm the children. We have banned unofficial marriages since the 1990s, through village regulations,” Solihin, a resident, said.
The couple along with a cleric who led the marriage proceeding were taken to the police.
Police chief Adj. Snr. Comr. Sayudi said the couple were provided with a cleric a refuge from possible wrath.
“We will facilitate a meeting for them with officials from the religious office for registration,” he said. (dar)
With the central government considering a bill on the religious court that will regulate unregistered marriages, Pasuruan regency administration is pushing to ban them.
The bill, submitted by the Religious Affairs Ministry to the State Secretary early this month, seeks punishments for perpetrators of up to 3 months’ imprisonment and Rp 5 million in fines.<>
The bill will have to get through deliberation by the House of Representatives before being enacted.
The Pasuruan Religious Affairs Office has taken the initiative to launch a public campaign, distributing stickers that read “Stop unofficial marriages, because they have no legal grounds and bring misfortune to descendants”.
Chairman of the East Java's Nahdlatul Ulama Regional Board (PWNU) KH Mutawakkil Alallah said he disagreed with sanctions and fines for perpetrators because unofficial marriages were accommodated by Islamic law and were often chosen to avoid pre-marrital intercourse.
“The number of unofficial marriages in Pasuruan is quite high. Mostly by better-off people get married this way,” religious official Munif told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
Based on data filed by his office, 2,244 couples were married unofficially in 2008. Of these, 540 took place in Rembang district, which is notorious for women’s receptiveness to unofficial marriage.
“In facts the numbers could be higher, because many couples get unofficially married discreetly,” Munif said, while refuting that such a marriages were a result of the high cost of getting marriages registered.
A marriage certificate costs Rp 30,000, he said.
“If a married couple can not afford to register their marriage, they just need to enclose a letter stating their inability to pay from the village head or a local official, and they will be exempted from the expense,” he said.
Munif said his office had sent recommendation letters to people married unofficially, inviting them to register their marriages with expenses covered by the administration.
Men who wanted to marry unofficially usually had to provide a dowry, for example in the form of a sewing machine, farm land or Rp 35 million, Islamic Center for Democracy and Human Rights Empowerment (ICDHRE) director Ali Sodikin said.
Such marriages were a popular option because either the women were financially motivated or couples wanted to avoid pre-marriage intercourse, Ali said, adding that this impacted the sanctity of marriage.
“In Pausuruan, many women have been unofficially married three or four times. There’s also a case of one getting married 29 times.”
A recent incident in which a couple were threatened by a mob in Pilangsari, has led many local residents to believe unofficial marriages need stricter regulation.
A group had attempted to prevent Utami, a widow with two children, from tying the knot with Pardi during their unofficial marriage, Antara reported on the weekend.
“Although the majority of us are Muslim, we refuse to allow this unnofficial marriage because it will harm the children. We have banned unofficial marriages since the 1990s, through village regulations,” Solihin, a resident, said.
The couple along with a cleric who led the marriage proceeding were taken to the police.
Police chief Adj. Snr. Comr. Sayudi said the couple were provided with a cleric a refuge from possible wrath.
“We will facilitate a meeting for them with officials from the religious office for registration,” he said. (dar)
