From Religious Validity to Legal Invisibility: A Socio-Legal Analysis of Unregistered Marriage and Family Vulnerability in Contemporary Indonesia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31958/jisrah.v7i01.17144Abstrak
The persistence of unregistered marriage (nikah siri) in Indonesia reflects an ongoing tension between religious legitimacy and state legality in the governance of family institutions. Although such marriages are generally considered valid under Islamic jurisprudence when the essential pillars and conditions of marriage are fulfilled, their absence from state registration systems creates significant legal and social consequences. Existing scholarship has predominantly examined nikah siri from doctrinal legal perspectives, while limited attention has been devoted to its broader implications for family sociology and legal vulnerability. This study aims to examine the socio-legal dynamics of unregistered marriage and its impact on family structures, gender relations, and legal protection mechanisms in contemporary Indonesia. Employing a qualitative socio-legal approach, the research draws upon field interviews, observations, and documentary analysis involving individuals directly engaged in unregistered marriages. The findings reveal that nikah siri is driven by multiple factors, including economic constraints, administrative barriers, insufficient legal literacy, social acceptance, and procedural complexities in obtaining marriage dispensation. More importantly, the study demonstrates that unregistered marriage produces a condition of legal invisibility in which women and children experience diminished legal protection, uncertain civil status, inheritance disputes, and social stigmatization. The study proposes the concept of “family legal invisibility” as an analytical framework to explain how the absence of state recognition transforms private marital arrangements into structural vulnerabilities. The findings contribute to socio-legal scholarship by bridging family sociology, legal pluralism, and Islamic family law, while offering policy recommendations aimed at strengthening marriage registration systems and enhancing legal accessibility for vulnerable communities.
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