Legal Protection of Women's Rights in the Determination of Wali Adhal (Reluctant Guardian)

Abstract

The issue of gender mainstreaming in Religious Courts has been a prominent concern within the Indonesian judiciary. This article examines the legal protection of women's rights in cases of wali adhal (reluctant marriage guardian) determination within the Indonesian Religious Courts. A wali adhal is a marriage guardian who refuses to consent to a woman's marriage without valid legal justification under Islamic law. This study analyzes the legal framework governing marriage guardianship in Islamic jurisprudence and Indonesian positive law, including the Compilation of Islamic Law (KHI), Law No. 1 of 1974 on Marriage, and Minister of Religious Affairs Regulation No. 30 of 2005 on Wali Hakim. The research demonstrates that the determination of wali adhal constitutes a form of legal protection for women's rights, consistent with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and Supreme Court Regulation No. 3 of 2017 concerning Guidelines for Adjudicating Cases of Women in Contact with the Law. The findings reveal that Religious Courts serve as crucial institutions for upholding justice, legal certainty, and protecting women's constitutional right to marry. This study contributes to Islamic family law scholarship by demonstrating how judicial mechanisms in wali adhal cases provide substantive protection for women's rights beyond formal procedural compliance.