The Effectiveness of SEMA Number 3 of 2018 in Strengthening the Legal Protection of Iddah and Mut'ah Alimony Claims for Divorced Widows (Study of Decision Number 238/Pdt.G/2024/PA. Mn)

Agus Widyanto; Mohammad Muhibbin; Diyan Isnaeni

doi:10.61255/vokatek.v4i2.1602

Authors

Agus Widyanto Universitas Islam Malang
Mohammad Muhibbin Universitas Islam Malang
Diyan Isnaeni Universitas Islam Malang

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.61255/vokatek.v4i2.1602

Keywords:

Iddah Maintenance, Mut’ah, Supreme Court Circular Letter, Wife-Initiated Divorce, Women’s Legal Protection

Abstract

This study examines the role of Supreme Court Circular Letter Number 3 of 2018 in protecting a wife’s rights to iddah and mut’ah maintenance in wife-initiated divorce, with particular reference to Decision Number 238/Pdt.G/2024/PA.Mn. This study employed doctrinal legal research using statutory and case approaches. The primary legal materials included Decision Number 238/Pdt.G/2024/PA.Mn, Law Number 1 of 1974 as amended by Law Number 16 of 2019, the Compilation of Islamic Law, Supreme Court Regulation Number 3 of 2017, and Supreme Court Circular Letter Number 3 of 2018. Secondary legal materials consisted of relevant books and scholarly articles. The legal materials were analysed through legal interpretation and content analysis, focusing on the recognition of post-divorce rights, the application of the Circular Letter in judicial reasoning, the proportionality of the awarded maintenance, and the enforceability of the judgment. The findings show that the court explicitly relied on Supreme Court Circular Letter Number 3 of 2018 after finding insufficient evidence that the plaintiff had committed nusyuz. The court awarded IDR 7,500,000 in iddah maintenance and IDR 16,000,000 in mut’ah. These findings demonstrate normative recognition and adjudicative protection of women’s post-divorce economic rights. However, enforcement-level effectiveness could not be established because no verified evidence of actual payment or execution was available. Therefore, the Circular Letter functions as an interpretive judicial guideline, although its broader effectiveness cannot be generalised from a single decision.

Abstract views: 36 ,

PDF downloads: 13

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Abbasi, M. Z. (2016). Women’s right to unilateral no-fault based divorce in Pakistan and India. Jindal Global Law Review, 7(1), 81–95. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41020-016-0024-9

Abdurahman, M. F., & Jauhari, N. (2024). Nafkah ‘iddah dan mut’ah akibat cerai gugat perspektif qirā’ah mubādalah Faqihuddin Abdul Kodir (Studi kasus Putusan Hakim Pengadilan Agama Sidoarjo Nomor: 2938/Pdt.G/2023/PA.Sda). Jurnal Intelek Dan Cendikiawan Nusantara, 1(4), 5174–5186.

Betzler, M. (2024). Ending a special relationship: Toward an ethics of divorce. The Philosophical Quarterly, pqae136. https://doi.org/10.1093/pq/pqae136

Brüggmann, D., & Kreyenfeld, M. (2023). Earnings trajectories after divorce: The legacies of the earner model during marriage. Population Research and Policy Review, 42(2), 23. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11113-023-09756-4

Dahwadin, D., Syaripudin, E. I., Sofiawati, E., & Somantri, M. D. (2020). Hakikat perceraian berdasarkan ketentuan hukum Islam di Indonesia. YUDISIA: Jurnal Pemikiran Hukum Dan Hukum Islam, 11(1), 87–104. https://doi.org/10.21043/yudisia.v11i1.3622

Darmawan, D., Suhaimi, S., Natsir, M., Rasyidin, T. R. T., & Mustakim, M. (2023). Relative competence of the Sharia Court: Talaq divorce lawsuit and protection of women’s rights. Samarah: Jurnal Hukum Keluarga Dan Hukum Islam, 7(1), 84–100. https://doi.org/10.22373/sjhk.v7i1.16053

Habibah, Z., Ali, M. S., & Ahmad, I. M. (2025). Jurisprudential implications for the right of mut’ah in divorce at the wife’s initiative. Hakamain: Journal of Sharia and Law Studies, 4(2), 14–23. https://doi.org/10.57255/hakamain.v4i2.1529

Hesti, Y., Harahap, B., & Nugraheni, A. S. C. (2025). Economic vulnerability of women after divorce towards a gender-responsive family law policy. Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Law, Economics & Good Governance (ICLAW 2025), Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, 597–605. https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-519-5_47

Hussain, M., & Akhtar, J. (2025). Recent debates on wife’s right to judicial separation: An analysis of the traditional and modern interpretations of Muslim family laws in Pakistan. Contemporary Islam, 19(1), 195–217. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11562-024-00568-7

Ismail, M., Faisal, R. A. H., & Zainur, Z. (2024). Marriage and divorce in Islamic law: Sociological implications for modern Muslim societies. Journal of Islamic Law El Madani, 4(1), 25–37. https://doi.org/10.55438/jile.v4i1.142

Kobko-Odarii, V., Leheza, Y., Sokolovskiy, K., Tatarenko, H., & Nestertsova-Sobakar, O. (2025). Reconstructing gender equality in family law: A normative and comparative analysis of European family law systems in religious context. Syariah: Jurnal Hukum Dan Pemikiran, 25(1), 195–214. https://doi.org/10.18592/sjhp.v25i1.17694

Lestari, P. A. (2024). Gender equity in Islamic marriage and divorce: A narrative review. Sinergi International Journal of Islamic Studies, 2(4), 203–214. https://doi.org/10.61194/ijis.v2i4.611

Moore, E. (2017). Divorce, families and emotion work: ‘Only death will make us part.’ Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-43822-5

Mortelmans, D. (2020). Economic consequences of divorce: A review. In M. Kreyenfeld & H. Trappe (Eds.), Parental life courses after separation and divorce in Europe (pp. 23–41). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44575-1_2

Muhasim, A., Abdullah, A., Fikri, M., Ab Rahman, A., & Wahab, A. (2026). Reforming divorce rules in the Compilation of Islamic Law (KHI): Bridging real life and legal norms in Indonesia. Jurnal LITIGASI, 27(1), 100–129. https://doi.org/10.23969/litigasi.v27i1.48461

Nasution, M. A. (2018). Perceraian menurut Kompilasi Hukum Islam (KHI) dan fiqh. Jurnal EL-QANUNIY: Jurnal Ilmu-Ilmu Kesyariahan Dan Pranata Sosial, 4(2), 157–170. https://doi.org/10.24952/el-qanuniy.v4i2.2385

Ottakkam Thodukayil, F. S., Palaniswamy, U., & Kunjumon, A. (2026). The causes of divorce and its effects on women: A systematic review. Marriage & Family Review, 62(2), 59–94. https://doi.org/10.1080/01494929.2025.2484781

Ramdania, D. (2020). Aspek hukum perceraian dalam persfektif hukum Islam. Wacana Paramarta: Jurnal Ilmu Hukum, 19(1), 17–28. https://doi.org/10.32816/paramarta.v19i1.81

Rohman, H., Ğafurof, R. A., Jamaluddin, A., Toyyibah, W., & Naf’an, A. W. (2025). Between law and faith: Judicial dilemmas of unregistered polygamy and divorce in Indonesia. Indonesian Journal of Islamic Law, 8(2), 168–187. https://doi.org/10.35719/5f0dpp36

Sabbah-Karkabi, M., & Ben-Ari, A. (2025). Intersectionality of marital separation and economic abuse: A continuous economic dependency. Violence Against Women, 10778012251379436. https://doi.org/10.1177/10778012251379436

Wahidullah, W., & Wahid, R. K. M. (2026). Philosophical perspectives on divorce litigation and women’s rights in Islamic family law: A study of Indonesian context. Al Qodiri: Jurnal Pendidikan, Sosial Dan Keagamaan, 24(2), 315–329. https://doi.org/10.53515/alqodiri.v24i2.107

Wardana, D. S., & Junoh, M. R. bin. (2026). Judicial protection of women’s maintenance rights in wife-initiated divorce: A study of Religious Court decisions in East Java. Sakina: Journal of Family Studies, 10(1), 67–82. https://doi.org/10.18860/jfs.v10i1.25294

Wardatun, A., & Smith, B. J. (2020). Woman-initiated divorce and feminist fiqh in Indonesia: Narrating male acts of nushūz in marriage. Ulumuna, 24(2), 266–295. https://doi.org/10.20414/ujis.v24i2.416

Warnis, Kustati, M., Nelmawarni, Hayati, S., & Atieqoh, S. (2026). Negotiating justice in litigated divorce: Women’s legal consciousness in Indonesian Religious Courts. Al-Istinbath: Jurnal Hukum Islam, 11(1), 243–270. https://doi.org/10.29240/jhi.v11i1.15780

Yusuf, N., Azizah, N., & Hasan, F. (2023). Feminism analysis of judges’ considerations for post-divorce domestic violence victims in Medan and Banda Aceh Religious Courts. Al-’Adalah, 20(2), 283–308. https://doi.org/10.24042/adalah.v20i2.16177

Republic of Indonesia. (1974). Undang-Undang Nomor 1 Tahun 1974 tentang Perkawinan [Law Number 1 of 1974 concerning Marriage].

Republic of Indonesia. (2011). Undang-Undang Nomor 12 Tahun 2011 tentang Pembentukan Peraturan Perundang-undangan [Law Number 12 of 2011 concerning the Formation of Laws and Regulations].

Republic of Indonesia. (2019). Undang-Undang Nomor 16 Tahun 2019 tentang Perubahan atas Undang-Undang Nomor 1 Tahun 1974 tentang Perkawinan [Law Number 16 of 2019 concerning the Amendment to Law Number 1 of 1974 concerning Marriage].

President of the Republic of Indonesia. (1991). Instruksi Presiden Nomor 1 Tahun 1991 tentang Penyebarluasan Kompilasi Hukum Islam [Presidential Instruction Number 1 of 1991 concerning the Dissemination of the Compilation of Islamic Law].

Supreme Court of the Republic of Indonesia. (2017). Peraturan Mahkamah Agung Nomor 3 Tahun 2017 tentang Pedoman Mengadili Perkara Perempuan Berhadapan dengan Hukum [Supreme Court Regulation Number 3 of 2017 concerning Guidelines for Adjudicating Cases Involving Women in Conflict with the Law].

Supreme Court of the Republic of Indonesia. (2018). Surat Edaran Mahkamah Agung Nomor 3 Tahun 2018 tentang Pemberlakuan Rumusan Hasil Rapat Pleno Kamar Mahkamah Agung Tahun 2018 sebagai Pedoman Pelaksanaan Tugas bagi Pengadilan [Supreme Court Circular Letter Number 3 of 2018].

Madiun Religious Court. (2024). Putusan Nomor 238/Pdt.G/2024/PA.Mn [Decision Number 238/Pdt.G/2024/PA.Mn].