Between Justice and Silence: Women’s Lived Experiences of Child Custody Proceedings in Religious Courts

Abstract

Islamic family law plays a central role in shaping the legal and emotional realities of Muslim women, particularly in the context of child custody (hadhanah) following divorce. Although prior research has examined Islamic legal procedures, limited attention has been given to how divorced women subjectively experience hadhanah proceedings in Religious Courts. What remains unclear is how women assign meaning to the custody process and perceive justice, identity, and agency within this legal framework. This study applies a descriptive phenomenological approach to explore how divorced women experience hadhanah in Religious Courts in East Java, Indonesia, between January and April 2024. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), in-depth interviews were conducted with nine Muslim women aged 28 to 45 who had undergone custody proceedings within the last three years. These interviews revealed four core themes: emotional vulnerability, perceived disempowerment, spiritual resilience, and the disconnect between legal ideals and lived reality. The findings show that participants viewed the hadhanah process as more than a legal dispute; they experienced it as a multifaceted ordeal involving emotional strain, religious conviction, and ongoing negotiations of identity and self-worth. The analysis highlights the inadequacy of procedural justice alone in addressing the psychological and spiritual needs of women involved in Islamic family law. These insights deepen our understanding of gender and legal consciousness in Muslim contexts and suggest the need for more empathetic, experience-based approaches to legal reform in Religious Courts.