Muslim Women’s Lived Experiences in Divorce Mediation at Islamic Religious Courts
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Abstract
Divorce mediation within Islamic Religious Courts is a significant topic at the intersection of law, religion, and lived experience. While existing studies emphasize procedures and institutional mechanisms, little attention has been paid to Muslim women’s personal and cultural experiences in mediation. This study addresses this gap by asking: How do Muslim women perceive and construct meaning during the mediation process within Islamic Religious Courts? Adopting an interpretative hermeneutic phenomenological approach, the research involved in-depth interviews with 12 Muslim women who participated in divorce mediation in Indonesia. Data were analyzed thematically to explore emotional, spiritual, and relational dimensions. The findings identify four core themes: emotional ambivalence, negotiation of religious values and personal rights, spiritual resilience, and perceived power dynamics. These insights reveal that mediation is not only a legal procedure but also a deeply personal and spiritual negotiation embedded in broader socio-cultural contexts. This study contributes to Islamic family law scholarship by highlighting women’s voices and experiences, and offers implications for developing gender-sensitive mediation practices. Future research should integrate multiple stakeholder perspectives and comparative contexts across diverse Islamic societies.
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