Years after marriages, relationships are recognized

Almost two dozen couples married under Islamic law, but whose relationships went without official registration for decades, finally received recognition from the Larangan Religious Affairs Agency in Tangerang on Friday.

Most of the 22 couples admitted that they did not register their marriages due to financial problems or had been deceived by officials.

Some also said that they did not understand the importance of registering their marriage.

“I’ve been married for 33 years and I’ve asked someone from the agency to settle the official documents. But to date I haven’t received it,” 55-year-old husband Asnawi said as quoted by kompas.com.

Cipadu residents M Yahya, 43, and his wife Siti Munaswaroh, 41, said that they simply did not have enough money to obtain the marriage documents.

“My salary as an outsource worker at a private company is only Rp 60,000 (US$6) a week - not even enough to make the ends meet. That’s why the official marriage thing is delayed,” he said.

Agency head Nurdin Usman said that couples need to pay Rp 450,000 each to obtain the marriage documents.

“Some of the couples canceled their plans to obtain the marriage documents after hearing of the fee. Out of 33 couples, only 22 actually obtained the documents,” he said. (iwa)
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