190 islam, politics and change
sons. Sometimes the former spouses make an arrangement in which the
father keeps the land in his possession but promises to use it as their
sons’ mahar in the future.
4.5 Enforceability of Court Orders
If you look at the execution and enforceability of court orders, a mixed
picture occurs. With regard to spousal support for the three-month
waiting period, implementation is facilitated by the Islamic court, since
husbands are pushed by the court to pay in advance the entire sum
established in the court order, after which the husband may utter the
talak before the court.
In contrast, child support implementation depends on the ex-
husband’s goodwill. Many women complained that their ex-husbands
did not provide the support established in the court order. Although
there is a legal mechanism for collecting debts in the law, the Islamic
court of Bulukumba has never (yet) enforced a child support court order
through that procedure.
Somewhere in the middle is the enforcement of court orders concern-
ing marital property, which can be effective but is relatively expensive.
According to estimations by the chief clerk, enforcement requires about
1 million rupiah in court fees and, depending on the expected resistance,
additional payments (to police, sometimes military) of at least 4 million
rupiah. The current chief clerk had a good reputation in getting court
orders enforced. According to him, the network of his father, who was a
high ranking officer in the armed forces, helped him to obtain infor-
mation about the expected resistance. Moreover, he combines a tough
appearance (he is a tall, strong man, from the infamous Jeneponto area),
with an understanding for the context.
For instance, he told me that in many cases the persons involved would
respond with violence to the threat of force by the police. Therefore, he
said that he tends to give people a last chance, although there is no legal
necessity to do so. Together with someone from the police he will visit
the location in person and try to convince the person who is ordered
to hand over the property concerned to do so voluntarily. He said that
many people respond to the last chance to avoid the shame of a forced
foreclosure. In another case he postponed the enforcement and gave
the person the chance to harvest the rice first. According to the chief
clerk, such a humane approach greatly facilitates enforcement of court