Human Rights and Its Contested Legal Paradigm
A Case Study of Bride Kidnapping in Sumba
Abstract
This article examines the philosophical foundation of the tension between two contested legal paradigms, namely the Sociological Jurisprudence and Historical School of Jurisprudence, and how the contestation affects human rights discourse in Indonesia. Sociological jurisprudence perceives law as a tool of social engineering, while the Historical School of Jurisprudence argues that the development of law is a subconscious and organic process. Such contested legal paradigms are relevant to the case of “kawin tangkap” or bride kidnapping in Sumba, East Nusa Tenggara Indonesia. This is certainly problematic from the human rights perspective, as it is contradictory to the protection of women and children. However, like in some other traditions, the practice has been continuously preserved in local communities. The article employs legal anthropology research methods to delve into the symbols and meanings embedded within the customary laws obeyed by local communities. Additionally, this research utilizes legal philosophy methodologies to scrutinize paradigmatic disputes among schools of thought and how these disputes affect the rights of women. The study also investigates variances in perspectives concerning customary law, state law, and human rights, particularly in the context of examining the tradition of captive bride kidnapping. The challenge lies in how human rights can be employed to foster a gradual shift away from deeply ingrained patriarchal cultural norms and practices, with the aim of enhancing the protection of women’s and children’s rights, all while preserving customary laws and the harmony of local communities. This article endeavors to address this challenge by advocating for effective communication strategies that encourage local communities to embrace human rights principles and abide by the law, driven by rational awareness. The findings from this research conscientiously raise awareness about human rights within local communities through effective legal communication, without disrupting the existing local order.
Keywords: Human Rights, Historical School of Jurisprudence, Bride Kidnapping, Sociological Jurisprudence, Communication.
References
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Mbajiorgu, Grace, “The Paradox Between Customary Law” (2017) 14:2 Bangladesh e-Journal of Sociology.
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Murphy, James Bernard, The Philosophy of Customary Law (Oxford University Press).
Nkosi, Makho, “Bride abduction in KwaZulu-Natal schools and its effects on education” (2009) 80 Gender Violence In Education 109–114.
Panjaitan, Junifer Dame et al, “Forced Marriage in the Bride-Napping Case in Sumba-East Nusa Tenggara Linked with Positive Law in Indonesia” (2022) 22:3 Jurnal Dinamika Hukum 632–646.
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Pound, Roscoe, Jurisprudence (New Jersey: The Lawbook Exchange, 2000).
Priel, Dan, “Holmes’s ‘Path of the Law’ as Non-Analytic Jurisprudence” (2016) 35:1 University of Queensland Law Journal 57–73.
Quintavalla, Alberto & Klaus Heine, “Priorities and Human Rights” (2019) 23:4 The international journal of human rights 679–697.
Roughan, Nicole, “The Nature of Customary Law: Perreau-Saussine, Amanda, and James Bernard Murphy (eds). 2007. The Nature of customary law. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 348 pp” (2009) 15:3 Res Publica 305–313.
Rubin, Gayle S, Deviations: A Gayle Rubin Reader (Duke University Press, 2011).
Snajdr, Edward, “Modern Clan Politics: The Power of ‘Blood’ in Kazakhstan and Beyond” (20096) 1082:2 American Anthropologist 436–437.
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———, A General Jurisprudence for Law and Society (New York: Oxford University Press, 2006).
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Vel, Jacqueline AC, “Strategic of Adat in Land-Acquisition Politics in East Sumba” 20 (5) The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology.
———, Uma Politics An Ethnography of Democratization in West Sumba, Indonesia (Leiden: KITLV Press, 2019).
Wardhani, Lita Tyesta Addy Listya, Muhammad Dzikirullah H Noho & Aga Natalis, “The adoption of various legal systems in Indonesia: an effort to initiate the prismatic Mixed Legal Systems” (2022) 8:1 Cogent Social Sciences 1–21.
Warria, Ajwang, “Child Marriages, Child Protection and Sustainable Development in Kenya: Is Legislation Sufficient?” (2019) 23:2 African Journal of Reproductive Health 121–133.
Werner, Cynthia, “Bride Abduction in Post-Soviet Central Asia: Marking a Shift Towards Patriarchy through Local Discourses of Shame and Tradition” (2009) 15:2 The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 314–331.
An-Na’im, Abdullahi Ahmed, “Introduction” in Human Rights in Cross-Cultural Perspective (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992).
Arjoca, Vlad-Mihai, “The relationship between linguistic pluralism and legal pluralism” (2020) 67 Revista de Stiinte Politice 45–55.
As-Suvi, Ahmad Qiram & Moh Zainullah, “Sociology of Law in the Perspective of Roscoe Pound and Donald Black and its Relevance in the Indonesian Context” (2022) 1:2 Peradaban Journal of Law and Society 83–95.
Bagir, Zainal Abidin et al, Membatasi Tanpa Melanggar: Hak Kebebasan Beragama Atau Berkeyakinan (Yogyakarta: CRCS UGM, 2019).
Barzilai, Gad, “Culture of Patriarchy in Law: Violence from Antiquity to Modernity” (2004) 38:4 Law & Society Review 867–883.
Baxi, Ubendra, The Future of Human Rights, 3d ed (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008).
BBC, “Kyrgyzstan: Fury over death of ‘bride kidnapping’ victim”, (2021), online: BBC News
Bedner, Adriaan, Kajian Sosio-Legal (Sosio-Legal Studies) (Denpasar: Pustaka, 2012).
CCPR General Comment No. 28: Article 3 (Equality of Rights Between Men and Women).
Chantler, Khatidja, Geetanjali Gangoli & Marianne Hester, “Kidnapping Marriage In The UK: Religious, Cultural, Economic, Or State Violence?” (2009) 29:4 Critical Socio Policy.
Chowdhury, Ahmed Ragib, “A Deplorable Custom Repressing Women in Kyrgyzstan” (2020) Dhaka Law Review, online:
Clark, Brigitte & Claudina Richards, “The Prevention and Prohibition of Forced Marriages: A Comparative Approach” (2008) 57:3 International & Comparative Law Quarterly.
Detik News, “Kawin Tangkap Jadi Kontroversi, Jangan Sampai Adat Langgar Hak Asasi”, (2020), online:
Eldridge, Loren, “Gone and forgotten: Vinogradoff’s historical jurisprudence” (2021) 41:2 Legal Studies 194–213.
Ezer, Tamar, “Forging Path for Women’s Rights in Customary Law” (2016) 27:1 University of Miami School of Law Institutional Repository 65–86.
Freeman, Michael David Alan, Lyold’s Introduction to Jurisprudence (London: Sweet Maxwell, 2001).
Friedman, Lawrence, “Borders: On the Emerging Sociology of Transnational Law” (1996) 32 Stanford Journal of International Law 65 .
Gardner, John, “Hart on Legality, Justice and Morality” (2010) 1:2 An International Journal of Legal and Political Thought 253–265.
Gill, Aisha K & Sundari Anintha, “Introduction: Framing Forced Marriage as a Form of Violence Against Women” in Forced Marriage: Introducing a Social Justice and Human Rights Perspective (Zed Books, 2011).
Grugel, Jean, “Children’s rights and children’s welfare after the Convention on the Rights of the Child” (2013) 13:1 Progress in Development Studies 19–30.
Gulik, Gauri van & Janet Walsh, Exchanging Daughters for Livestock: Child Marriage In South Sudan: In South Sudan, girls who resist marriage face violence from their own families, report Janet Walsh and Gauri van Gulik of Human Rights Watch, The Daily Beast, by Gauri van Gulik & Janet Walsh, The Daily Beast (The Newsweek/Daily Beast Company LLC, 2013).
Handrahan, LM, “Implications of International Human Rights Law and Bride Kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan” (2000) XVI The Fletcher Journal of Development Studies 1–13.
Hart, Herbert Lionel Adolphus, The Concept of Law (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1961).
Holmes, Oliver Wendell, The Occasional Speeches of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes (Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1962).
Horii, Hoko, “A Blind Spot in International Human Rights Framework: A Space Between Tradition and Modernity Within the Child Marriage Discourse” (2020) 24:8 The International Journal of Human Rights.
Ihromi, Tapi Omas, “Beberapa Catatan Mengenai Metode Kasus Sengketa yang Digunakan Dalam Antropologi Hukum” in Antropologi Hukum: Sebuah Bunga Rampai (Jakarta: Yayasan Obor Indonesia, 1993).
Jayaraman, Anuja, Tesfayi Gebreselassie & S Chandrasekhar, “Effect of Conflict on Age at Marriage and Age at First Birth in Rwanda” (2009) 28:5 Population Research and Policy Review 551–567.
Jezierska, Katarzyna, “With Habermas against Habermas. Deliberation without Consensus” (2019) 15:1 Journal of Public Deliberation.
Katz, Daniel Martin et al, “Complex societies and the growth of the law” (2020) 10 (18737) Scientific Reports.
Kiye, Mikano Emmanuel, “Conflict Between Customary law and Human Rights in Cameroon: The Role of the Courts in Fostering an Equitably Gendered Society” (2015) 36:2 African Study Monographs 75–100.
Kopong, Guidora Julianta, “Kekerasan Berbasis Gender: Telaah Teoritis ‘Kawin Tangkap’ Dalam Budaya Sumba (NTT)” (2020) 1:2 Optimisme: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, dan Budaya 23–27.
Lestari, Raissa, “Implementasi Konvensi Internasional Tentang Hak Anak (Convention on The Rights of The Child) di Indonesia (Studi kasus: Pelanggaran Terhadap Hak Anak di Provinsi Kepulauan Riau 2010-2015)” (2017) 4:2 JOM FISIP 1–10.
Lolo, Irene Umbu, “Dari Liturgi Baptisan Menuju Liturgi Kehidupan: Menjadi Gereja Bagi Perempuan Korban Kawin Tangkap” (2020) 6:2 Kenosis: Jurnal Kajian Teologi 216–237.
Marshall, Anna-Maria, “Communities and Culture: Enriching Legal Consciousness and Legal Culture” (2006) 31:1 Law & Social Inquiry 229–249.
Mazrieva, Eva, “‘Kawin Tangkap’ di Sumba, Tradisi atau Kedok Merampas Hak Perempuan?”, (2023), online: VOA Indonesia
Mbajiorgu, Grace, “The Paradox Between Customary Law” (2017) 14:2 Bangladesh e-Journal of Sociology.
Merry, Sally Engle, Human Rights and Gender Violence Translating International into Local Justice (The University of Chicago Press, 2006).
Meyer, Elise, “Designing Women: The Definition of ‘Woman’ in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women” (2016) 16:2 Chicago Journal of International Law 553–390.
Moore, Sally Falk, “Law and Social Change: The Semi-Autonomous Social Field as An Appropriate Subject of Study” (1973) Law and Society Review/Summer.
———, Law as Process: An Anthropological Approach (Hamburg: Lit, 2000).
Murphy, James Bernard, The Philosophy of Customary Law (Oxford University Press).
Nkosi, Makho, “Bride abduction in KwaZulu-Natal schools and its effects on education” (2009) 80 Gender Violence In Education 109–114.
Panjaitan, Junifer Dame et al, “Forced Marriage in the Bride-Napping Case in Sumba-East Nusa Tenggara Linked with Positive Law in Indonesia” (2022) 22:3 Jurnal Dinamika Hukum 632–646.
Pignuoli-Ocampo, Sergio, “Communication as analytical unit in Luhmann and Habermas” (2017) 73 Convergencia Revista de Ciencias Sociales 1–25.
Population Matters, “No Consent: No Choice But to Marry Their Kidnappers”, (2023), online: Population Matters
Pound, Roscoe, Jurisprudence (New Jersey: The Lawbook Exchange, 2000).
Priel, Dan, “Holmes’s ‘Path of the Law’ as Non-Analytic Jurisprudence” (2016) 35:1 University of Queensland Law Journal 57–73.
Quintavalla, Alberto & Klaus Heine, “Priorities and Human Rights” (2019) 23:4 The international journal of human rights 679–697.
Roughan, Nicole, “The Nature of Customary Law: Perreau-Saussine, Amanda, and James Bernard Murphy (eds). 2007. The Nature of customary law. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 348 pp” (2009) 15:3 Res Publica 305–313.
Rubin, Gayle S, Deviations: A Gayle Rubin Reader (Duke University Press, 2011).
Snajdr, Edward, “Modern Clan Politics: The Power of ‘Blood’ in Kazakhstan and Beyond” (20096) 1082:2 American Anthropologist 436–437.
Soeriadiredja, Purwadi, Laporan Penelitian: Dinamika Identitas Budaya Orang Sumba”, Prodi Antropologi FIB Universitas Udayana Denpasar, by Purwadi Soeriadiredja (2016).
Szilágyi, István H, “Social Legal Consciousness or Legal Culture?” (2022) 7:2 Public Governance, Administration and Finances Law Review 5–39.
Tamanaha, Brian Z, “Sociological Jurisprudence Past and Present” (2020) 45:2 Law & Social Inquiry 493–520.
———, A General Jurisprudence for Law and Society (New York: Oxford University Press, 2006).
Tew, Yvonne, “And They Call It Puppy Love: Young Love, Kidnapping Marriage, and Immigration Rules” (2012) 71:1 The Cambridge Law Journal.
Tia, Lewis, “I Don’t: An Argument Against Using International Intervention to Eliminate Child Marriage in Somalia” (2022) 54:1 The George Washington International Law Review 157–177.
Tridimas, Takis & Giulia Gentile, “The Essence of Rights: An Unreliable Boundary?” (2019) 20 German Law Journal 794–816.
United Nations, “New law in Kyrgyzstan toughens penalties for bride kidnapping”, online: United Nations
———, “UN statement on bride kidnapping and child marriage”, (2018), online: UN WOMEN.
Vago, Steven, Law and Society (Englewood Cliffs: NJ Prentice Hall, 1981).
Vel, Jacqueline AC, “Strategic of Adat in Land-Acquisition Politics in East Sumba” 20 (5) The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology.
———, Uma Politics An Ethnography of Democratization in West Sumba, Indonesia (Leiden: KITLV Press, 2019).
Wardhani, Lita Tyesta Addy Listya, Muhammad Dzikirullah H Noho & Aga Natalis, “The adoption of various legal systems in Indonesia: an effort to initiate the prismatic Mixed Legal Systems” (2022) 8:1 Cogent Social Sciences 1–21.
Warria, Ajwang, “Child Marriages, Child Protection and Sustainable Development in Kenya: Is Legislation Sufficient?” (2019) 23:2 African Journal of Reproductive Health 121–133.
Werner, Cynthia, “Bride Abduction in Post-Soviet Central Asia: Marking a Shift Towards Patriarchy through Local Discourses of Shame and Tradition” (2009) 15:2 The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 314–331.
Published
2023-12-31
How to Cite
PUTRO, Widodo Dwi.
Human Rights and Its Contested Legal Paradigm.
Journal of Southeast Asian Human Rights, [S.l.], v. 7, n. 2, p. 250-275, dec. 2023.
ISSN 2599-2147.
Available at: <https://jurnal.unej.ac.id/index.php/JSEAHR/article/view/39308>. Date accessed: 22 dec. 2024.
doi: https://doi.org/10.19184/jseahr.v7i2.39308.
Section
Articles
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
