Legal Protection of Unmarried Wives

Abstract

Article 34 paragraph (1) of the Marriage Law states that the husband is obliged to protect his wife and provide all the necessities of household life according to his ability. Furthermore, for a man who has more than one wife, according to Article 82 KHI is obliged to provide housing and living expenses to each wife in balance according to the size of the family borne by each wife, unless there is a marriage agreement. If the wives are willing and willing, the husband can place his wives in one place of residence. However, in reality, men who marry more than one woman fail to fulfill their obligations and protect their wives and children as happened in Adar Village, East Gorom Subdistrict, East Seram Regency, where they marry more than one woman and then neglect their obligations towards the first wife. The research method used is a type of normative research conducted by examining legal materials or secondary data, legal materials consisting of primary legal materials, secondary legal materials, and tertiary legal materials. The procedure for collecting legal materials is carried out by examining legal materials, compiling legal materials, and finally processing and analyzing legal materials. The results of the study indicate that the form of maintenance obligations for a husband who has more than one wife provides housing and living expenses to each wife in proportion to the size of the family borne by each wife, unless there is a marriage agreement. If the wives are willing and ihlas, then the husband can place his wife in one place. While the form of legal protection for wives who are not supported by their husbands such as protection for the provision of physical and mental sustenance, protection of the fulfillment of their rights in the form of good treatment and the right to obtain useful knowledge is regulated under Law Number 16 of 2019 concerning Amendments to Law Number 1 of 1974 concerning Marriage.