Women’s legal protection through marital conditions: Taʿlīq al-Ṭalāq, antipolygamy clauses, and legal institutionalization in Indonesia and Morocco

Marriage conditions face implementation challenges across social, cultural, and legal contexts, resulting in variations in the protection of women in Indonesia and Morocco. This study functionally compares the institutionalization of taʿlīq al-ṭalāq in Indonesia with Morocco’s anti-polygamy clauses and judicial mechanisms to understand their interpretation, implementation, and protection of women. A qualitative descriptive-analytical comparative design was employed. Data comprise fiqh texts, Indonesia’s Compilation of Islamic Law (KHI), Indonesian marriage administration documents, the 2004 Moudawana, and scholarly publications. The data were examined through qualitative content and thematic analyses and interpreted using Roscoe Pound’s sociological jurisprudence: law in books, law in action, balancing of interests, and social engineering. Trustworthiness was ensured through source triangulation and theme review. First, Indonesia institutionalizes taʿlīq al-ṭalāq through marriage traditions, state recognition, the KHI, and marriage administration to regulate husbands’ obligations, ensure legal certainty, and maintain family stability. Second, Morocco institutionalizes anti-polygamy clauses as contractual and judicial mechanisms, doctrinally distinct yet functionally comparable to Indonesian taʿlīq al-ṭalāq. These mechanisms restrict polygamy, render marriage conditions binding, and provide access to judicial divorce when a breach causes harm. Third, Indonesia moves from law in action to law on the books, whereas Morocco uses law on the books to guide law in action. The study concludes that Islamic family law is dynamic, contextual, and adaptive to national conditions. Theoretically, it explains two directions of legal institutionalization; practically, it supports responsive family-law policies for protecting women.