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Negotiating Sharia, Customary Law, and Gender: Feminist Legal Pluralism in the Learo Tradition of Marriage in the Bintauna Community, Indonesia

Al-Istinbath : Jurnal Hukum Islam · Vol. 11 No. 1 (2026) · pp. 436–458

DOI
10.29240/jhi.v11i1.14890
ISSN
2548-3382, 2548-3374
Published
2026-05-31
Publisher
Institut Agama Islam Negeri Curup
Language
eng
License
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0

Abstract

The learo tradition in marriage among the Bintauna community of Indonesia reflects the tension between Islamic law, customary law and gender equality. While this practice symbolically honours women, it simultaneously enforces a discriminatory public virginity test, causing psychological distress and gender inequality. This study aims to analyse the learo tradition as a space for negotiation between Sharia law and customary law, to uncover power relations and the politics of women’s bodies, and to propose a framework of feminist legal pluralism centred on women’s voices. This qualitative research was conducted in Bintauna Sub-district (May–July 2023) using semi-structured interviews with 18 respondents (religious leaders, customary leaders, ritual leader (inang), academics, and women practising the tradition) and non-participant observation at five learo ceremonies. Thematic analysis was conducted using a feminist legal pluralism framework. The findings indicate: (1) the function of virginity testing within the learo tradition exceeds the bounds of valid customary (‘urf shahih) as it contradicts cover up a fault (saturul ‘aib) and the objectives of Islamic (law maqashid of sharia); (2) this practice reinforces patriarchy by imposing purity tests solely on women, causing trauma and stigma; (3) women (the ritual leader and the bride) have limited but strategic agency in quietly negotiating the rituals. The contribution of this research is to provide an operational framework for feminist legal pluralism based on three pillars: living customary normativity, locally reinterpreted Islamic legitimacy, and dialectical power relations. This framework offers adaptive transformation without erasing tradition, by recommending the abolition of virginity tests, the privatization of rituals, and full inclusivity for all prospective brides and grooms

Keywords

Collaboration network of the authors

27 authors · 74 co-authorship links

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  • Universitas Islam Negeri Sultan Amai Gorontalo
  • Universitas Gadjah Mada
  • Affiliation unknown
  • Different organisations
  • Same organisation
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  • Thicker line = more joint articles · bigger circle = more articles
Show as table
Co-authorOrganisationJoint articles
SyarifuddinAffiliation unknown2
A. Zamakhsyari BaharuddinAffiliation unknown2
Mukrimin MukriminAffiliation unknown2
Saidah SaidahAffiliation unknown2
Zakirah ZakirahAffiliation unknown2
RasyidinAffiliation unknown1
Abdul Aziz SebayangAffiliation unknown1
Mohd Faeez IliasAffiliation unknown1
Arhjayati RahimAffiliation unknown1
Rulyjanto PodunggeAffiliation unknown1
Zumiyati S. IbrahimAffiliation unknown1
Eka WulandariUniversitas Gadjah Mada1
Nono SuwarnoAffiliation unknown1
Obin RachmawanAffiliation unknown1
Ahmad Tafik TaofikAffiliation unknown1
Zumiyati Sanu IbrahimAffiliation unknown1
La JamaaAffiliation unknown1
LahajiAffiliation unknown1
Andiani Rezkita NabuAffiliation unknown1
Qurroh AyuniyyahAffiliation unknown1
HambariAffiliation unknown1
Hilman HakiemAffiliation unknown1

Affiliations come from OpenAlex; journal OAI-PMH metadata carries none. Authors without an OpenAlex ID are matched by name, which can merge or split people.

Metadata source: OAI-PMH (metadata jurnal) http://journal.iaincurup.ac.id/index.php/alistinbath/oai, first harvested 8 Nov 2026, last seen 8 Nov 2026.
Original metadata (oai_dc) 
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	<dc:title xml:lang="en-US">Negotiating Sharia, Customary Law, and Gender: Feminist Legal Pluralism in the Learo Tradition of Marriage in the Bintauna Community, Indonesia</dc:title>
	<dc:creator>Darwis, Rizal</dc:creator>
	<dc:creator>Mahmudah, Nurul</dc:creator>
	<dc:creator>Faisal, Ahmad</dc:creator>
	<dc:creator>Al Kautsar, Muhammad Syakir</dc:creator>
	<dc:creator>Fathan Aniq, Ahmad</dc:creator>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en-US">Learo Tradition</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en-US">Women’s Body Politics</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en-US">Feminist Legal Pluralism</dc:subject>
	<dc:description xml:lang="en-US">The learo tradition in marriage among the Bintauna community of Indonesia reflects the tension between Islamic law, customary law and gender equality. While this practice symbolically honours women, it simultaneously enforces a discriminatory public virginity test, causing psychological distress and gender inequality. This study aims to analyse the learo tradition as a space for negotiation between Sharia law and customary law, to uncover power relations and the politics of women’s bodies, and to propose a framework of feminist legal pluralism centred on women’s voices. This qualitative research was conducted in Bintauna Sub-district (May–July 2023) using semi-structured interviews with 18 respondents (religious leaders, customary leaders, ritual leader (inang), academics, and women practising the tradition) and non-participant observation at five learo ceremonies. Thematic analysis was conducted using a feminist legal pluralism framework. The findings indicate: (1) the function of virginity testing within the learo tradition exceeds the bounds of valid customary (‘urf shahih) as it contradicts cover up a fault (saturul ‘aib) and the objectives of Islamic (law maqashid of sharia); (2) this practice reinforces patriarchy by imposing purity tests solely on women, causing trauma and stigma; (3) women (the ritual leader and the bride) have limited but strategic agency in quietly negotiating the rituals. The contribution of this research is to provide an operational framework for feminist legal pluralism based on three pillars: living customary normativity, locally reinterpreted Islamic legitimacy, and dialectical power relations. This framework offers adaptive transformation without erasing tradition, by recommending the abolition of virginity tests, the privatization of rituals, and full inclusivity for all prospective brides and grooms</dc:description>
	<dc:publisher xml:lang="en-US">Institut Agama Islam Negeri Curup</dc:publisher>
	<dc:date>2026-05-31</dc:date>
	<dc:type>info:eu-repo/semantics/article</dc:type>
	<dc:type>info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion</dc:type>
	<dc:type xml:lang="en-US">Peer-reviewed Article</dc:type>
	<dc:format>application/pdf</dc:format>
	<dc:identifier>https://journal.iaincurup.ac.id/index.php/alistinbath/article/view/14890</dc:identifier>
	<dc:identifier>10.29240/jhi.v11i1.14890</dc:identifier>
	<dc:source xml:lang="en-US">Al-Istinbath: Jurnal Hukum Islam; Vol. 11 No. 1 (2026); 436-458</dc:source>
	<dc:source xml:lang="id-ID">AL-ISTINBATH : Jurnal Hukum Islam; Vol 11 No 1 (2026); 436-458</dc:source>
	<dc:source>2548-3382</dc:source>
	<dc:source>2548-3374</dc:source>
	<dc:source>10.29240/jhi.v11i1</dc:source>
	<dc:language>eng</dc:language>
	<dc:relation>https://journal.iaincurup.ac.id/index.php/alistinbath/article/view/14890/4186</dc:relation>
	<dc:rights xml:lang="en-US">Copyright (c) 2025 Rizal Darwis, Nurul Mahmudah, Ahmad Faisal, Muhammad Syakir Al Kautsar, Ahmad Fathan Aniq</dc:rights>
	<dc:rights xml:lang="en-US">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0</dc:rights>
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