When did humans start getting divorced? - Rod Phillips

Translator: Reno Kanti Riananda Reviewer: Elda Indria Sari

The earliest known divorce laws were written

Hukum perceraian pertama yang diketahui

on clay tablets in ancient Mesopotamia around 2000 BCE.

tercantum dalam lempengan tanah liat zaman Mesopotamia, sekitar tahun 2000 SM.

Formally or informally, human societies across place and time

Baik secara formal maupun informal, masyarakat di berbagai tempat dan zaman

have made rules to bind and dissolve couples.

telah membuat aturan untuk mengikat dan menceraikan pasangan.

Inca couples, for example, started with a trial partnership,

Pasangan di suku Inca, misalnya, menerapkan masa percobaan.

during which a man could send his partner home.

Selama waktu tersebut, sang pria dapat memulangkan pasangannya.

But once a marriage was formalized, there was no getting out of it.

Namun saat telah disahkan, tidak ada celah untuk mengakhirinya.

Among the Inuit peoples, divorce was discouraged,

Di suku Inuit, perceraian tidak dianjurkan,

but either spouse could demand one.

tetapi masing-masing pasangan dapat mengajukan perceraian

or they could exchange partners with a different couple—

atau bertukar pasangan dengan pasangan lainnya--

as long as all four people agreed.

selama keempat belah pihak menyetujuinya.

The stakes of who can obtain a divorce, and why, have always been high.

Pertaruhan siapa yang boleh bercerai, berikut alasannya, selalu tinggi.

Divorce is a battlefield for some of society's most urgent issues,

Perceraian adalah medan perang bagi isu-isu paling mendesak di masyarakat,

including the roles of church and state, individual rights, and women’s rights.

meliputi peran gereja dan negara, hak-hak individu, dan hak-hak wanita.

Religious authorities have often regulated marriage and divorce.

Otoritas agama lazimnya adalah badan yang mengesahkan pernikahan dan perceraian.

Muslims in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia began using the Quran’s rules

Muslim di Afrika, Timur Tengah, dan Asia mulai menggunakan aturan dari Al-Qur’an

in the 7th century AD—

pada abad ke-7 Masehi.

generally, a husband can divorce his wife without cause or agreement,

Singkatnya, suami dapat mengajukan cerai tanpa sebab atau persetujuan sang istri,

while a wife must secure her husband’s agreement to divorce him.

sementara istri harus mendapat persetujuan suaminya jika ingin bercerai.

In Europe, Christian churches controlled divorce from the 11th century on,

Di Eropa, gereja Kristen mengendalikan perceraian sejak abad ke-11,

with the Catholic Church banning it entirely

Gereja Katolik sama sekali melarangnya,

and Protestant churches allowing it in restricted circumstances,

dan gereja Protestan mengizinkannya untuk kondisi tertentu,

particularly adultery.

terutama adanya perzinaan.

In the late 18th century, a series of changes took place

Di akhir abad ke-18, terjadi serangkaian perubahan

that would eventually shape divorce laws around the world.

yang pada akhirnya membentuk hukum perceraian di seluruh dunia.

Following centuries of religious conflict,

Akibat konflik agama berabad lamanya,

Europeans pushed for state governance separate from religious control.

bangsa-bangsa Eropa mendorong pemerintahan untuk memisahkan diri dari kendali agama.

Secular courts gradually took over education, welfare, health, marriage—

Pengadilan sekuler bertahap mengambil alih pendidikan, kesejahteraan, kesehatan,

and divorce.

pernikahan, dan perceraian.

The French Revolution ushered in the first of the new divorce laws,

Revolusi Prancis membuka jalan bagi hukum perceraian yang baru,

allowing men and women to divorce for a number of grounds,

mengizinkan pria dan wanita untuk bercerai atas dasar beberapa alasan,

including adultery, violence, and desertion, or simply mutual consent.

seperti zina, kekerasan, penelantaran, atau semata karena kesepakatan bersama.

Though progress was uneven, overall this sort of legislation spread in Europe,

Meski perkembangannya tak merata, kebijakan seperti ini menyebar di Eropa,

North America and some European colonies in the 19th century.

Amerika Utara, dan beberapa koloni Eropa di abad ke-19.

Still, women's access to divorce often remained restricted compared to men.

Namun, akses wanita untuk mengajukan cerai tetap terbatas dibandingkan dengan pria.

Adultery was considered more serious for women—

Perzinaan dianggap lebih serius bagi wanita.

a man could divorce his wife for adultery alone,

Seorang pria dapat menceraikan istrinya hanya karena perzinaan,

while a woman would need evidence of adultery,

sementara wanita butuh bukti atas kejadian perzinaan,

plus an additional offense to divorce her husband.

dan ditambah alasan lain jika ingin menceraikan suaminya.

Sometimes this double standard was written into law;

Terkadang standar ganda ini dicantumkan dalam hukum,

other times, the courts enforced the laws unequally.

dan kadang pengadilan tak menegakkan hukum dengan seimbang.

Domestic violence by a man against his wife was not widely considered

Kekerasan dalam rumah tangga oleh seorang pria terhadap istrinya

tak dianggap sebagai alasan untuk bercerai hingga abad ke-20.

grounds for divorce until the 20th century.

And though new laws expanded the reasons a couple could divorce,

Meskipun hukum yang baru telah menambah alasan untuk pasangan dapat bercerai,

they also retained the fundamental ideology of their religious predecessors:

hukum tersebut tetap mempertahankan ideologi penting dari para pendahulunya:

that a couple could only split if one person wronged the other in specific ways.

pasangan hanya bisa berpisah jika satu pihak menganiaya yang lain secara jelas.

This state of affairs really overstayed its welcome.

Kondisi ini terjadi berlarut-larut.

Well into the 20th century, couples in the U.S.

Pada abad ke-20, pasangan di Amerika Serikat

resorted to hiring actors to jump into bed with one spouse,

sampai harus menyewa aktor untuk naik ke ranjang dengan salah satu pasangan

fully clothed, and take photos as evidence of cheating.

dengan berpakaian lengkap, dan mengambil gambarnya sebagai bukti perselingkuhan.

Finally, in the 1960s and 70s,

Akhirnya, pada tahun ’60 dan ’70-an

many countries and states adopted no-fault divorce laws,

berbagai negara mengadopsi hukum perceraian tanpa cela,

where someone could divorce their spouse without proving harm,

yaitu perceraian tanpa perlu membuktikan kesalahan salah satu pihak,

and importantly, without the other’s consent.

dan yang lebih penting lagi, tanpa persetujuan dari pasangan lain.

The transition from cultural and religious rules

Perpindahan dari aturan agama dan budaya

to state sanctioned ones has always been messy and incomplete—

ke aturan negara hampir selalu kacau dan tak lengkap.

people have often ignored their governments’ laws

Masyarakat kerap mengacuhkan hukum negaranya sendiri

in favor of other conventions.

untuk aturan lain.

Even today, the Catholic Church doesn’t recognize divorces granted by law.

Bahkan kini, gereja Katolik tak mengakui perceraian yang telah disahkan oleh hukum.

In some places, like parts of India,

Di tempat lain, seperti India,

Western-style divorce laws have been seen as a colonial influence

hukum perceraian gaya Barat dipandang sebagai pengaruh kolonial,

and communities practice divorce according to other religious rules.

dan masyarakat tetap melakukan perceraian sesuai aturan agama.

In others, though the law may allow for equal access to divorce,

Bagi sebagian lainnya, meskipun hukum menyediakan akses setara untuk bercerai,

bias in the legal system, cultural stigma, or community pressures

bias pada sistem, stigma budaya, dan tekanan sosial

can make it far more difficult for certain people, almost always women.

membuat perceraian lebih sulit untuk sebagian orang, terutama wanita.

And even in the places where women aren’t disadvantaged by law or otherwise,

Bahkan pada saat posisi wanita tak dirugikan oleh hukum,

social and economic conditions often make divorce more difficult for women.

kondisi sosial ekonomi kadang menyebabkan perceraian lebih sulit bagi wanita.

In the United States, for example,

Di Amerika Serikat, misalnya,

women experience economic loss far more than men after divorce.

wanita menderita kerugian ekonomi lebih besar daripada pria setelah perceraian.

At its best, modern no-fault divorce allows people to leave marriages

Kebaikannya, perceraian tanpa cela memungkinkan untuk mengakhiri pernikahan

that make them unhappy.

yang tak membuat bahagia.

But dissolving a marriage is almost never as simple

Namun demikian, membubarkan ikatan pernikahan tak sesederhana

as sending two people their separate ways.

mengakhiri sebuah hubungan.

What divorcing partners owe each other,

Apa yang pernah dimiliki pasangan yang bercerai,

and how they manage aspects of a once shared life

dan bagaimana mereka mengelola hal-hal yang pernah dijalani bersama,

remain emotionally and philosophically complex issues.

tetap menjadi persoalan yang kompleks baik secara emosional maupun filosofis.