Poor couples skip marriage red tape

Poor couples skip marriage red tape

CIANJUR, West Java: The high cost of fees for marriage
documents has prompted poor couples in the regency of Cianjur to
skip the bureaucratic red tape and just live together.

A community leader in Cibeber, Wawan Juandi, 35, said couples
in remote areas had to pay about Rp 300,000 (US$32) to have their
marriage legalized.

That amount excluded the transportation expenses that must be
paid to officials from the marriage registration office, he
added.

Although undocumented marriages are legal under Islamic law,
he said, but it could cause a problem in the future with legal
issues such as property ownership.

In an attempt to resolve this matter, Wawan said he would ask
the local administration to give an "amnesty" to those couples
and provide them with proper documents. -- Antara