Thousands of Ex-Husbands in Surabaya Blocked by Civil Registry Due to Unpaid Alimony
The Surabaya City Government (Pemkot) has suspended civil registry services for thousands of ex-husbands in Surabaya who have not fulfilled their alimony obligations after being divorced by the religious court.
Head of the Surabaya Civil Registry and Population Records Office (Dispendukcapil), Eddy Christijanto, stated that this policy is the result of cooperation between Pemkot Surabaya and the Religious Court (PA) that has been established since 2023. Additionally, the policy serves as a firm step by the city government to protect the rights of women and children who are victims of divorce.
Dispendukcapil Surabaya has integrated its civil registry service system with data from the Religious Court (PA) to ensure that ex-husbands fulfil their alimony obligations, which include child support, iddah alimony, and mut’ah alimony in accordance with the court’s ruling.
Through the system integrated directly with the PA dashboard, officers can monitor SIAK data automatically. The system will send notifications if citizens with outstanding post-divorce obligations are found.
“It’s not blocked, but the civil registry service will display a notice and will not proceed. In the E-Kitir, it will show that the applicant has not fulfilled the obligations under Religious Court decision number such and such. They must report to the PA first, and after payment, the system will automatically open,” said Eddy in his statement quoted on Wednesday, 1 April 2026.
According to him, this step was taken due to the many cases of ex-husbands ignoring the rights of their ex-wives and young children after divorce, leaving them without proper sustenance as per PA regulations.
This innovation in protecting women and children has received high appreciation, even from abroad. Eddy revealed that Australia’s highest judicial institution, equivalent to the Supreme Court, visited and monitored this programme in 2024.
“This is a pilot project. The Supreme Court of Indonesia is also studying regulations so that this collaborative programme between the Religious Court and Dispendukcapil can be implemented nationally across Indonesia,” he added.
Based on the latest data, the non-compliance rate with court decisions in Surabaya remains quite high. There are 4,701 child support cases still unresolved, while only 1,513 cases have been completed.
A similar situation occurs with iddah alimony fulfilment, where there are 5,161 outstanding obligations compared to 2,085 resolved cases.