Protection of Abandoned Elderly People within Muslim Families in Indonesia: Redistribution of Responsibility between Family and State in the Social Welfare System
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64691/dzcdjd79Keywords:
Neglected Elderly, Islamic Family Law, Redistribution of Responsibilities, Welfare State, Social WelfareAbstract
Population aging, shrinking household sizes, urbanization, labor mobility, and shifting intergenerational dynamics are diminishing some Muslim families’ capacity to provide elderly care; consequently, elderly neglect must be understood as both a matter of family law and a public welfare responsibility. This study aims to reconstruct the division of responsibility between the family and the state in protecting neglected elderly individuals by examining the limits of kinship obligations under Islamic law alongside state obligations regarding social protection. Employing a normative legal research methodology, the study utilizes statutory, conceptual, and interpretive approaches. Primary legal sources include regulations on elderly welfare, social security, healthcare, and family law; secondary sources include Islamic family jurisprudence, studies on maqāṣid al-sharīʿah (the objectives of Sharia), and welfare state theory. The analysis uses normative interpretation, comparative principles, and a synthesis of family obligations, the protection of vulnerable groups, and public responsibility. The findings indicate that, in Islam, family obligation remains a primary responsibility rooted in kinship, maintenance, and solidarity. However, this primary status does not render it an exclusive obligation when a family’s economic, demographic, and caregiving capacities are insufficient to meet the elderly’s basic needs. The state must provide a minimum level of protection—including income security, healthcare services, social assistance, and care support—that is accessible when family mechanisms fail or prove inadequate. The most appropriate redistribution of responsibility is built on complementarity: the family upholds moral obligations within its means, while the state guarantees minimum protection standards and proportional interventions for neglected elderly individuals. This model expands the interpretation of Islamic family law toward a framework of public responsibility oriented around the public interest and the protection of the elderly’s dignity.
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