Human Trafficking and Pandemic Covid-19: A Study of Power

Relation among Parents and Child in Islamic Perspective

M. Saifullah Rohman

, Ary Wahyono

, Wabilia Husnah

and Usman

Researcher at Research Center for Society and Culture, Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Jakarta, Indonesia

Researcher at Research Center for Area Studies, Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Jakarta, Indonesia

wabiliahusnah89@gmail.com

Keyword: Human Trafficking, Power Relations, Islamic Perspective, Pandemic Covid-19.

Abstract: Pandemic Covid-19 effect on economic side as many crime cases reported. One of these crimes is human

trafficking. However, in many cases of human trafficking, parents are often the main actors selling their

daughters. Therefore, the children do have not the bravery to refuse their parents' orders. It is because rejecting

parent's orders is disobedient and results in sins. This paper seeks to analyze how the relationship between

parents and daughters influences the practice of human trafficking. To illustrate human trafficking by parents,

we used the theoretical framework of Shulamith Firestone on Radical Feminism which states that the bond

between children and parents is a form of oppression. This research used a qualitative approach with case

study and literature methods. As the result of the study, the authors concluded that there is a wrong

interpretation of the command to do good to parents taught in Islam. Children can refuse parents’ orders that

do not follow Islam's core teachings, which teach goodness, justice, and benefit. In the economic factor, the

desire to improve the family's economic welfare also makes the daughter decide to work as a migrant worker.

They have no power to refuse their parent wishes to help the family financially.

1 INTRODUCTION

The Corona Virus Disease 2019 (Covid -19)

pandemic since early 2020 has affected the lives of

many countries in the world, including Indonesia. Not

only the health sector is affected, but the socio-

economic sector is also affected. The pandemic

caused the unemployment rate to increase

significantly. It was recorded that until May 2020, the

total number of workers affected by the Covid-19

pandemic reached 3.06 million workers (Ministry of

Manpower, 2021). Meanwhile, data from the

Indonesian Central Statistics Agency stated that the

number of people affected by Covid-19 until

February 2021 reached 19.10 million people (9.30 per

cent of the working-age population). This figure

includes unemployment due to Covid-19 (1.62

million people), Non-Work Force (BAK) due to

Covid-19 (0.65 million people), not working due to

Covid-19 (1.11 million people), and residents

working who experienced a reduction in working

hours due to Covid-19 (15.72 million people)

(Indonesian Central Statistics Agency, 2021). In

addition, Indonesia's poverty rate has also increased.

The poverty rate of the Indonesian people in 2020

jumped to 12.4%, which means that 8.5 million

people became poor (The SMERU Research Institute,

2020).

Amid problems in the socio-economic sector due

to the Covid-19 pandemic, girls were one of the most

vulnerable groups. The gender-based division of

labour in most patriarchal Indonesian families caused

girls to be closer to domestic tasks. They were

marginalized from public work, while men dominated

the labor market. As a result, many girls depended on

their male family members, their older brothers and

their fathers. When the Covid-19 pandemic affected

the labor sector, the male family members were

forced to face being laid off from their place of work

or having difficulty finding work. As a result, girls

became deprived of economic support.

Meanwhile, girls who have had the opportunity to

work in public work are not necessarily safe. Because

they were considered as marginal and secondary

workers in the industry, women would be more easily

dismissed from their jobs. Moreover, it was also

difficult for women to get access to education, so their

level of education was often lower than that of men.

Rohman, M., Wahyono, A., Husnah, W. and Usman, .

Human Trafﬁcking and Pandemic Covid-19: A Study of Power Relation among Parents and Child in Islamic Perspective.

DOI: 10.5220/0010803200003348

In Proceedings of the 3rd Annual International Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities (AICOSH 2021), pages 5-16

ISBN: 978-989-758-603-3; ISSN: 2685-273X

This background made it difficult for women to

compete in the world of work during this pandemic.

The economic exposure due to the Covid-19

pandemic has finally made girls more vulnerable to

becoming victims of human trafficking. As a result,

Komnas Perempuan recorded an increase in human

trafficking cases in 2020 compared to the previous

year, from 212 to 255 cases (Komnas Perempuan,

2021). A similar phenomenon could also be seen from

data released by the Ministry of Women's

Empowerment and Child Protection (KPPPA), which

mentioned that cases of trafficking in persons during

the pandemic increased from 213 cases in 2019 to 400

cases in 2020 (Republika.co.id, 2021). Unfortunately,

many actors were involved in the increasing number

of cases of human trafficking during the Covid-19

pandemic, including parents. Pressured by economic

needs during the pandemic, many parents have been

forced to sell their daughters. Meanwhile, girls also

felt responsible for providing for their families,

especially when the family's economy was currently

tricky. Therefore, girls were willing to be traded to

ease the burden on their parents and get a great reward.

Human trafficking is a problem currently faced by

many countries in the world. In the context of

Indonesia, cases of human trafficking have increased

from year to year. Although data from various sources

showed varying numbers, the 2020 Annual Report on

Human Trafficking revealed that every province in

Indonesia was both an origin and a destination for

trafficking in persons. In addition, the government

estimated that at least two million of the 6-8 million

Indonesian citizens working abroad—most of whom

were women—did not have documents or have

exceeded the length of stay stated on their visas. This

situation added to their vulnerability to human

trafficking.

Human trafficking is now a global problem

included as a form of transnational crime, which is

well organized (organized crime) and occurs

worldwide. Therefore, the international community is

also paying attention to the formation of international

organizations, such as IOM (International

Organization of Migration). In addition, through the

Human Rights office, the UN (United Nations) issued

Letter No. 14 of 2016 with the title contemporary

forms of slavery. This act was closely related to

trafficking in persons. Furthermore, the United

Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has developed a

protocol to prevent trafficking victims that placed

more emphasis on women and child victims (Protocol

to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in

Persons, Especially Women and Children,

Supplementing the United Nations Convention

against Transnational Organized Crimes). This

protocol, which was contained in Chapter 3 paragraph

(a) detailed the definition of legal actions that could

be categorized as trafficking in persons, as follows:

“Recruitment, transportation, transfer,

harboring or receipt of persons, using

the threat or use of force or other forms

of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of

deception, of the abuse of power or a

position of vulnerability or the giving

or receiving of payments or benefits to

achieve the consent of a person having

control over another person, for

exploitation”.

Indonesia has responded to the UN protocol with the

issuance of Law no. 21 of 2007 article 1 paragraph 1

concerning the Crime of Trafficking in Persons

(TPPO), which defines trafficking in persons not

much different from the definition of the Protocol to

Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons,

Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the

United Nations Convention against Transnational

Organized Crime, as follows:

“The act of recruiting, transporting,

harboring, sending, transferring, or

receiving a person by means of the

threat of force, use of force, of

abduction, of deception, of fraud, of

deception, of the abuse of power or of

a position of vulnerability, of debt

bondage or of giving payments or

benefits, so as to obtain the consent of

the person who controls over another

person, whether that is carried out

within a country or between countries,

for the purpose of exploitation or

causing people to be exploited”.

There are three main elements contained in the

definition of trafficking. The first is the act, namely

the whole way and process of human trafficking,

including recruiting, transporting, transferring,

hiding, or receiving. Second, the methods used to

control the victim include threats, use of coercion,

various forms of violence, kidnapping, fraud, fraud,

abuse of power, or the giving/receiving or benefit of

obtaining the consent of the person who has control

over the victim. Third, the purposes of human

trafficking include exploitation, forced labor, slavery,

servitude, and organ harvesting (Harkristuti

Harkrisnowo quoted in www.menkokesra.go.id).

In Indonesia, the UN protocol on trafficking was

adopted in the National Action Plan (RAN) for the

Elimination of Trafficking in Women and Children,

as outlined in the Presidential Decree No. 88 of 2002.

AICOSH 2021 - The Annual International Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities (AICOSH) “Life After Pandemic: Perspectives,

Changes, and Challenges”

The Presidential Decree states that trafficking in

women and children is all acts of traffickers

committed contains one or the act of recruitment

between regions and between countries, transfer,

departure, reception, and temporary shelter or at the

destination, women, and children. In addition,

utilizing threats, use of verbal and physical force,

kidnapping, fraud, deception, exploiting a position of

vulnerability (e.g. when a person has no other choice),

isolation, drug dependence, debt traps, giving or

receiving payments or benefits, where women and

children are used for prostitution and sexual

exploitation (including paedophilia), legal and illegal

migrant workers, child adoption, formal work,

bridesmaids, housemaids, begging, the pornography

industry, drug trafficking, sale of organs, and other

forms of exploitation.

The United Nations (UN) in one of the 3 Palermo

Protocols defines "human trafficking" as the

recruitment, transfer, transfer, harboring, or receipt of

persons, utilizing the threat or use of force or other

forms of coercion, of abduction, of deception, of

deceit, or the abuse of power or a position of

vulnerability or the giving or receiving of payments

or benefits to obtain the consent of a person having

power over another person, for exploitation.

Exploitation includes, at a minimum, exploitation for

the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual

exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery or

practices similar to slavery, servitude or organ

harvesting.

In the Human Rights Workshop held by GAATW

in June 1996, several aspects of trafficking were

identified, namely:

a. Relating to "consent". The critical question in

this regard is whether or not the presence or

absence of consent—for example, fraud,

coercion, threats, lack of information, and lack of

legal capacity to give consent—should be

considered for trafficking.

b. Concerning the purpose of migration, the

question is whether only migration for

prostitution can be classified as trafficking or

whether it includes other types of exploitative

work.

c. Regarding the necessity of crossing the

borderline, the definition of trafficking only

applies specifically to cases of border crossings

or not.

Concerning these three problems, it was agreed

that “consent” needed to be a key element that must

be taken into account for the occurrence of trafficking.

Trafficking is not always for prostitution and does not

have to cross international borders. The consequence

was that various “trafficking” situations agreed to by

the “victim” must be excluded. The implication was

that not all migrant workers could be qualified as

victims of trafficking, especially those who were not

victims of fraud, coercion, threats, or lack of

information about the work situation they wanted to

live in. Likewise, sex workers who consciously chose

prostitution as a profession could not be qualified into

the trafficking category.

This was based on the 1979 Convention on the

Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against

Women (CEDAW). Although CEDAW did not

define “trafficking”, the committee that was formed

wanted the government to explain prostitution and the

“rights” of women in that context. The element of

"rights" relates to "consent", which is a voluntary

agreement. However, concerning the children issue,

the element of “consent", which can be an exception

in the definition of trafficking in persons, is not used,

as regulated in ILO Convention No. 182.

In the legal system around the world, children are

considered unable to give conscious consent to

various things that require physical, mental, social,

and moral maturity for a person to make his choice.

For this reason, so that it is known that the concept of

the legal age limit for the ability to be responsible for

criminal acts, the legal age limit for voting or being

elected (in elections), the legal age limit for sexual

consent, the legal age limit for signing contracts, and

so on. Besides the consent factor, trafficking also

does not have to cross borderlines because human

trafficking is considered to have occurred if there is a

trip to exploit labor (or services). This is the main

difference between human trafficking and people

smuggling.

In Indonesia, the trade-in women have recently

increased, both in terms of quantity and quality.

Several forms of exploitation related to trafficking in

women include women being employed as sex

workers, wives in contract marriages, housemaids,

and others. In the recruitment process, the modus

operandi is to ask people to understand or be familiar

with the area of origin of the potential victim. This

person could be part of a network of human

trafficking syndicates, as has happened in various

regions, including West Java, showing that the person

recruiting to the field was the wife or an employee

trusted with the trafficker. Trust employees were

chosen because they knew the victim's origins very

well. However, some people were asked to recruit

people who did not have a working relationship with

the perpetrator but were limited to acquaintances.

However, they controlled the area of the potential

victim or even had family ties with the potential

Human Trafﬁcking and Pandemic Covid-19: A Study of Power Relation among Parents and Child in Islamic Perspective

victim. For example, in the case that occurred in

Batam, the person recruited was once the victim's

uncle. If the person who was asked to recruit did not

have a work bond with the perpetrator, they get a

working wage, but it is usually part of the job

assignment if there is still a work bond.

In the recruitment process to acceptance, the

leading actor bears all costs, from transportation to

the place of origin, accommodation, and clothing

from origin to the destination. In practice, these costs

were born by the victim when the victim left work.

Thus, the victims' costs in practice are born as a

guarantee if they do not feel comfortable working.

This debt bondage was a form of threat as a mode of

trafficking in women.

This mode was seen in the placement of women

in the workforce in cafes and prostitution. This debt

bondage was a trap for the previously unknown

victim; the victim was never given a written

agreement. Expenditure costs in the recruitment of

women workers are not a business risk for business

actors. Therefore, business actors generally enforced

work rules not to be booked outside to minimize

business risks due to employees leaving because they

did not feel comfortable at work. Work rules like this

could not be categorized as confinement and a form

of exploitation as well.

This paper attempted to analyze the relationship

between parents and daughters from an Islamic

perspective because the victims' parents had not fully

understood how Islam views human trafficking. This

paper will use Shulamit Firestone's theory which sees

discrimination against children, especially girls,

caused by the unequal relationship between parents

and daughters. This theory is used to analyze how the

unequal relationship between parents and daughters

can affect trafficking in women. The results of the

research conducted by the author showed that in cases

of trafficking in women with the mode of marriage

with foreigners, the victim's parents tended to give up

their children to be married to foreigners. There was

no concern that there would be differences in beliefs;

the economic motives of the victim's parents are often

more prominent, allowing their children to be

matched with a foreign man.

2 WOMEN, HUMAN TRAFFICKING

AND BIRRUL WALIDAIN

2.1 Women as Victims in Human

Trafficking: The Case of West Java

West Java Province is one of the largest suppliers of

Indonesian migrant workers abroad who can become

victims of trafficking in women. Victims of human

trafficking were generally women. This mode of

trafficking in women began with recruiting, sending,

transferring, sheltering, and receiving. As was well

known, there were around 16 victims of trafficking in

persons from West Java. Some of the victims of

trafficking in women are still in Henan, a province in

the People's Republic of China.

The victim's parents allowed them to go to China.

The reasons parents allowed various reasons, ranging

from reasons to work to become a Chinese wife.

Parents allowed their daughters to marry a man

because the application process went through official

procedures and the prospective groom was already a

Muslim. Even so, parents did not allow their children

to be married to Chinese people. At first, people were

allowed to go to China for work reasons, but on the

way, they were caught in the marriage by a Chinese

man. The victim's parents learned that they would

marry a Chinese man after arriving in China. Of

course, they were surprised because the network

syndicate had prepared the marriage book. The victim

of forced marriage could not do much because he

would be threatened with a fine to repay the debt if he

did not want to marry a Chinese man in the number

of hundreds of millions.

In general, women victims of human trafficking

admitted that they had experienced physical violence

for wanting to return to Indonesia and not wanting to

have sex. This case of violence could be resolved

after a meeting with the Indonesian Embassy.

However, the Indonesian Embassy was only limited

to preventing physical violence. The Indonesian

Embassy has not repatriated them because of the

legality of marriage and diplomatic relations that

regulate the mixed marriage. In addition, divorce was

considered a "despicable" act for the Chinese

community, and it became one of the obstacles to

repatriating to Indonesia. Divorce was always

avoided. Several cases of trafficking victims escaped

AICOSH 2021 - The Annual International Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities (AICOSH) “Life After Pandemic: Perspectives,

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and succeeded because they happened to be over-

stayed to be sent home by the Chinese government.

In addition to the physical violence they

experienced, the victims of human trafficking also

experienced psychological violence, and their rights

as wives were not fulfilled. When the male partner

worked, they could not leave the house, the house was

locked, and food and drink were rationed. Some were

employed in the handicraft industry owned by their

parents with a salary of 100 yuan or the equivalent of

Rp. 200 thousand for two weeks. They worked from

8 am to 10 pm. Communication between them used

the results of the translation using the google translate

application on the cellphone. The use of this

cellphone was limited to translation only. Their

husbands forbade communication with the outside

world. They could communicate with the outside

world when their husband or in-laws were not at

home.

Faced with this kind of threat, the victim was

forced to accept and live with a Chinese man. The

victim considered the Chinese husband a "contract

husband". Victims felt bought at a high cost.

According to informants who were victims of human

trafficking, there was a strong urge to marry

Indonesian women because there were fewer women

in China than men. The small number of women in

China was due to the culture in China, which

considered girls to be of no benefit. In addition, the

PRC government's policies were unfavorable for

families with many daughters. If a family had more

than three daughters, it would be taxed for life, from

birth to death. The impact of this policy was that

couples who knew the fetus they were carrying were

female tended to have an abortion.

Victims of human

trafficking said they could not file for divorce to

escape this torture. This is because divorce was an act

that was prohibited by the Chinese government.

2.2 Islamic Law and Social Problem of

Human Trafficking

In the order of Islamic criminal law, there are no

provisions that regulate human trafficking. Therefore,

there is a need for an in-depth and careful study of the

methodological formulation to explain the crime of

trafficking and its sanctions from Islamic criminal

Interview with Maryati, Women victims of trafficking in

persons from Pemanukan Sub-district, Subang who

managed to return to Indonesia because she fled. Goddess

of TIP victims in Hunan, China. Dewi is appointed as a

contact person by her friends when dealing with the outside

world.

law. In classical Islamic discourse, trafficking is

known as bai` al-bigha,` which textually means

buying and selling prostitutes. Fiqh experts often use

this term to express exploiting prostitutes or women's

commodities which has recently become a global

issue at the world level with the term trafficking in

women. (R. Eriska Ginalita Dwi Putri, 2017). In

Islamic legal literature, trafficking can be defined as

slavery. However, in practice, it is more complex, so

that it can be said that trafficking is a modern era

slavery model that significantly damages a person's

dignity as a human being; by itself trafficking in

persons is a violation of human rights. The issues of

slavery since the time of the Prophet Muhammad and

efforts to abolish it have begun to be proclaimed and

implemented. This is actualized in one of the

punishment choices for violators of Islamic teachings,

namely, freeing slaves. The result is now slavery in

the sense of the jahiliyyah era has been agreed upon

by scholars to be forbidden.

In the study of jinayah fiqh, trafficking can be

analogous to acts of rape and confiscation (hirabah).

In essence, people who are forced to prostitute

themselves have been deprived of their human rights.

In addition, trafficking also threatens and destroys the

value system that has been built by religious

teachings such as justice, equality, benefit, and mercy.

It is this group that must receive a defense. Islam calls

them weakened (al-mustadl'afin), namely people who

are weak because they are oppressed due to the

system and unequal structure in society. As a result,

in principle, Islam prohibits all forms of exploitation,

regardless of the perpetrator and for whatever reason,

including exploitation in the trafficking of women.

The law of trafficking in fiqh is prohibited, forbidden

and the perpetrators become enemies of Allah SWT.

The prohibition of human trafficking is not without

solid reasons but is strengthened by logical and

reasonable reasons. One of the main reasons for the

prohibition of trafficking is that it robs and desecrates

fundamental human rights and threatens and destroys

the value system built by Islam, such as justice,

equality, and benefit. (Ahmad Fatah, 2016).

Regarding trafficking in persons, which threatens

human existence, such as exploitation, abuse, rape,

and even murder, it shows that it is contrary to the

provisions of Islamic law and universal religious

goals that want to realize the goodness and benefit of

Interview via WA (WhatsApp) with Dewi, a victim of

Trafficking in Persons from Hanan, China

Interview with Dewi, a victim of human trafficking in

Hunan, China. Dewi is appointed as a contact person by her

friends when dealing with the outside world.

Human Trafﬁcking and Pandemic Covid-19: A Study of Power Relation among Parents and Child in Islamic Perspective

human life. Trafficking in persons is a crime against

humanity which is against human rights and Islamic

law. The government has made great efforts to

prevent and eradicate this practice by drafting,

ratifying, and establishing many laws and regulations

along with the tools needed to limit, prevent and

eradicate it. Nevertheless, in reality, this practice is

still common, especially in Indonesia. Therefore, the

cooperation of all components of society is needed to

be involved in efforts to prevent and eradicate this

practice of trafficking in persons (Farhana, 2010).

2.3 Birrul Walidain as Legitimacy of

Human Trafficking

Human trafficking is a crime that is difficult to solve

because there are so many parties involved in it, from

perpetrators to buyers. Moreover, many of the main

perpetrators of trafficking in persons came from the

deepest circle of the victim's family. Parents, as

parties who were supposed to protect their children

from such harmful practices, were the ones who

plunged their children into the crime pit by actively

looking for brokers, falsifying documents, ordering,

and even forcing their children.

The power relationship between daughters and

parents has influenced the occurrence of this

trafficking case. In this power relation, the child is the

party who must submit to the superiority of the

parents. Firestone (1970: 87-88) mentions that

children become the weak side in the family hierarchy.

According to Sagala and Rosana (2007: 85), children

and women are objects and positions as subordinates

in a patriarchal society. Meanwhile, Thamrin A.

Tomagola (2000) said that the relationship pattern

between men and women is a vertical-dominant

relationship pattern. The relationship between men

and women is not equal because one party dominates

the other. In this case, men dominate, while women

in a subordinate position will always be dominated in

all respects. This relationship pattern is also adopted

in the relationship between father and daughter.

Fathers, as men, will always dominate their daughters.

This pattern of father-daughter relations is also

reflected in religious teachings. Islam, for example,

has teachings about the relationship between father

and son. Furthermore, Islam teaches every child to

respect and obey their parents. Therefore, Birrell

Walidain, or doing good to parents, is considered a

noble character. According to the language, birrul

walidain comes from two words: birr, which means

being generous in doing good, and walidain which

means both parents. So, birrul validation can be

interpreted to do good to parents, or it can be called

filial piety.

Parents have a very high position in the eyes of

Islam. The primacy of parents in the eyes of Islam,

for example, can be seen from the placement of

recommendations to do good to parents, which are

attached to the command to worship Allah. This

shows how obedience to Allah is related to obedience

to one's parents. Allah says in the Quran:

"And worship Allah and do not

associate anything with Him. And do

good to your parents, close relatives,

orphans, poor people, close neighbors,

distant neighbors, colleagues, ibn sabil,

and the slaves you have. Verily, Allah

does not like those who are arrogant

and boastful." (An-Nisaa ': 36).

The virtue of doing good to parents is also seen in the

letter Luqman verse 14:

"And We have commanded man to do

good to his parents, his mother

conceived him in a weak condition that

grew weaker and weaned him in two

years, be grateful to Me and your

parents. Only to me will you return."

(Luqman: 14).

Devotion to parents is described as the most

important charity, as illustrated in a hadith:

'Abdullah bin Mas'ud RA said: "I asked

the Prophet sallallaahu 'alaihi wa

sallam, 'What is the best deed?'. The

Prophet sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam

replied, 'Pray at its time'. I asked again,

'Then what?'. The Prophet replied: 'Be

filial to both parents'. I asked again:

'Then what?'. The Prophet replied,

'Jihad in the way of Allah'." (Muttafaq

'alaih).

The virtue of parents is also seen in how God exalts

parents. It is stated that the pleasure of Allah depends

on the pleasure of the parents.

"From 'Abdullah bin 'Amr bin 'Ash RA,

that the Messenger of Allah said: "The

pleasure of Allah depends on the

pleasure of the parents and the wrath of

Allah depends on the displeasure of the

parents." (HR Bukhari).

The relationship between children and parents is

overshadowed by a magic word called disobedience

or called uquuqul walidain. Disobedience to parents

is to do bad things to parents. Therefore, every child

should not do bad things and hurt their parents. This

is, for example, contained in the word of God:

AICOSH 2021 - The Annual International Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities (AICOSH) “Life After Pandemic: Perspectives,

Changes, and Challenges”

"And your Lord has commanded that

you worship not but Him and do good

to your parents. If one of them or both

of them reach old age in your care, then

never say to them the word 'ah' and do

not shout at them both, and say to them

good words. And humble yourself

towards both of them with love and say,

'My Lord, have mercy on them as they

both taught me when I was little." (Al-

Israa ': 23-24).

A hadith also supports the word of Allah:

Ibn 'Umar said: "The cry of both

parents is a great disobedience." (HR

Bukhari).

In Islam, it is stated that it is forbidden to disobey

one's parents. Disobedience to parents can be

considered as a form of great sin. The prohibition

against disobeying parents is contained in a hadith

narrated by Imam Al-Bukhari:

From Abdullah bin 'Amr, he said: An

Arab Bedouin came to the Prophet

SAW and said, "'O Messenger of Allah,

what are the major sins?'. He replied,

'Ishrak (associating anything) with

Allah. He asked again, 'Then what?'.

He replied, 'Then disobey two parents'.

He asked again, 'Then what?'. He

replied, 'The oath that plunges'. I asked,

'What is that oath that plunged me?'. He

replied, 'A lying oath that made him

take the property of a Muslim'." (HR

Al-Bukhari).

Children who are disobedient to their parents will get

punishment from Allah SWT; it can even cause

someone to die in bad conditions, or what is called

su'ul khatimah (Kodir et al., 2006: 98). In a hadith, for

example, it is stated:

"And the one who says to his parents,

'Cis (ah)' for both of you, did you both

warn me that I would be resurrected,

even though several people had passed

before me? Then the two parents asked

Allah for help saying, 'Woe to you,

believe! Verily Allah's promise is true'.

Then he said, 'This is nothing but a tale

of the ancients. They are the ones

whose judgment (punishment) has

been confirmed for them, along with

the peoples who have passed before

them from the jinn and humans. Verily,

they are the losers." (Al-Ahqaaf: 17-

18).

Another hadith also mentions how serious the sin of

disobeying one's parents is. The response that can be

received by a child who disobeys his parents is that

his body is forbidden to enter heaven. As mentioned

in a hadith:

"There are three types of people whom

Allah has forbidden to enter heaven,

namely heavy drunkards, disobedient

to both parents, and a dayyuts

(allowing evil to occur in his family)."

(H.R. Nasa'i and Ahmad).

No kidding, disobedience to parents is even equated

with shirk to Allah, a tremendous sin that will not be

forgiven by Allah. As a hadith narrated by Tabrani:

"There are three things that cause all

deeds to be erased, namely shirk in

Allah, disobedience to parents, a pious

person who is played by ignorant and

ignorant people." (H.R. Tabrani).

According to Firestone (1970: 87-88), children

occupy the lowest position in the economy class.

Children are considered different from adults,

especially in terms of economic dependence. This

economic dependence is the source of children's

oppression (Firestone, 1970: 95). Children are

economically dependent on their parents because they

do not have their income and cannot hold their own

money (Firestone, 1970: 77). In the case of trafficking

in persons, the subordinate position of girls in the

family makes them marginalized from access to

education, employment, and health. Many families

prefer to send their boys to school rather than girls.

With a low level of education, this girl certainly has

no bargaining value in the world of work. They

cannot compete in the world of work because they do

not have any skills to work. They are considered

unable to contribute to the welfare of the family. This

economic dependence makes girls only considered as

a burden on their parents.

Based on the understanding of the obligation to be

filial to their parents, girls feel they have an obligation

to contribute to the family's welfare as evidence of

their filial piety (Chung, 2009: 87). Devotion to

parents also becomes the spirit in the child himself to

be willing to throw himself in human trafficking.

Realizing that his family's condition is not good, the

child agrees to be traded in the hope that he will serve

his parents. They think that, by being sold, they will

be able to help ease the burden on their parents and

will get a great reward. This is what causes girls to

finally be forced to accept being sold by their parents.

For Firestone (1970: 77), in a patriarchal family,

a child, especially girls, are only considered as

strangers, not members of the nuclear family, who

Human Trafﬁcking and Pandemic Covid-19: A Study of Power Relation among Parents and Child in Islamic Perspective

sooner or later will leave the house for another house.

Thus, parents can decide to take the girl out of her

house whenever she wants. Meanwhile, in Islamic

teachings, parents should care for and love their

children. Children are a mandate given by God to

parents, so parents must take care of and care for their

children as well as possible. This is, for example in a

hadith:

"From Anas bin Malik narrated, that

the Messenger of Allah said: 'Not

among my ummah, those who (old) do

not love the young, and those who

(young) do not respect the old'."

(Narrated by Imam At-Turmudzi).

Through this hadith, Islam teaches parents to love and

care for their children before getting the glory as

parents to be respected by their children. However, in

reality, many parents demand that their children

respect them and forget the primary obligation to love

their children.

To reduce the burden on the family, parents,

especially fathers, turn a blind eye and sell their

daughters for the sake of improving the family's

economy. So, the offer of a broker who comes under

the guise of giving her a job or marrying a wealthy

man will usually be warmly welcomed. Moreover,

parents will assume that if their child works or

marries a rich person, it will bring prosperity to the

family. Not only because of the down payment that

will be obtained by the family but also because

parents think that later their child will be able to

provide much material to the family.

Parents leave their daughters in the hands of

brokers, either by persuasion or coercion. For

example, the father of a daughter in Sumba was

persuaded by a broker to sell his child. The bargaining

was tough; from the beginning the broker would only

give the father 1.5 million to a peak of 10 million.

Finally, in the last figure, the father also agreed to sell

his daughter. There is also a woman from Tangerang

who was sold to work in Malaysia, Dubai, Sudan,

Syria, to Iraq. He was forced to be willing to be sold

to help his family, who were in debt and his younger

siblings, who went to school.

Many parents are also forced to sell their children

to brokers to marry people they do not know. It is

undeniable; parents make dowry money as their

source of income. In the case of trafficking, women

become wives of men in other countries, for example.

Parents can earn money from trading their children.

Men who are looking for women to marry will give a

total of around 30 million to 400 million rupiahs to

the broker, 3 million to 10 million rupiahs of which is

given to the woman's parents as a dowry. This does

not include the money their child will send each

month after marrying a foreign man.

Firestone (1970: 98) said that children are

considered to have no sexual needs in a patriarchal

society. Parents feel that it is not a problem if their

children are sold for marriage, or made into

commercial sex workers, because children are

considered not to understand sexuality issues.

Children are considered imperfect creatures. His

mind is considered immature, so parents must make

decisions on behalf of their children. According to

Firestone (1970: 103), children do not have freedom;

children are repressed at every waking minute. All

decisions are in the hands of the parents, who feel

they know best what is best for the child. So,

children's voices are considered unnecessary to be

heard. The decision is purely from the parents. With

a low bargaining position, girls do not have the right

to refuse their parents' wishes. Daughters are

considered property of their fathers. As in a hadith,

the Prophet Muhammad SAW said:

"You and your wealth belong to your

father" (HR. Abu Dawud).

As property, the father has the right to do anything to

the daughter, including making it an object that can

be sold to other parties. With a strong power

relationship between parents and children, children

do not have the power to make decisions. When

parents decide to sell their child, the child cannot

refuse because there is an assumption that the child

should not refuse the parents' orders.

Islamic teachings that prohibit acts of

disobedience to parents are also used to legitimize all

parental decisions. Daughters must carry out the

parents' decisions as evidence of devotion and respect

for parents. Girls are prohibited from disobeying their

parents' orders because it will be considered unfilial.

A great sin will overshadow the daughter who dares

to disobey her parents' orders. They are willing to be

sold by their parents for the sake of the family. Even

though they do not like it, they are afraid to disappoint

their parents if they do not follow their orders.

Daughters will not dare to refuse parents' requests

because refusing parents' requests is the same as

unfilial. There are frightening consequences when a

child disobeys his parents, which is very much

avoided by girls.

2.4 Misperceptions of Obedience:

Parent-Child Power Relations in

Human Trafficking Cases

The culture that exists in society often contributes

significantly to the preservation of certain community

AICOSH 2021 - The Annual International Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities (AICOSH) “Life After Pandemic: Perspectives,

Changes, and Challenges”

traditions. For example, during the Arab ignorance,

someone would be very ashamed to have a daughter

and not even hesitate to kill her. The ignorant society

at that time was very proud of sons and very ashamed

to have daughters. The culture was very closely

attached until the religion of Islam came to appreciate

human life without discriminating against gender.

However, views on girls are also different in areas

that are the basis for sending TKW abroad, such as

Indramayu.

The culture that is identical to the people in

Indramayu is being proud of girls. The culture that

develops like this affects the way parents view their

children, especially women. Most parents consider

daughters as a source of their parents' economic

investment. Therefore, there is a tendency for socio-

economic reasons; parents deliberately justify

themselves to sell children to brokers or sponsors for

employment. The perception that "beautiful children

are parents' land" is a formidable challenge to change

this misguided culture and perception (Sulhan, 2012:

168). Parents feel proud when they have daughters

who work as TKW because they are expected to lift

the family economy and legitimize parents' power

over the future and destiny of their daughters.

Economic factors and the low level of education in

the family environment are thorny issues that lead to

rampant trafficking in persons, especially women.

The low level of education makes the understanding

of the meaning of obedience to parents narrow, and

as a result, trafficking in persons occurs.

In a patriarchal society, parents' position has a

high position and has power over their children.

Firestone argues that there is a class structure within

a patriarchal family. Children are considered

physically and mentally immature, which prevents

them from becoming financially independent and

achieving political agency. Without financial and

political power, children were dependent on their

parents. Parents have power over their children so that

they can control their children's lives. Children are

considered the property of their parents. This

condition makes children become fundamentally

oppressed creatures. Parents feel entitled to determine

their children's future in the hope of improving the

family's economy. As a result, children must obey

their parents and obey their orders without thinking

about the consequences and bad risks that may befall

them. The command to do good to parents is

misinterpreted into total obedience (Rahman, 108).

This then creates a false feeling in the parents that he

is the sole owner of his child and has the right to do

anything to his daughter. As a result, parents become

dictators who impose their will in front of their

daughters. Parents expect their daughters to be filial

to them, demanding that they do what they want. This

condition which Firestone calls "unequal power

distribution within families", causes misperceptions

of obedience. Parents often see obedience only from

one point of view, without looking at other things.

Parents forget that submitting to the Shari'a and

God's laws cannot be interpreted partially. Man must

realize that the essence of God's law is peace. If it

does not cause peace and will be miserable, it is not

God's law. In the case of trafficking in persons based

on obedience to parents, this is also the case. Allah

never ordered complete obedience to parents. Other

things need to be considered. For example, it should

be remembered that all the deeds done in this world

are aimed at gaining the pleasure of Allah. So, human

obedience to other humans must be based on

obedience to God. Allah SAW only orders children to

obey their parents, as long as the orders given are

aimed at getting closer to Allah and not violating

Allah's provisions. Allah SAW said:

"And We have made it obligatory for

humans to do good to their parents.

And if both force you to associate

partners with Me with something you

do not know of, then do not obey them.

Only to Me is your return, and I will tell

you what you have done." (Al-

'Ankabuut: 8).

The Word of God shows that a child is indeed

commanded to do good to his parents. However, if

parents order to do harmful actions and violate Allah's

commands, then the child is obliged to disobey his

parents. This is also in line with the words of the

Prophet:

From Abi Abdurrahman as-Sulami,

from Ali RA, Rasulullah SAW said:

"There is no obedience for things that

are disobedient to Allah, obedience is

only for good things." (H.R. Imam Abu

Dawud).

Islam forbids the practice of human trafficking. So,

children should not need to obey the orders of parents

who plunge children into human trafficking because

this is against the teachings of Islam. The prohibition

of trafficking in persons can be seen from the hadith

of the Prophet Muhammad SAW:

"From Abu Hurairah RA from the

Prophet SAW said: "Allah SWT said:

'There are three groups (of people)

whom I (Allah) will be hostile to

(fighting) on the Day of Resurrection,

one who swears (pays wages) in My

name and then disobeys it, someone

Human Trafﬁcking and Pandemic Covid-19: A Study of Power Relation among Parents and Child in Islamic Perspective

who sells a free person and then eats

the price (the proceeds of the sale) and

someone who employs workers then

the worker finishes his work but is not

paid his wages." (Bukhari)

Specifically, Allah SWT forbids parents to sell their

children for any reason.

"Do not kill your children because of

poverty (which befell you). We are the

ones who will provide sustenance for

you and your children." (Q.S. Al-

An'am:151).

The prohibition of 'killing' children on the grounds of

poverty does mean taking the child's life and 'killing'

the child's future. Selling children, for whatever

reason, can pawn the child's welfare in the future and

can be said to 'kill' the child's future. Thus, the law of

selling a child is also unlawful, just like killing a child.

Parental orders may also be disobeyed if the order is

indicated to cause harm to the child (Kodir, et al., 99).

Parents are supposed to create safety and well-being

for their children. If the child feels miserable if he

obeys the parent's orders, then the child has the right

to refuse it. Regarding this, Allah SWT said:

"All of you should be worried (fearful)

if you leave a weak lineage that you

worry about for the future. So fear

Allah and speak the truth." (Q.S. An-

Nisa: 9).

Because the teachings of Islam are aimed at goodness

and giving mercy to the whole world, Islamic

teachings cannot hurt people. If a parent sells a child

to someone else for forced labor, becomes a prostitute,

or is forced into marriage, the child has the right to

refuse it. In this case, the child will not sin if he does

not obey his parents' orders. He is not a disobedient

child if he decides to refuse the orders of his parents

that he knows are orders that bring badness to him.

Children may report the actions of their parents to the

authorities if they plunge them into the practice of

trafficking in persons. Firestone argues that children

will not deserve a life free from oppression as long as

they are considered the property of their parents.

Therefore, when using the Firestone theory, to

overcome the problem of human trafficking by their

parents, it is necessary to overhaul the unequal power

distribution within families. Children should be

taught that they have the right to control their lives.

They also have the right to understand more deeply

about obedience to parents in Islam so that there are

no misperceptions of obedience. On the other hand,

parents must also understand that children are not

their property.

2.5 Islamic Ethics in Handling the

Crime of Women Trafficking

The crime of trafficking in persons, especially girls,

requires comprehensive treatment from upstream to

downstream. Various approaches in terms of

government regulations and legal handling need to be

strengthened as a firm step in tackling trafficking in

persons. Meanwhile, on the prevention side, the

central role of religious leaders, such as kyai and

clerics, is needed to educate the public about the

dangers of human trafficking to children, especially

girls. Kyai or religious leaders should be able to

provide an understanding that children's obedience to

parents should not be interpreted narrowly so that the

negative impact of forcing children to become TKW

(for economic reasons) can be avoided.

Islam, as a religion that highly upholds humanity,

strongly condemns the practices of trafficking in

persons. Human trafficking in practice does not

respect humanity because it places a person at the

lowest level and has no rights to him. Therefore,

Islam does not justify for any reason one human being

deceives another human being (Sulhan, 2012: 172).

Islam teaches its people about ethics in treating others.

This Islamic ethics is essential to convey as

educational material that can provide a broader view

of humanity so that the crime of human trafficking

can be prevented from the upstream (supplying

community)

a. Islam is the religion that respects and glorifies

humanity. In Islam, there is no difference between

humans with each other, except based on their

faith. Islam does not distinguish between men and

women; all have their respective duties and

obligations. In the verse of the Qur'an, Allah says:

"And indeed, We have honored the children and

grandchildren of Adam, and We carried them on

land and in the sea, and We gave them sustenance

from good things and We favored them above

many creatures that We created with perfect

advantages” (al-Isra: 70).

b. Islam respects the dignity of fellow human beings

and abolishes slavery. Therefore, Allah forbids all

forms of slavery and orders to free humans from

all kinds of slavery (Putri, 2017: 51). In the verse

of the Qur'an, Allah says: "Then should not (with

his wealth) he take a path that climbs and is

difficult? Do you know what the road that climbs

again is difficult? (i.e.) free slaves from slavery.”

(Al-Balad [90]: 11-13).

c. Islam forbids the practice of exploiting women.

Strictly speaking, Islam highly glorifies women

and prohibits the practice of exploiting women,

AICOSH 2021 - The Annual International Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities (AICOSH) “Life After Pandemic: Perspectives,

Changes, and Challenges”

including sexual exploitation (Putri, 2017: 53).

For example, in the verse of the Qur'an, Allah says:

"...And do not force women into prostitution when

they want chastity, just because you want worldly

wealth." (an-Nur: 33).

d. Islam commands respect for parents as long as

they are obedient to Allah. In the verse of the

Qur'an, Allah says: "And if both of them force you

to associate partners with Me with something you

do not know of, then do not obey them, and

associate them well in the world, and follow the

path of the one who returns to Me. Then only to

Me is your return, and I will tell you what you

have done." (Luqman: 15).

3 CONCLUSIONS

Human trafficking is a type of crime and a violation

of the rights of human life. The process is very

systematic by exploiting the weaknesses, ignorance,

and powerlessness of the victims. Its purpose is

exploitation, whether in prostitution, pornography,

sexual violence/exploitation, forced labor with

inadequate wages, and slavery or other similar

practices. The number of human trafficking cases in

Indonesia continues to increase. The victims were

primarily children and women. The impact of this

case on individual victims is physical disorders,

psychological problems, and social problems.

In some cases of trafficking in persons, the next of

kin or the parents are the main perpetrators. Many

girls are involved in human trafficking because of

their parents. This cannot be separated from the

parent-child relationship, one of which is based on the

teachings of Islam. Islam teaches about the obedience

of children to their parents. This teaching makes

children not dare refuse their parents' orders,

including their parents' orders to be traded. Whether

we realize it or not, the relationship between children

and parents plays a vital role in trafficking in persons.

There is a wrong meaning to the command to do

good to parents taught in Islam when examined

further. Parents make orders to do good to parents, as

a legitimacy so that children obey whatever their

parents command, including forcing children to be

traded. Parents demand obedience from children and

frighten children about the enormous sin they must

face when children act disobediently to their parents.

Even though Islam commands children to do good

and be devoted to their parents, it does not mean that

children must blindly obey their parents' orders. As

long as the parent's orders are contrary to Islamic law,

the child should not obey them. However, as a social

problem regarding economic needs in society, parents

abuse their power where unequal power distribution

in the family causes misconception of obedience

among parent and their children.

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Changes, and Challenges”