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December 25, 2005

Malaysia: Islamic Family Law Bill Discriminates Against Women

On Friday 22 an amendment was passed after a heated debate in Malaysia's Senate. The amendment to the Islamic Family Law Bill is widely seen as being discriminatory against women.

The Islamic Family Law (Federal Territories) (Amendment) Bill 2005 (IFL 2005) allows a man to apply for the matrimonial home to be sold and the proceeds divided.

Under the new Section 107A of the IFL 2005, a husband is allowed to obtain an injunction preventing the disposition of property by a wife or a former wife, states the New Straits Times.

The law is seen as making it easier for men to engage in polygamy and divorce.

Other contentious clauses are Section 23(9)(b), which allows a man to lay claim to a share of his wives' assets before he gains a new wife or has a divorce.

Zainah Anwar, executive director of Sisters in Islam (SIS) claimed that the law was unjust. "Section 23(9) forces the wife of a polygamous husband to choose between an order for maintenance or to apply for order of division of matrimonial property," she said. "This does not have any basis in Syariah, as it is the men's obligation to provide maintenance for his wife, as provided in the Quran...."

"The patchwork attempt at amending the IFL has further discriminated against Muslim women, this at a time when the Government is amending civil rights to promote equal rights between men and women," she said.

Other groups protesting against the Amendment Bill are Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (Jagge) and the All Women's Action Society (Awam).

Teresa Kok, MP for Seputeh, said "I deeply regret to learn that 16 women senators who opposed the IFL 2005 were directed by the Cabinet and the ministers to vote for the Bill."

In another article, the New Straits Times reports that woman Senator, Dayang Mahani Raffae (pictured) cried when she first saw the amendments, and apologised to her daughter and women in general.

There are nineteen women in the Upper House, the Dewan Negara, and according to the Star, all were opposed to the Bill, but had been pressured by the Prime Minister's department, who had had invoked the whip. Women senators from the Pas party did not appear for the debate and vote, so it was passed unanimously.

The Bill had been formulated at the Cabinet's behest by religious affairs minister Datuk Abdullah Mohd Zin, who was assisted by the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) and other Muslim groups.

Bernama.com states that Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, who is the nation's Women, Family and Community Development Minister, will be leading a women's delegation to meet all the Malay Rulers, requesting that the Bill be reformulated so that it gives justice to all. She told the press that women in Malaysia were slighted by this law.

The NST quotes her as saying: "Many women have been cruelly treated by the system. Syariah [sharia] laws safeguard the rights of all women, men and children but sometimes, the implementation is unfair towards women."

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at December 25, 2005 5:45 PM

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