Women's rights in Islam

Women's rights in Islam have remained a controversial subject for decades, partly contributed by misconceptions in translating the law into practical reality. In another dimension; many cultural practices commonly practised by Muslims; particularly in Muslim countries often reflect negative treatment towards women. Therefore, this chapter will focus on the fundamental aspects of women's rights based on the premise that Islamic law has a comprehensive set of legal frameworks regulating women in elevating and determining their status in society. The study includes contextual analysis of these principles when examining their practicality in the modem context. Reference to international instruments is made to further support the arguments and comparatively assess their compatibility with the status of women in Islam. Primary sources of Islamic law will be the main references with further illustrations and exegesis from legal texts of acceptable standards in Islamic law research. Writings of modern scholars will be referred to as secondary sources which represent contemporary vieivs on how Islamic la,v treats wome

Hak wanita dalam Islam: cabaran-cabaran pemodenan

PENGENALAN: Perbincangan tentang hak-hak wanita dalam Islam sentiasa mendapat kritikan bukan hanya oleh masyarakat barat tetapi juga oleh aktivis wanita Islam yang menerajui pemikiran liberal. Tidak kurang juga ia datang daripada wanita Islam yang ditindas disebabkan amalan budaya yang dilihat bersifat berat sebelah terhadap wanita dan sistem perundangan yang tidak praktikal sehingga interpretasi undang-undang yang dipakai memberikan impak negatif terhadap wanita. Persepsi ini juga dipengaruhi oleh penulisan-penulisan orientalis barat yang mentafsirkan kedudukan wanita Islam melalui kaca mata amalan budaya yang menyebabkan agama Islam dianggap sebagai agama yang menindas kaum wanita. Kekeliruan ini ditambah pula oleh deklarasi antarabangsa seperti CEDAW yang dilihat mengutamakan konsep kesamaan gender dan menjadikan undang-undang Islam sebagai halangan utama bagi pelaksanaan intipati deklarasi tersebut. Pada masa yang sama, kebanyakan adat yang diamalkan oleh orang Islam, lebih-lebih lagi di negara-negara Islam sering kali menunjukkan layanan yang buruk terhadap wanita. Oleh itu, penulisan ini akan melihat dengan lebih mendalam tentang hak-hak asasi wanita berdasarkan bukti yang menunjukkan bahawa undang-undang Islam mempunyai rangkuman undang-undang sangat lengkap dan menyeluruh untuk mcngatur hal-ehwal kaum wanita dan meninggikan martabat mereka dalam dalam masyarakat. Kajian ini juga melibatkan analisis semasa terhadap prinsip-prinsip sedia ada bagi menentukan kesesuaiannya dalam era moden ini. Rujukan turut dibuat terhadap undang-undang antarabangsa bagi mengukuhkan lagi hujah dan membuat perbandingan kesesuaian undang-undang antarabangsa tersebut dengan kedudukan wanita dalam Islam

How divorced women can effectively enforce the financial support orders: the legal and administrative actions

The issue of inadequate enforcement of the financial supports order becomes an ongoing concern in Malaysia as well as in other countries. This paper aims to analyse the civil and criminal proceedings enforceable in the court of law against the defiance ex-husbands. Results of the content analysis revealed that the proper rules of civil and criminal procedure have been materialized to ensure the degree of impartiality in the administration of Islamic family law in Malaysia. On the other hand, the administrative machinery was found to have better enforcement power in tracking defaulters. Findings imply the need to boost up the legislative and administrative mechanisms to ensure effective execution of the financial supports order after divorce thus protecting the welfare of the divorced women. Comparative overviews with the practices from several Commonwealth and Middle East Countries where enforcement actions are in advance are also include

Legal disputes in determining the religion of the child when one parent converts to Islam under Malaysian Law

This paper examines the child’s right to determine his / her religious status when one parents converts to Islam under Malaysian law. Determination as to the religious status of a child as well as custodial rights are very much in dispute between these parents as their marriage has to come to an end due to religious sanctions and lack of tolerance between them to come to a settlement. As opposed to custodial right, the issue is whether the welfare principle is still relevant in determining the religious status of a child. The current practice suggests that the father is the central focus in deciding the child’s religion under the Federal Constitution as well as Shari‘ah rules though lately there were arguments to allow both parents to have such power. Therefore this study will examine legal provisions pertaining to children’s right to religion under Malaysian law and explore an equal position under the Shari‘ah

Relationships between satisfaction of Muslim women on financial supports after divorce and ex-husbands' compliance to the supports with post-divorce welfare

The main objective of this study was to assess the welfare of divorced women in relation to financial supports after divorce, i.e. iddah maintenance, mut’ah, arrears of maintenance, and child maintenance. The specific objectives were to determine the divorced women’s satisfaction with the amount of financial supports, the ex-husbands’ compliance to court-ordered financial supports, their satisfaction with post-divorce welfare (levels of economic strain and depression), the relationships between satisfaction with the amount of financial supports and post-divorce welfare, as well as the relationships between ex-husbands’ compliance to court-ordered financial supports and post-divorce welfare. Data were collected using a questionnaire. The sample comprised of 201 divorced women selected from the cases recorded in the year 2003 till 2005 at the Shariah Subordinate Courts of Hulu Langat and Gombak Timur, Selangor. Pearson correlation showed that two factors were negatively correlated with the economic welfare of the divorced women, i.e. the dissatisfaction with the amount of iddah maintenance, mut’ah, and child maintenance and the ex-husbands’ none or partial compliance to the court-ordered iddah maintenance, mut’ah, and child maintenance. However, on the contrary to the expectation, the divorced women’s satisfaction with the amount of all types of financial supports provided by the ex-husbands and their ex-husbands’ none or partial compliance to all types of financial supports was found to have no significant relationships with depression. The findings also indicated that the assessment of a reasonable sum of financial supports and the effective enforcement of court order were significant factors that might augment the welfare of women after divorce

The adequacy of existing support systems in addressing the issue of teenage pregnancies in Malaysia: a legal response

This article examines the adequacy of the current support systems in addressing the issue of teenage pregnancies in Malaysia. This study was conducted primarily through a doctrinal study of existing literature such as articles, journals and reports related to the current issues encountered by the pregnant teenagers. There is also anon-doctrinal method carried out whereby the researchers had conducted fieldwork interviews with the government department, non-government organisations (NGOs) and social activist on the efforts done in addressing the problem. Due to the lack of a specific policy on teenage pregnancies in Malaysia, there have been concerns on issues related to the rights of these teenagers to education during pregnancy; criminal issues on abortion, infanticide and child sexual grooming; child marriages and the lack of support from parents,family members and the society for care, motivation, healthcare and preparation for motherhood among these teenagers. The findings establish the current support system is inadequate to meet the contemporary needs of pregnant teenagers. It is suggested that a comprehensive legal framework for teenage pregnancies in Malaysia needs to be put in place. These can include legislating necessary laws and policies,which can be more effective through integrated services and proper monitoring and enforcement in order to meet the current needs of the targeted group

Knowledge and accessibility of Muslim women to the law on post-divorce financial support.

The main objective of the study was to determine the Muslim women's knowledge and accesibility to the law on post divorce financial support particularly that which relates to 'iddah maintenance, mut'ah,arrears of maintenance and child maintenance. The data was collected using self administered questionaire. The sample was 201 divorced women recruited from the recorded cases for the period 2003-2005 inthe Subordinate Shariah Courts of Hulu Langat and Gombak Timur, Sekangor. The findings indicate that almost all respondents (99%) have high level of knowledge on the legal rights to post divorce financial support. However, more than two-third of the respondents (70%) had low level of accessibility to the law when claiming for post divorce financial support. The study suggests that although divorced women might have better access to legal information through reading and socialisation, the problem regarding the attitude of the court's officer, and lawyers. the complexity of the court procedures, the uncooperative attitudes and the non-compliance of the ex-husbands to the court ordered financial support did impede their accessibility to the law

The effectiveness of Sulh on matrimonial asset division after death of spouse

Distribution of matrimonial asset to deceased’s spouse often faced with obstacles and took longer time to be settled. This is due to the current provision relating to division of matrimonial asset emphasized on the parties’ contribution to determine the appropriate proportion to the deceased’s spouse. Lack of evidence especially in proving the contribution of parties has caused difficulties for courts to reach decision. This study is aimed to examine the effectiveness of sulh with regards the distribution of matrimonial asset upon the death of spouse. The study uses qualitative method by collecting information from unreported cases within the period of 2000-2012 from six zones representing Syariah Courts in Malaysia. Analysis is made based on several variables such as types of matrimonial property, factors for consideration and proportion of distribution of the assets. The findings show that sulh was an effective method to resolve issues relating to the contribution of parties in division of matrimonial asset due to death of spouse. The findings also discovered that exclusive ownership of matrimonial asset especially matrimonial home to the deceased’s wife could provide adequate security and protection for her survival after the death of husband. Therefore, this study suggests that the use of sulh as a mode of dividing the matrimonial asset is to be widely practiced when dealing with the division of matrimonial assets to prevent a costly and lengthy litigation process. Perhaps this is the first study to focus on sulh methods involving distribution of matrimonial asset to spouses after the death of their husband or wife