Friday February 10, 2006
Shahrizat: Law protects women
By SHAHANAAZ HABIB
KUALA LUMPUR: Women should look at the bigger picture and see the good aspects of the amendments to the Islamic Family Law (Federal Territories) (Amendment) Act 2005, said Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.
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DISPELLING WORRIES: (From left) Zaitun, Abdul Gani, Shahrizat and her ministry’s secretary-general Datuk Faizah Mohd Tahir speaking to the press in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. |
She said the law would stop irresponsible husbands from running to another state to escape paying the wife maintenance.
Before the amendments, a syariah court order was only enforceable in the state where it was issued.
The wife, she pointed out, could also stake her claim of the harta sepencarian (matrimonial property) as soon as her husband took another wife, unlike previously when she could only do so after his death.
Shahrizat also said it was not true that men who took another wife could get a share of the first wife’s inheritance, her personal property and gifts he and others had given her.
“I am very sad that the noble intentions of the Government has been questioned and misunderstood and had caused alarm and panic among the women,” she said in her office yesterday to clear up confusion over the Islamic Family Law that had evoked an outcry among women groups in the country.
The groups voiced concern that the law had increased the rights of the men and decreased that of the women.
“The Prime Minister will not compromise on any law that oppresses women in the country,” said Shahrizat.
She said when the Cabinet gave the go-ahead to the law on Aug 17, it noted that there were “grey areas” and had called on Jakim (Islamic Development Department) to take follow-up action and improve on it to ensure that “no provision could be interpreted as being discriminatory to women.”
“We let it go for the sake of uniformity. It was conditional on Jakim to address the concerns, look at the grey areas and clean up the Act. The Government has been vigilant all the time.
The other states have passed and gazetted the law, with FT being the last to pass it in December.
Amid the uproar from the women, the Government said it would amend the law.
Present at yesterday’s press conference were Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail and Solicitor-General Puan Sri Zaitun Zawiyah Puteh.
Shahrizat pointed out that the law did not “emanate” from her ministry, but even so, she was compelled to call the press conference because everywhere she went people kept asking her why the Government was being cruel to Muslim women.
“I cannot take this sitting down because it is not true. Look at the record of the Government. We have never let our women down,” she said.
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