Tuesday February 14, 2006
Women’s groups support family law
By FLORENCE A. SAMY
KUALA LUMPUR: The misunderstanding and misinterpretation of the Islamic Family Law (Federal Territory) Amendment Bill 2005 is caused by a lack of understanding of the laws, especially among women, said Jamaah Islah Malaysia women’s chief Dr Harlina Halizah Siraj.
“There is nothing wrong with the Bill,” she said yesterday, adding that there were lessons to be learnt by all parties following the objections by several women non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to the Bill.
“The law is being amended to protect the rights of women, and this misunderstanding is caused by a superficial understanding of Islam, which needs to be overcome immediately.
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WOMEN’S MESSAGE: Shahrizat receiving the memorandum from Siti Jemilah (right) while Muslim Professionals Forum Bhd company secretary Asnah Ahmad (centre) and others look on. |
Dr Harlina said problems arising from polygamy would not be resolved just by having a strict law, as it boiled down to the husband’s responsibility.
Thirteen people representing five Islamic NGOs, including Dr Harlina, met up with Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil and handed her a memorandum to show their backing for the Bill.
“The Bill is Syariah-compliant and does not cause injustice. Nor is it discriminatory to Muslim women,” said Muslim Professionals Forum Bhd secretariat Siti Jemilah Sheikh Abdullah.
“We applaud Shahrizat’s firmness in dealing with the controversies that arose from the misinterpretation of the Bill by ill-informed parties who received wide media coverage.
“Those who have been critical of the Bill only exposed their ignorance of the Sources of the Islamic Law, Priorities of the Islamic Law and the Cardinal Principles of the Islamic Law.
“Any criticism and comments on Syariah should only be made by parties who are well versed with the sources of Syariah, namely the Quran, the Hadiths (Authentic Traditions of the Prophet), Ijma’ (Consensus), Qiyas (Analogy) and other secondary sources of Islamic jurisprudence,” she said.
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