In view of this, she stressed the laws, which also espouse double standards, must be re-examined and attributed the problem to social norms that differentiate between the roles of men and women.
She
was speaking at the two-day seminar, which commenced yesterday, entitled ‘Women
in times of armed conflict and peace’. It is organised by the Kuala Lumpur
Regional Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in
collaboration with the Southeast Asian Association for Gender Studies. Held in conjunction with the recent International Women’s Day, the seminar aims to promote discussions and awareness on issues concerning women in times of armed conflict and peace.
Elaborating, Razlina claimed that the rights of women, especially those who filed for divorces in the Syariah Court, have not been protected.
In most cases, she said the laws are lopsided, giving advantages or benefits to men while women are the real victims whenever divorce occurs in the Muslim community.
“There is no allocation of time limit in the proceedings,” she added, lamenting that the process took longer if the divorce is filed by the wife.
Alimony payment
Razlina said other problems faced by women who go through divorce, is that husbands are allowed to claim alimony payment and this provides more benefits for the men.
For instance, she said if the husband has three wives, he can ask for alimony payment from all three of them wives.
While the religion allows Muslim men to marry more than one wife, the Islamic laws do not protect the latter.
“Not all states (in Malaysia) need to get permission from the court for polygyny,” she said, citing Perak as an example, where husbands are not required to get permission from their wives before remarrying.
According to Razlina, Islamic laws in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur also leave much to be desired in terms protecting women.
She said in these places, marriages conducted abroad are accepted and polygynous husbands will only be slapped with RM1,000 fine or jailed for not more than six months.
“Even if the first wife does not agree, the (the second) marriage is still valid,” she added.
Razlina said these laws must be ‘nuetralised’ to create a more just and equitable society as well as developing an environment that promotes harmony among men and women.
