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By Boo Su-Lyn
July 15, 2010

BANGI, July 15 — A study on polygamy, which is allowed only for Muslims here, showed that 44 per cent of first wives are forced to find extra work after their husbands take on a second wife.

The study by non-governmental organisation Sisters in Islam (SIS) and the Institute of Malaysian and International Studies (Ikmas) of the National University of Malaysia (UKM) surveyed some 1,200 participants from polygamous families throughout peninsular Malaysia since 2008.

SHARING THE NATION
By ZAINAH ANWAR

A news report titled The End of Men suggests that the idea of men being the dominant sex is changing, and the trends are there for all to see, even in Malaysia.

WHAT if modern, post-industrial society is better suited to women? What if men and women were fulfilling not biological imperatives but social roles, based on what was more efficient throughout a long era of human history? What if that era has now come to an end? More to the point, what if the economics of the new era are better suited to women?

SHARING THE NATION By ZAINAH ANWAR

Early marriage can have serious harmful consequences for children. The figures show that is a problem that crosses all races and states, raising many disturbing questions that need to be answered.

TWO MONTHS ago, there was public outcry over the marriage of two little girls, aged 10 and 11 to much older men in Kelantan. It was two too many. But now the 2009 data on pre-marital HIV screening, mandatory for all Malay Muslim couples wanting to get married, shows that this problem is more prevalent than expected.

Press Statement

 SIS condemns Israeli attack on Humanitarian boats and calls for end to the Gaza Siege

 3 June 2010

By Jacqueline Ann Surin and Shanon Shah

DURING a press conference in 2003, then Perlis Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim tried to defend the state's decision to loosen conditions for polygamy. Perlis had decided that Muslim men did not need to seek their first wife's consent to marry another woman.

At the press conference, which Jacqueline Ann Surin covered, the Perlis mufti stressed that according to hukum syarak, men were allowed to be polygamous. He would not answer the question by a women's rights activist about whether such a move by the state was fair and just.

His message came hot on the heels of a recent panel discussion on Islam, which had both Muslims and non-Muslims shifting uneasily over the misrepresentation of Islam in Malaysia.

Oganised by Sisters In Islam (SIS), the discussion followed a screening of the documentary “Mencari Kartika” (In Search of Kartika) by new filmmaker Norhayati Kaprawi.

by Dina Zaman

MAY 28 — A new filmmaker is born. Norhayati Kaprawi, a prominent member of Sisters in Islam, made her film debut this week with her entertaining and insightful piece on the caning of Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarnor.

The crowd which came to applaud her ranged from politicians like Khalid Samad, womens’ rights activists such as Ivy Josiah and members of the media who were invited to the screening.