Early fog from one of my morning walks
To familiarize myself with Malaysia, I spent time reading newspapers like New Straits Times and The Star. In the headlines was news of the Islamic Family Law Bill Amendments. One editorial went to say that it was now easier for a husband to divorce his wife, such that he could just SMS/text message his wife to make it happen – her consent was not needed to make it final. I thought about how this would affect Malaysian women and their rights since the ex-husband would then be entitled to half of his wife’s property after the divorce. Per Muslim law, a man can take up to 4 wives. Previously, a man needed to show that he could provide for and treat his wives equally before taking on additional wives, but the new amendments say this is no longer required.
Posted By laura jones
Posted Nov 9th, 2006