Kuala Lumpur, August 05: Malaysia’s first female Islamic court judges have been granted powers equal to their male counterparts after fears were raised that curbs would be imposed on their authority, an official said on Thursday.
The government appointed two women as sharia judges in May but activists have questioned whether the country was really ready to empower women after a panel of judges tasked with deciding their powers said they could be barred from ruling on marriage and divorce.
“A meeting of the judges has decided that the two female sharia judges will have equal powers to their male counterparts without any restrictions or limitations,” said Mohamad Naim Mokhtar, an official at the Islamic judiciary department.
There are not many female sharia court judges in Muslim countries because of differing views on whether they are allowed.
Activists have long complained that Muslim women in Malaysia have been victimised by undue delays and unfair rulings in divorce and custody cases at sharia courts.
Malaysia practices a dual-track legal system, with Muslims, who make up 60 percent of the country’s 28 million population, governed by Islamic family and criminal laws while non-Muslims fall under civil laws.
One of the two women, Rafidah Abdul Razak, 39, had started her duties at the Kuala Lumpur shariah court on Aug. 2 and had heard numerous cases including one on inheritance, Mokhtar said.
The other judge, Suraya Ramli, 31, will take to the bench in the administrative capital of Putrajaya on Aug 12.
–Agencies