Leading Muslims slam MPs for proposed changes to marriage and divorce legislation
More than 150 prominent Sri Lankan Muslims have signed a letter against the "backward" views of Muslim MPs. In their view, Muslim women have already suffered for too long the effects of the law, which goes "against the principles of kindness, compassion and peace encapsulated in Shari'ah".
Colombo (Asia News) – Muslim Academics, professionals, community leaders, as well as leading figures from business and media from across Sri Lanka have rejected proposed changes to the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA) put forward by Muslim MPs.
In a signed letter, 158 prominent Sri Lankan Muslims reject the proposed legislative reforms calling them backward and a threat to the most vulnerable, most notably Muslim women and girls, who have long suffered legal injustices and discrimination.
“We are appalled that Muslim Members of Parliament, having previously endorsed progressive decisions on MMDA reform, have by this document completely reversed their positions,” reads the letter recently sent to the Justice minister.
The MPs’ “conduct dismisses the plight of the victims who continue to share at great risk their pain and mistreatment under the law.”
What is more, “These proposals are a reflection of exclusively male-led community groups that have repeatedly undermined MMDA reform.” They are a sign of “political expediency and not long-term development of the Muslim society in Sri Lanka.”
In particular, the letter notes that the MMDA, among other things, does not legally address the problem of child marriages, prevents women from making decisions on their own without the signature of a male guardian in case of marriage and divorce, does not address the harmful effects of polygamy, excludes women from officiating marriages, and entrenches existing divisions and hierarchies within the Muslim community.
“We are extremely disappointed in the backward positions taken by the Muslim MP signatories in this document”, who “go against the principles of kindness, compassion and peace encapsulated in the Shari’ah”, and “against building a Sri Lankan Muslim identity that upholds the Sri Lankan Constitution and represents the enlightened thinking of Islam across the Muslim world.”
Above all, the letter notes that, “The lack of reform all these decades has affected generations of Muslim communities.” For these reasons, the signatories call on the minister of Justice and the Sri Lanka government to reject the proposals made by Muslim MPs and instead proceed with constructive reforms of the law.
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