October - December - Women's Aid Organisation

INROADS 

Quarter 1, 2006

Inroads, Quarter 1, 2006 

Staff Announcements 

A big welcome back to Nabila Nasir as our new Project Assistant. 

A big welcome back to Kalai, Child minder! 

It was a sad farewell to Karen Tan, Project Assistant, who returned to Australia. 

A sad farewell to our longtime child minder, Amutha. 

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS 

President 

Meera Samanther 

Vice President 

Shanthi Diariam 

Hon. Secretary 

Mok Chuang Lian 

Asst. Secretary 

Rozana Isa 

Hon. Treasurer 

Yeow Ai Lin 

Asst. Treasurer 

Sharon Hariharan 

Comm. Member 

Vivienne Lee Iskandar 

Musfiza Mustapa 

Carol Chin 

This edition was compiled by Norhajah 

Idris and Diya Gosh, Intern. Thank you to 

all who helped put this together!! 

STAFF 

Executive Director 

Ivy Josiah 

Finance & Admin Manager 

Sharmini Kanesamoorthy 

Projects & Admin Manager 

Annie Varghese 

Projects Assistant 

Nabila Nasir 

Admin. Assistant 

Thillai Nayaki 

Accounts & Admin Assistant 

Puspawati Ismail 

Programme Officer 

Vizla Kumaresan 

Social Worker Manager 

Shoba Aiyar 

Social Workers 

Jessie Ang 

Nazlina Abd Ghani 

Saralah Devi 

Wong Su Zane 

Librarian 

Mariam Salleh 

Night Supervisor 

Normah Md. Noor 

Child Social Worker 

Daljeen Kaur Jassal 

CCC Supervisor 

Mary Selina 

CCC Child Minders 

Vijaya Anumiah 

Hanif Nuk’awanah Nuhyi 

Kalayivani


In Focus 

Eye on the Islamic 

Family Law 

1984 saw the first inklings of a move towards a uniform Islamic Family Law (IFL) for 

all states in Malaysia. At the time, Malaysia developed one of the first Islamic laws of 

this kind. It was progressive, and was seen as the model Islamic family law of the 

Muslim world. Other Muslim countries began emulating our laws when drafting their 

respective family law bills. 

However, a few amendments made to the 1984 IFL began to mark its movement away 

from gender equality. One of these amendments was the validation of divorce and 

polygamy contracted outside the court. The five conditions that were necessary in order 

for a man to contract polygamy became four. The condition that the standard of living 

of the first wife (or existing wives) should not be lowered was removed. 

Concurrent to the amendments in the IFL, other changes were taking place that 

discriminated against Muslim women. In 2000, a Fatwa regarding EPF and SOCSO 

benefits was issued. It said that even though a wife becomes beneficiary to the schemes, 

she can only act as the administrator of the estate. The property will be divided 

according to ‘hukum faraid’ or inheritance law. 

While Muslim women were facing more and more discrimination in the law, Civil laws 

were becoming progressive, with a movement towards gender equality. This began in 

1976, when a Parliamentary Select Committee was formed to review civil family law. 

Out of that came the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act, 1976. Later, the 

Guardianship Act was amended to allow equal guardianship to booth males and 

females. This however, was not applicable for Muslims. 

The highly debated 2005 Amendments actually began in 2001. The state of Selangor 

was the first to adopt and enforce the law, in 2003. By 2005, 11 states had already 

enforced the law. When faced with protest from Sisters in Islam (SIS), state officials all 

insisted that the best way to go with the law was to ‘accept it first and amend later’. 

It should be noted that SIS had been monitoring all the changes taking place, and 

protesting to the various agencies involved. In 2002, they handed a 42-page 

memorandum to the various ministries, calling attention to the discriminatory laws and 

for the implementation of a Muslim family law based on the principles of equality and 

justice.


There are many aspects of the amended IFL that are discriminatory towards women. 

However, the 5 main contentious issues are: 

• To contract polygamy, the man has to show that the marriage is ‘just or necessary’ 

rather than being ‘just and necessary’, 

• The division of ‘harta sepencarian’ (matrimonial property), upon polygamy, can be 

claimed by ‘any party’. The gender neutral language used here is unfair as the 

practice in court makes it easier for men to access the law, rather than women, 

• The first wife, or existing wives, have to choose between matrimonial property or 

maintenance, upon the husbands polygamy, 

• The husband can stop his wife from dispossessing her property under application for 

matrimonial property, and 

• The right to fasakh 1 divorce has been extended to men, on top of their right to talaq 1 

divorce. 

In November 2005, the IFL came up for debate in the Senate, for to be passed in the Federal 

Territories. The women senators were lobbied about the discriminatory aspects of the IFL, 

and all of then opposed it. However after weeks of lobbying by Sisters in Islam (SIS), and 

under immense media attention, the Senators were forced to vote for the IFL, when the party 

whip was invoked, despite their opposition to it. Following the controversial voting, the 

media was flooded with letters from outraged members of the public wanting to show their 

dissatisfaction with the law. 

Among the calls from SIS on behalf of the Joint Action Group on Gender Equality (JAG), is 

to not gazette the law in the Federal Territory, to place a moratorium on the laws that have 

been passed is other states, the formation of a Parliamentary Select Committee to review the 

Islamic laws and how they are affecting women, and to redraft the law and introduce a new 

Muslim Family Law based on the principles of equality and justice. 

It is important for civil society to be vigilant with the developments of the IFL. Lately, there 

has been a lot of news in the press regarding the IFL, with a different sort of reaction to it. 

Politicians who earlier were did admit to the flaws in the law, and are now claiming that the 

law is perfect. It is reactions like this that civil society has to respond to. Write letters to the 

printed media. If not a letter, most newspapers now have a section where members of the 

public can air their grievances via SMS. A short note outlining your dissatisfaction can speak 

volumes. 

Source: Sisters In Islam


An Ongoing Case 

A Muslim Woman’s 

Hardship 

Zakiah, a twenty five year old Malay woman with a four year old son came to seek shelter early 

last year. She is a victim of domestic violence and her husband had pronounced ‘talak’ several 

times when she had gone out of the gate of their house or had gone to see her parents after an 

incident of abuse. 

Background 

Zakiah comes from a middle class family and was educated in a religious school. She is a beautiful 

petite woman, soft spoken and very articulate in her thoughts. She met her husband at a wedding. 

There was mutual attraction and despite protest from both sides, they got married. According to 

her, he was a confident person, good looking and attached to a multinational company. 

After the marriage, they moved into his parents’ home and she performed all the household tasks. 

She was expected to serve his mother, cook and 

clean. She had no freedom to do what she 

wanted or free time for herself. 

Abuse 

Just two months after the marriage, the abuse 

started. She was quite stunned in the manner it 

started. They would check into a hotel, and he 

would pick a fight with her for no reason and 

then beat her with his bare hands. This became a 

norm and as time went by, he was bold enough 

to abuse her in front of his parents. She being an 

obedient person, would tolerate it and forgave 

him. After sometime, she managed to persuade 

him to move out of the in-laws house and into 

their own. She believed that by doing so, they 

would be able to resolve their problems. 

However, her problems were far from over. Her husband was hot tempered and got angry for the 

slightest reasons. He would often demand that she cut the vegetables the way his mother used to 

cut and if she made a mistake of not doing so, he would lash out at her. He would slap her till her 

face was swollen, strangle her, kick her and bang her head on the wall. He used to use words like 

‘swine’ and ‘bitch’ and other vulgar words that she never heard before.


She did not want to leave him, although the thought came to her very often, as she didn’t want 

to bring shame upon both families. She was so traumatized by the abuse that she thought she 

was loosing her sanity. As time went by, she became an introverted and disorientated person. 

Often she would pray to hear an apology from him for his behaviour, but none came. Not being 

able to stand the long silence between them, she would be the one apologizing for her actions. 

Many a times, he had chased her out of their home but would not allow her go to her parent’s 

house. She thought if they had a baby, he would change his ways. However, throughout her 

pregnancy, she was abused. After delivery, their sex life changed. He claimed she was not 

attractive to him any more. 

Realising her family life not improving despite having a son, she became very unhappy and 

had no reason to continue their six years of marriage. She decided to confide in her sister about 

her predicament. Shocked at what has been happening, her sister began to call numbers that she 

found in the papers and came upon WAO’s number. She gave it to Zakiah. 

Finding a right time to leave was difficult, as the in-laws had moved in to ‘watch’ over her. 

When they were in prayer one day, she took the opportunity to gather a few of her things and 

ran out with her son. She made her way to the Jabatan Agama to state her reasons for leaving 

home and that her husband had claimed he would divorce her many times before. Then she 

came to WAO. She, very reluctantly, made a police report against him regarding the abuse as 

she still did not want to bring him shame. 

Decision 

With the support of her family, she managed to get a lawyer to le for divorce and custody of 

their son. This was in late July 2005. Since then she had gone to court more than six times. The 

process was long drawn and complicated. 

Court System 

The first appearance in court was a reconciliation meeting called ‘suluh’, or a mediation 

meeting between both parties. When there was no settlement, both had to hire lawyers to fight 

their case in court. To do this, she had to go again to court to have a ‘ceremony’ or ‘wakalah’ 

to appoint her lawyer upon which he was to get another date to x the “hearing date”. However, 

when the date came up, the case was postponed. 

This was not the end, as the case of the divorce and of the custody were postponed several 

times; Reasons for this the judge was on emergency leave, court had a ceremony for 

installation of new lawyers, the husband had denied he had uttered ‘talak’ and the judge had 

gone to perform his “haj”. 

An Explanation 

The Syariah court, works differently from civil courts where both divorce and 

custody are submitted in one application.


An Explanation 

The Syariah court, works differently from civil courts where both divorce and 

custody are submitted in one application. 

She had to open six files to hear her matters: They were 1) confirmation of the 

divorce, 2) application for temporary custody, 3) setting aside of the 

temporary custody obtained by the husband first, 4) application for permanent 

custody, 5) maintenance and 6) obtaining matrimonial property. Every time, 

she had a court hearing, queries or to submit documents, she had to pay the 

lawyer for appearing in court or the court office. 

For six months she endured this and on her final hearing date, she managed to 

give testimony about her marriage. Her husband, however, was not present. 

Rightly, the judge went on with the case as it had been postponed too many 

times. Luck was on her side as his lawyer called for an out of court settlement. 

He proposed to give her custody of the son and a house to stay in so that she 

could send him to school and he was able visit him whenever possible. 

Zakiah was relieved as she felt now she could go on with her life. She hoped 

to seal the agreement as soon as possible so her husband will not change his 

mind when the time came. Her battle still goes on for the other files…as she 

hopes and prays. Court proceedings are still pending and she hopes and prays 

for a just solution. 

Shoba Aiyar ▪ Social Worker

16 DAYS OF ACTIVISM AGAINST GENDER 

VIOLENCE 

Get The Knowledge, Get The Power, Keep The Promise 

The campaign kicked off on 25th November 2005 at the Berjaya Times Square in 

conjunction with the annual global campaign. Joined by friends, affiliates and the media, 

each organization gave inspiring speeches on the issues of gender and violence against 

women. 

The theme for the campaign was “Get the Power, Get the Knowledge, Keep the Promise.” 

The star attractions, amongst the strategically placed booths, were Noree, a young upcoming 

star who contributes regularly to WAO through a percentage from album sales, and Dina, 

first runner up of the first Malaysian Idol. 

On 26 th November 2005, the collective traveled to Kinta City Shopping Centre, Ipoh. Starting 

set up at about 9 am, the event ran the whole day greeting warm crowds. A healthy mix of 

responses was received from the messages on the sandwich boards donned by the volunteers 

of the campaign. Some of brightly painted sandwich boards read, “Women are Social 

Subjects, not Sexual Objects”, “One Husband = One Wife” and “Don’t Turn A Blind Eye To 

Domestic Violence”. 

On the 27th November 2005, Sisters In Islam 

and Women’s Aid Organization were back at 

Berjaya Times Square setting up information 

booths. The crowd, of families and young 

teenagers, were out on a Sunday afternoon 

stroll, allowing for a relaxed and nonchalant 

atmosphere. Though many were intrigued by 

stunts pulled by the volunteers lying on the 

floor, surrounded by sandwich boards or lining 

up wearing the sandwich boards, like at a 

protest! 

Subang Parade was full of shoppers, perusing 

around the flea market outside MPH 

bookstore, and the16 Days of Activism 

Against Gender Violence continued on the 3 rd 

December 2005. A loose coalition of artists 

joined the NGO stalls to paint a mural. Calling 

themselves KataGender, the collective works 

to promote social activism and ultimately


A campaign by Women’s Aid Organisation, Sisters in Islam, 

Malaysian AIDS Council, Amnesty International, All 

Women's Action Society.


A Child’s Right to… 

Education 

The Right to Education occupies a central place in Human 

Rights and is essential for development. 

Children who are educated will be more productive at home, better paid in the 

workplace, better able to protect themselves against HIV/AIDS and other diseases 

and they tend to assume a more active role in social, economic and political 

decision-making throughout their lives. 

Sarah, Age 7 

Without education, a mother faces 

difficulties in protecting her child from 

avoidable illness and disease. A father 

may unknowingly deny his child a 

nurturing and caring environment that 

has profound effects on the child’s 

ability to develop. A girl who is denied 

access to education increases her 

vulnerability to abuse and exploitation. 

A boy may lack a sense of power and 

hope for the future. 

Children are denied the right to an education due to myriad reasons. Poverty, 

issues of safety and security in and around school and disinterest towards subject 

matter are examples of why this happens. Without accelerated action to get the 

children into schools, global goals to improve the human condition will simply not 

be reached. 

The public and government both have active roles to 

play in realizing the full potential of children. 

Education should be free and made available to all. 

Improved infrastructure and training for school 

personnel should be conducted. The National school 

syllabus should be revamped to include subjects that 

pertain to the current issues faced by children. For 

example, the inclusion of Sex Education should be 

recognized. Parents must also play an important role, 

as instilling the importance of education begins at home. 

5 

Hally, 

Age 

Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) operates a Child Care Centre (CCC) which 

provides education and care for children of single mothers. We subscribe to the 

tenets of UNICEF’s Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in which all


children have an unquestionable right to an education. The CRC is not limited to 

formal education. It also encompasses the development of the child's personality, 

talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential. 

At CCC, tutorial sessions are carried out alongside programs dealing with issues 

such as anger, self-esteem, bullying, abuse, and personal safety. Assistance is 

provided in the form of remedial work for children who are unable to read and write, 

while the tutorial sessions guide them with their schoolwork. The programs are 

developed to provide the children with the vital tools to cope with the challenges 

they face in life. 

Our children deserve the right to a better lifestyle than the ones they now possess. 

We should defend this inherent right and also shelter them. They are the hope of 

our future and will soon become the leaders of our countries. 

Daljeen Kaur Jassal Child Social Worker 

Froggin’ 

An idea initiated by volunteers turned out to be an unforgettable night for the children. The children 

spent the day learning about frogs and at night, viewing them in their natural habitat. At the Child 

Care Centre, volunteers assisted the children as they drew the life cycle of the frog and made frog 

origami. At night, the children took a walk in the jungle of the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia 

(FRIM) to view frogs. 

A generous donation of tickets provided the 

children with an opportunity to attend the Hollywood on Ice show. The show was 

attended by current and former residents and was held in Bukit Jalil. Audiences 

were entertained with classic songs from Hollywood movies. The children were 

mesmerized by the skating skills of the performer.


people, 3 staff and 2 brilliant volunteers heading off to the sandy shores of Port Dickson for a 

few days of fun…. and lots of sun! After a range of “getting to know you games” (which 

included dancing on the bus), this great group of energetic kids were clearly ready for any 

activity we threw their way! 

So, we took them to the TNB Refinery in Port Dickson to test them on their knowledge of 

electricity, but they just put on their hardhats and wandered around like true professionals! The 

kids put up an equal challenge at the Port Dickson Police Station, as they threw so many 

questions at Inspector Zazali, even he was so impressed by the WAO kids that he even 

allowed a one off photo shoot inside, on and around the police van with handcuffs! 

The focus of the youth camp was to empower the kids in a range of ways and we were 

extremely lucky to be joined by Mr Lum Chee Seng, a psychologist who presented a session 

on Love, Communication and Relationships. This was truly entertaining as he had the kids 

brainstorming, singing, dancing, playing football with an egg and propelling each 

other over a piece of string tied to a tree…! The fun continued with psychologist Valerie 

Jacques, who had the kids engaged with her session on Sex, Love and Pregnancy. This 

activity was based on discussing highly important issues relating to changing emotions, sex, 

and safe and appropriate relationships. And….as you can imagine they were extremely 

interested and of course further educated! 

Even after all the information on careers, life, love, team building, piñata making (and 

smashing), bbq-ing, and games, the kids still had the energy to soak up the sun! Burying eachother 

in the sand on the beach (which was directly across the road) appeared to be a favourite 

pastime; this was an act of true bonding with old friends and newfound friends! 

Overall the camp was such a great success and we extend our thanks to the volunteers, the 

people who were so accommodating in Port Dickson, those who educated and enlightened the 

kids…and of course the kids themselves for being brilliant, fantastic and an absolute pleasure 

to spend time with! 

Jasmine Intern

I hope that WAO will continue to be the ever needed, approachable and respected aid 

center and be a leading example for other aid centers in Malaysia. And I hope to lend my 

support to the organisation to the best of my ability & availability!

October - December - Women's Aid Organisation

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