WAO ANNUAL REPORT 2009 - Women's Aid Organisation

“We understand that the Government had agreed upon 3 principles when formulating
these amendments to deal with the issue of the conversion of 1 spouse to Islam in a
marriage registered under the LRA namely:
that the civil court shall have exclusive jurisdiction to all matters relating to the
dissolution of marriages contracted under civil law;
the religion of a child below 18 years of age shall not be changed by parent
without the consent of the other; and
the converted spouse should not abdicate his duties and responsibilities under
the civil marriage.
JAG upholds each individual’s freedom of faith and belief.
However, the proposed amendments do not reflect the 3 principles agreed upon, but
may have unintended negative impact which may lead to national disunity. Furthermore,
the proposed amendments do not take into account amendments to other Acts of
Parliament that must be undertaken in order to deal with issues of conversion in a
holistic manner such as the Distribution Act, the Guardianship of Infants Act and the
Inheritance (Family Provision) Act.”
Finally it was announced in July that the Rulers' Council had advised the government not to table
the amendments in parliament but to have further consultations as many groups were unhappy
with the proposed amendments.
7.4.2 Fiesta Feminista
The Fiesta Feminista Steering Committee had a busy year in 2009. Apart from the committee’s
regular quarterly meetings where members update on progress of working group activities, and
other issues pertinent to organising the next FF, a variety of activities designed to achieve the FF
objectives of inter-movement and leadership building among its members were organized.
As part of its skill-building programme, a one-day workshop on critical thinking was organized in
April, conducted by Dr. Carmen Nge. Other skills identified for future learning are facilitation
skills and effective communication.
The annual substantive knowledge-building workshop the Political GHIs organized by the
Political ABCs working group, was held in July in KANITA, USM around the issue of
macroeconomics and understanding the financial crisis. The organizers were fortunate to have
feminist economist from the DAWN network (Development Alternatives with Women for a New
Era) Dr. Marina Durano from the Phillipines to facilitate the 2 day workshop. Participants
included those from the steering committee, KANITA staff and a few Penang-based activists,
with whom the FFSC felt necessary to build connections with. Participants received a primer on
macroeconomics, neo-liberal globalization and discussed personal initiatives in their daily lives
that allowed them to use this knowledge.
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