Sisters In Islam (SIS)

More Muslim women seeking divorce because of abuse, SIS reveals

Nur Farzana Md Yusof

Source: The Malay Mail Online 

KUALA LUMPUR, July 19 ― More Muslim women are initiating divorce from their husbands due to domestic violence, according to cases handled by Sisters in Islam’s (SIS) legal service.

Telenisa, a free legal service by the Muslim women’s rights group for both women and men, said almost half of the divorce cases it handled last year were “fasakh”, a method of divorce which is initiated by the wife.

According to Telenisa, 62 of its clients (47 per cent) sought “fasakh” last year, up from 27 clients in 2015. A total of 66 clients sought “fasakh” in 2014.

“Fasakh” has become the most opted type of divorce application by women as they generally become more aware of their rights within marriage.

“Consistently high numbers of domestic violence cases reported in our Telenisa statistics also show ‘fasakh’ as the most obvious type of divorce to institute,” the Telenisa team told Malay Mail Online in an interview. Read more →

Mais gets court’s nod to continue bid to stop SIS’s ‘deviant’ fatwa challenge

Nicole Geschke

Source: The Malay Online

File picture showing lawyer Surendra Ananth (third from left) and members and supporters of Sisters in Islam. — Picture by Zurairi AR

PUTRAJAYA — The Federal Court today allowed the Selangor religious authorities to continue with its bid to end Sisters in Islam’s (SIS) legal challenge against a fatwa labelling the latter as “deviant”.

The Federal Court said the five questions of law submitted by the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais) and two others sued by SIS need to be discussed in court.

“We allow the application on the five questions presented to us,” said Chief Justice Tan Sri Md Raus Sharif, who chaired the three-man panel.

The two other judges are Tan Sri Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin and Datuk Seri Abu Samah Nordin.

The five questions of law include whether the Shariah court’s jurisdiction can be implied from or has to be expressly stated in state laws; and whether a fatwa issued under a Selangor state law is within the exclusive jurisdiction of Shariah courts. Read more →

Perkembangan Islam di Malaysia: Dari Era Sanggul ke Era Hijab

Taken from Facebook

Forum ini merupakan ruang diskusi bagi mengulas tentang Perkembangan Islam di Malaysia. Dengan perederan masa yang kian pesat, Islam telah menjadi antara salah satu tunggak dalam perkembangan Malaysia. Islam amat dititik beratkan dalam pelbagai perkara merangkumi pendidikan, ekonomi dan juga perlaksanaan undang-undang. Jadi persoalannya, adakah ini perkembangan Malaysia paling ideal bagi sebuah negara yang majmuk?

Retrenchment fund focus of May Day rally by 15 NGOs, PSM

Coordinator

Source: FMT News

Authorities must address issues faced by workers who have lost their jobs due to companies going bankrupt, relocation or even the government's budget cuts, says group. Pic from FMT News.

Authorities must address issues faced by workers who have lost their jobs due to companies going bankrupt, relocation or even the government’s budget cuts, says group. Pic from FMT News.

KUALA LUMPUR: A peaceful rally will be held on May 1, in conjunction with International Workers’s Day, which is also known as Labour Day, demanding the government start a fund for the benefit of workers who have been retrenched.

The organising committee comprising 15 NGOs and Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) held a press conference today announcing the assembly, which is called “Hilang Kerja, Pekerja Merana: Worker’s Retrenchment Fund Now!”

The key demand for the establishment of a workers retrenchment fund is to address issues faced by workers who have lost their jobs due to companies going bankrupt, relocation or even budget cuts by the government. Read more →

International Women’s Day 2017: Women’s Work

Source: Gerak Budaya Facebook

In conjunction with this year’s International Women’s Day (March 8), Gerakbudaya, Sisters In Islam, All Women’s Action Society (AWAM) and Persatuan Kesedaran Komuniti Selangor (EMPOWER) are organizing a day-long series of events to celebrate and explore the roles, duties, responsibilities, contributions, joys and agonies of Malaysian women, along with the obstacles and challenges they presently face.

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The theme of the event is ‘Women’s Work’, which can be interpreted broadly across various contexts. The event will consist of three activities that will take place at Rumah Gerakbudaya on 11 March 2017 (Saturday):
(1) Public lecture by Suri Kempe: 11 am – 1 pm
(2) Lunch: 1 – 2 pm
(3) Panel Discussion: 2 – 4 pm

Paying Their Dues: The Missing Women in Malaysia’s Story
Read more →

These groups fight for your rights as a woman

Coordinator

Source: Star 2

Women Centre for Change - Pic from Star 2.

Women Centre for Change – Pic from Star 2.

International Women’s Day is a global day to celebrate women’s achievements and it takes place on March 8 each year.

This year, Star Media Group is marking the whole month of March as “International Women’s Month”.

Star2.com will be paying tribute to women through our WOW-Women Do Wonders campaign and we want you to join us by sending in stories and pictures of the women in your lives.

Here are some women’s groups in Malaysia that have persisted in their quest to fight for equal rights and address gender discrimination.

Malaysian women did not have to fight for the right to vote but they still face discrimination that needs to be addressed and redressed.

Women’s organisations have played a pivotal role, and have been at the forefront of championing for a more just society, beginning with the formation of the National Council of Women’s Organisations Malaysia in 1962. Read more →

Selangor goes to apex court over Sisters in Islam ‘fatwa’ ruling

admin

Source: FMT News

Selangor Islamic religious authorities to apply for leave to appeal in the Federal Court following Court of Appeal ruling that civil court can hear a challenge to a ‘fatwa’. Pic taken from FMT News.

Selangor Islamic religious authorities to apply for leave to appeal in the Federal Court following Court of Appeal ruling that civil court can hear a challenge to a ‘fatwa’. Pic taken from FMT News.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Selangor government and its state religious authorities are going to the Federal Court to appeal a ruling that the civil court has jurisdiction to hear a constitutional challenge to a “fatwa” (religious edict).

Lawyer Farhan Haziq said this decision was conveyed by Selangor state legal adviser Nik Suhaimi Nik Sulaiman to High Court deputy registrar Nazlin Othman during case management today .

“They will also apply for a stay of proceedings in the High Court pending the outcome in the Federal Court,” said the lawyer who appeared for Islamic non-governmental organisation Sisters in Islam (SIS) and two others.

The next case management has been fixed for April 10.

The Selangor authorities have to first file a leave to appeal application before the apex court determines whether there is merit to hear the merits of the case.

On March 2, the Court of Appeal said the civil court had jurisdiction to hear SIS’ complaint. Read more →

SIS allowed to continue judicial review against ‘deviant’ fatwa

admin

Source: The Malay Mail Online

sisters_in_islam_0203

Lawyer Surendra Ananth (third from left) and members and supporters of Sisters in Islam are pictured at the Palace of Justice, Putrajaya, following the Court of Appeal’s favourable decision on March 2, 2017. — Picture by Zurairi AR

PUTRAJAYA, March 2 — The Court of Appeal reversed today a lower court’s ruling that had dismissed Sisters in Islam’s (SIS) judicial review application against a fatwa that labelled the women’s group as deviant.

The case will now be remitted to the Kuala Lumpur High Court to be heard in front of another judge, with case mention scheduled for March 9.

“We unanimously disagree with the High Court ruling. We allow the appeal,” Justice Datuk Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat told the court here when reading out the decision.

The panel that also included judges Datuk Abdul Rahman Sebli and Datuk Zaleha Yusof did not go into the merits of the judicial review, and made no order with regards to costs.

The appellants were represented by lawyers Surendra Ananth and Fahri Azzat, while Selangor legal adviser Datuk Nik Suhaimi Nik Sulaiman and lawyer Yusfarizal Yussoff presented for the respondents.

On October 31, 2014, SIS filed for judicial review of a gazetted fatwa in Selangor that declared the group as “deviants” in Islam due to their alleged religious liberalism and pluralism.

The fatwa also deemed any publications with elements of liberalism and religious pluralism as “haram”, or forbidden to Muslims, and can be seized by religious authorities. Read more →

SIS: Islamic education a bigger priority than harsher punishments

admin

Source: The Malay Mail Online

KLANG, Feb 25 — Malaysia should look at improving its Islamic education instead of wanting to impose harsher punishments for Muslims, an Islamic women’s rights group said today.

Sisters in Islam (SIS) executive director Rozana Isa explained that despite the reasoning given behind the private member’s Bill to reduce crime, the lack of Islamic education was a bigger factor contributing to notorious activities.

“They are bringing all this punishment but Islamic education is not made stronger in the past 20 years. They need to have self-realisation.

“Something is wrong in the way you teach Islam that you have to resort to increasing punishments,” she said during a forum held here to discuss the subject.

Rozana also said that it was a myth that the Shariah courts can be improved just by implementing harsher punishments.

“If you want to improve the Shariah courts there are so many other ways to do it. We have to debunk the whole thing about Act 355 strengthening Shariah court. It doesn’t,” she said, referring to Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965.

“It only increases punishments but no way to improving Shariah court itself to give better judgements.”

Non-Muslims should also engage with their Muslim friends to make sure that they understand the implications of the Bill if it is passed, Rozana stressed. Read more →

Feminism not about harsher punishments, SIS tells Asyraf Wajdi

Coordinator

Source: The Malay Mail Online

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 23 — Women’s group Sisters in Islam (SIS) insisted today that feminists will not support a proposed Bill to enhance Shariah courts, after deputy minister Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki urged them to do so last week.

According to the group, feminism believes in achieving equality through addressing systemic barriers rather than enacting harsher punishments, something that the private member’s Bill by PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang fails to take on.

“Feminism does not aim to achieve justice and equality through imposing higher punishments,” SIS said in a statement here.

“It instead, aims to achieve substantive equality by addressing systemic barriers women face daily such as unjust laws, poor implementation of laws and limited access to the justice system due to strained economic conditions, to mention a few. Read more →