Legal bid to protect Muslim women’s rights

MUSLIM women married under Muslim rites should be protected by the laws of South Africa as failure to do so violates their human rights.

This is what the Women’s Legal Centre will argue in the Western Cape High Court on December 1 when it takes on the Presidency, Home Affairs, Justice and Correctional Services and Parliament.

The centre says that a failure to recognise Muslim marriages has left a vacuum in which women face discrimination, especially when it comes to divorce, spousal support, parental rights and responsibilities and inheritance.

The Muslim Marriages Bill has been in limbo since 2011, when Muslim clergy objected to some of its provisions. The Bill would have brought Muslim marriages into line with the constitution, which guarantees basic rights for everyone.

The centre’s Hoodah Abrahams-Fayker said: “When civil marriages break down, the law steps in to ensure fairness between the spouses and to protect the rights of the children. This is not the case in respect of Muslim marriages.”

President Jacob Zuma, Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Michael Masutha, Minister of Home Affairs Malusi Gigaba, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Baleka Mbete, and the chairwoman of the National Council of Provinces, Thandi Modise, have filed opposing papers.