Ministry to help women divorcing in Native Courts
KUCHING: Women seeking divorce in the Native Courts here can soon seek legal advice and other assistance from Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Ministry.
Its minister Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah said currently the ministry provides aid through the Legal Aid Department (LAD) but only caters for those in Civil and Syariah Courts.
“In Sarawak, there are three types of courts – Civil, Syariah and Native Courts. But the LAD does not cover cases concerning marriage or divorce under the Native Court,” she told a press conference at Wisma Wanita here yesterday.
She added that there were many cases awaiting legal assistance, and there are some who are unable to receive the assistance provided under the LAD.
“We are also looking at cases from rural areas in need of legal help, as well as legal aid for women who are domestic violence victims.
“This is because those coming from the rural areas will need assistance not only in terms of legal aid, but also need to provide financial assistance for transportation fees as financial assistance to help pay for their lodging,” she said
She added that the assistance is not one-off, as they may need to attend court a few times until the case is decided.
Similarly, she said her ministry will monitor the number of divorces in the state as it is one of the focus areas.
“We will monitor the number of divorces every year, and we also have marriage courses for married couples to strengthen their marriage and communication skills.”
The press conference was held after a meeting with the Women and Family Department Sarawak.
On Tuesday, the Dewan Rakyat was told that the number of divorce cases in Sarawak exceeded 5,000 during the Movement Control Order (MCO) from March last year until September this year.
Women, Family and Community Development Deputy Minister Datuk Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff said the causes of the divorces included misunderstanding, drug addiction, financial issues, hottemperedness and depression.