Cape Town - Activists have blamed a lack of political will for the decades-long stalling on the issue of the recognition of Muslim marriages as valid marriages.
This follows a judgment handed down by the Supreme Court of Appeal on Friday which recognised the injustice and stigma suffered by Muslim women in South Africa because of the non-recognition of marriages concluded in terms of Sharia law.
Attorney Charlene May, from the Women's Legal Centre (WLC), which has been in the struggle for a new law on behalf of Women’s Legal Centre Trust and hundreds of Muslim women since 2014, said: “The short answer as to why it has taken so long would be a complete lack of political will on the part of the state to move the issue along.
“The state has argued that a lack of consensus in the Muslim community has delayed the legislative recognition, but the reality is that consensus or agreement is not a requirement for the state to enact legislation. They have simply failed in their obligation to protect a class of vulnerable women in our country,” said May.
“We are, however, steps closer to a final resolution on the matter as it heads to the Constitutional Court in 2021,” said May.
Muslim Judicial Council general council member and senior lecturer in Law at the UWC, Muneer Abduroaf said: “The MJC’s argument was that the government has had a number of opportunities to enact this legislation.
“There was a bill as far back as 1993 or 1994. In 2003, there was another bill and also in 2010. But there was no political will from Parliament and thus the legislation has never seen the light of day.”
“Generally, we, as the MJC, are in support of the judgment insofar as it gives the Department of Justice 24 months to enact the legislation. However, the interim relief could be problematic for the Muslim community,” said Abduroaf.
“The relief is very specific and says that a marriage entered in terms of Islamic law can be dissolved by a court of law. This is a bit of a problem because Islamic marriages have to be dissolved in terms of Islamic law.
“This is either by the husband, an Islamic institution or Islamic judiciary. So there might be an issue concerning this,” said Abduroaf.
Attorney Mandi Mudarikwa from the WLC said: “This interim measure will take effect for those women who are in valid Muslim marriages and those who have already instituted legal proceedings, but who have not had their matters dealt with.”
Leader of the Al Jama-ah political party Ganief Hendricks, who has sponsored a private members bill on the issue in Parliament, said: “I blame gender activists for the delay.
“The activists want the Constitution to trump matters of faith and that is not right. There are those like us in Al Jama-ah who want a Sharia compliant law and those who under the influence of the WLC and gender activists who are not concerned about the compliance of the law with Sharia,” Hendricks said.
Cape Argus