WITHOUT Sisters in Islam (SIS), Muslim women in Malaysia would not be protected from domestic abuse.

Without SIS, Muslim mothers would not be able to independently apply for passports for their children, arrange for school transfers, or give permission for a medical procedure.

Without SIS, more than 500 Muslim women each year would not know where to go for help when their husband divorced them unilaterally, or when they experienced domestic violence or were abandoned by a polygamous husband.

The women’s movement in Malaysia is dynamic, diverse and hopeful, because SIS contributes to shaping it, and oftentimes, takes the lead.

I have worked with SIS since the mid-1980s, when it was operating out of a friend’s house with no office and no administrative facilities. All the group had was a donated photocopier in the bedroom. SIS had scarce resources, but it was driven by a passion to achieve equality and justice for women.

SIS, along with the Joint Action Group Against Violence Against Women (JAG) – now renamed Joint Action Group for Gender Equality – advocated from 1985 onwards for a Domestic Violence Act. In 1982, the Women’s Aid Organisation opened a shelter for women survivors of domestic violence.

We soon realised that we needed a law to protect women and hold the perpetrators accountable. Finally, in 1994, a domestic violence bill was passed in Parliament. It took nine long years because there was resistance from some quarters to make domestic violence a crime.

We were told that the law should apply only to non-Muslims, because there were already provisions in state shariah laws to protect Muslim women. JAG, propelled by SIS, refused to leave any Muslim woman behind. SIS did its research and found that each of these state shariah provisions was inconsistent, and did not offer adequate protection. JAG believed that all women in Malaysia, including Muslim women, had to be protected under the bill.

Additionally, domestic violence is a crime, which is a federal, not state, matter.

We were even told that Muslim men were allowed to beat their wives. SIS went on a mission to find out for itself whether a just God would discriminate women. These women of faith pored over verses of the Quran. They found that Islam “does not sanction injustice, oppression and violence towards women. It is not Islam that oppresses women, but human beings with all their weaknesses who have failed to understand Allah’s intentions”. Their first publication, Are Muslim men allowed beat their wives?, touched the hearts of both women and men, convincing activists and policymakers that Islam does not condone cruelty against wives. We could thus defend our demand for all women in Malaysia to be protected from domestic violence.

Therefore, it is incredulous for this group – which has only done good, furthered the rights of women, and is still working tirelessly for women’s rights – to now be deemed “deviant” by a fatwa. The recent court dismissal of SIS’ challenge against a five-year fatwa labelling it an Islamic “deviant” organisation is problematic at so many levels. With all due respect, this is a disappointing decision.

The work of SIS is key to our nation-building. Its message of inclusion, compassion and justice is a balm to the wounds inflicted by extremism, exclusion and hate. SIS plays a crucial role in enlightening Malaysians and the world on the positivity of Islam. If we are to use religious values in shaping law and policy, then let us build on the shared values of peace and justice embedded in Islam and all of our religions. – August 31, 2019.

* Ivy Josiah is former executive director of the Women’s Aid Organisation.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.