Should Women Be Appointed As Judges In Syariah Court?

The appointment of women as judges in the Syariah Court is one of the resolutions passed by participants at a two-day international conference on Islam, reports Bernama. Towards realising this, the respective State Fatwa Committees are urged to discuss the matter.

The conference, themed "Muslim Women in the Midst of Change" which ended today, was organised by the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry.

Dean of Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyah of Laws at the Malaysian International Islamic University, Professor Dr Zaleha Kamarudin said the National Fatwa Council had reached a decision in April to allow women to be appointed as Syariah Court judges but the matter had yet to be implemented.

"I appeal to the state Fatwa Committees to review the matter objectively for women to be appointed as judges in the Syariah Court, at least at the Lower Syariah Court," she added.

Zaleha clarified that matters pertaining to Islam, including the appointment of judges, came under the jurisdiction of the Islamic Religious Council of the respective states. "Normally, the State Mufti will decide the matter after consultation with the Fatwa Committee and then present it to the Sultan or Ruler for his consent. "Only in the Federal Territories (Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya) are the Syariah judges appointed by the government," she said.

Zaleha said the time was right for a woman to be appointed as a Lower Syariah Court judge, especially in the Federal Territories. She said it was because of the perception by certain quarters who could not accept a woman as a Syariah judge that the matter had yet to be enforced in Malaysia.

"The situation is different in other countries like Morocco, Sudan, Egypt, Tunisia and Indonesia which already have women as Syariah Court judges and Malaysia as a model Islamic country should be moving towards it too," she added.

She said this was possible with Malaysia having more than 100 graduates having an Advanced Diploma in Islamic Judiciary. "We have no problem in Civil Court as more than 30 per cent of the judges are women, but none in the Syariah Court despite there being no restriction," she added.

Meanwhile, Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, when closing the forum, said he was in favour of having women as Syariah Court judges and that the matter would be looked into by the relevant quarters.
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