Muslim Marriage Bill

What does this mean for me as a young Muslim Woman? Well, I’ve tried researching articles that relate to this specific topic but have unsuccessfully only found ones that date back to 2009. It has since resurfaced as the Bill is days away from being promulgated. In order to really criticise and comment on this topic I would like to know more. I will later again, once I can find the documents, blog and perhaps give a little in-depth understanding. For now however, I would like to explore what this could potentially mean.

I was watching Morning Live this morning when they showed an insert of a woman, fully covered in Niqab (Veil), in a situation that is Un-Islamic to say the least. I do not know her name but will for the sake of this blog call her Sara. She had married a man, who later married another woman.

In Islam Polygamy is allowed, however for specific reasons only; reasons of which again I will fully research and provide insight. I can however soundly say that when in polygamist marriages the husband is required to fully respect each wife and treat them exactly the same. No preference of any kind should be given to any wife at any given time. The husband is compelled to provide equally for the financial, emotional and physical needs of his wives. If he cannot do so then polygamist marriages are not recommended, besides taking into account the initial reasoning.

Going back to Sara; her husband, being married to two women, has not provided for her like mentioned above. He comes and goes as he pleases and threatened to leave her should she stand up against what he is doing. She has attempted approaching Muslim Authorities for advice however sadly not being helped. This is where the Muslim Marriage Bill comes into play. This Bill is meant to then protect women like Sara against the situations they find themselves in, especially if Muslim Authorities fail to do so. In South Africa there are so many Schools of Thoughts within the Muslim Community and it is sad to see that certain unfortunate situations like the one above cannot be solved due to the indifference.

Similarly with this Bill, a number of Muslim Authorities share different views and the current controversy is that the Bill is being pushed without sufficient consultation from all parties, as the Bill would need to coincide with Sharia (Islamic Law).

Coming back to how this affects me, well the only solution I see is that I become more knowledgeable than I currently am on the Quran and that I know what is expected of me, my family, future husband and children because conflicts such as these will continue whilst women like Sara suffer.