By Easwaran Rutnam The long-drawn-out process to reform the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA) has hit a snag, with the parties concerned failing to reach an agreement on women Quazis (judges). The Muslim Council of Sri Lanka said that consensus had been reached in almost all issues related to the MMDA reforms proposals. However, Muslim Council of Sri Lanka President N.M. Ameen told The Sunday Morning that the parties concerned have failed to reach consensus on women Quazis. “There is still no final decision on women Quazis. But on most other matters, there has been a consensus,” Ameen said. It has been proposed that women be treated as equal and guaranteed their constitutional right to equality under the Constitution. Last week, the Muslim Personal Law Reform Action Group (MPLRG) said they were concerned that decisions taken by those involved in the MMDA reforms process would be disadvantageous to women and girls. MPLRG said that a few women activists requested and attended a meeting between Muslim parliamentarians and the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU) held last week in order to be present and contribute to the discussion with the lived realities of Muslim women and practical everyday experiences. “We considered it important to reiterate our demands so that the people’s representatives, when making their final submissions, will ensure women’s views are fully incorporated. Views were exchanged on many matters. We especially expressed concern with regard to discourse of any exceptions being considered to the minimum age of marriage as 18 years, and reiterated our strong position of 18 years without exceptions. On this issue as well as a few other contentious issues like the appointment of women as Quazis, we urged the Muslim MPs to take into consideration women’s experiences and rights when finalising decisions on these issues, and that reforms be done urgently without further delay or dilutions,” the MPLRG said. Veteran human rights activist Deshabandu Jezima Ismail told The Sunday Morning that some ulemas were also preventing the reforms process from going forward. She said that she sees no reason for the reforms process to not move at a faster pace and be completed. “I don’t see why it (MMDA reform) should not go forward. It keeps in line with the Quran’s teachings on equality and justice and the Sri Lankan judicial system. Everything about it is positive,” Ismail said. Ismail claimed that there was a group which was attempting to scuttle the MMDA reforms process and it included some ulemas. “They are not very conversant with the system. You need to be on the field; at the grassroots. We have been in it for over 40 years. We wanted the reforms because of the discrimination and the oppression and the way women suffer. It was completely un-Islamic. They say we are going against Islam and the Shari. The Shari concentrates on human values of honesty and understanding. If we are going to have that sort of thing whilst women suffer, it is not right at all,” she said. Ismail said that a proposal had been made to appoint a committee consisting of parliamentarians to further discuss the MMDA reforms, and that she hoped the process moves forward. Considerable progress Parliamentarian and former Minister Faiszer Musthapha PC has been involved in the talks to propose amendments to the MMDA. Musthapha told The Sunday Morning that Muslim parliamentarians had several rounds of discussions on the matter, and there had been considerable progress on reaching a consensus. He said that among the proposed reforms was to have a qualified Quazi. “At the moment, there is no specific qualification to be appointed a Quazi. All you need is good, sound character and Islamic knowledge. They are trying to raise this standard so henceforth, in order to be a Quazi, you are required to be an attorney-at-law so that you are on par with a district judge,” he said. Musthapha said that in his opinion, there definitely needed to be higher criteria to be a Quazi, so that Quazis would have a better standing in society. “We are also trying to see if we can give them (Quazis) the status of a district judge. We are trying to ask the Government and the Judicial Services Commission to give clarity of status to Quazis. They don’t have that now and are not in line with a district judge under the general law,” he said. There have been reports that the ACJU has been the main stumbling block in ensuring the MMDA reforms process reaches some finality. When contacted by The Sunday Morning, ACJU President Rizvi Mufthi said that the ACJU had constructive discussions with those involved in the MMDA reforms process. However, he directed the newspaper to other ACJU members to gather more information, but they could not be reached.