• Advisory Committee releases MMDA reforms report
• Activists welcome recommendations

The report of the advisory committee to propose amendments to the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA) was released yesterday (1) and recommends key reforms including the abolition of polygamy and the raising of the minimum age of marriage to 18 years for both sexes. 

Accordingly, the report states that in accordance with a decision taken by the Cabinet of Ministers, it has been proposed that the minimum age of marriage be made 18 years for both sexes. “An appropriate section shall accordingly be incorporated into the Act. In view of this, an amendment to Section 363(e) of the Penal Code should be considered, by deleting the second part of the said Section that reads as 'unless the woman is his wife who is over 12 years of age and is not judicially separated from the man' to ensure consistency and coherence of the law,” the report read.

Similarly, it has been recommended that polygamy be abolished completely. “The Cabinet has decided to prohibit polygamous marriages of Muslim males. Accordingly, an appropriate section shall be incorporated into the Act.”

Meanwhile, the Muslim Personal Law Reform Action Group (MPLRAG) welcomed the report’s release. “The public discussion of the recommendations is an important step towards ensuring transparency and accessibility of the MMDA reform process for all Sri Lankan Muslim communities. We believe that the legitimacy of the reforms will be strengthened when people to whom this law applies understand what reforms are proposed,” MPLRAG member Nadia Ismail said when contacted by The Daily Morning. She also called on the Government to expeditiously implement the reforms that have been recommended.  “We look forward to commenting on the recommendations. At first glance, several long-awaited reforms appear to have been proposed by the committee. We sincerely hope that for the community, and particularly for women and girls, these progressive reforms are not delayed any further. The cost of the delay is immeasurable.”

The report was released by the Ministry of Justice and was compiled by the nine-member advisory committee including and Chaired by Attorney Shabry Haleemdeen, that was appointed by the then-Minister of Justice and present Minister of Foreign Affairs President’s Counsel M.U.M. Ali Sabry.