I would like to voice my disappointment with the state of affairs surrounding the Islamic Family Law bill. Firstly, how did the bill get to this stage without any input from women? Why weren't there any protests before it was right down to the Senate level?

Weren't women non-governmental organisations included in the process of drafting the bill? If that was the case, this is highly undemocratic and disappointing from a government under the leadership of a great prime minister who had wisely called on the NGOs to "work with him".

As regards to the threat by minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Abdul Aziz to invoke the Whip on the Barisan Nasional women senators should they vote against the bill - while I can understand the need to conform to the party's stand - I am outraged that the senators cannot vote against something that is so obviously unjust to a sizeable group of society, i.e. Muslim women, whose interests they also represent.

I had understood Islam to be a religion that promotes equality and justice between women and men. This is another law that will further the misconception of Islam as being discriminating against women.

Lastly, the men senators: Why are they not apologising for their failure to stop the bill? Aren't there among them, fathers, brothers and sons with female relatives who will be impacted by this hurtful bill? Why can't they emulate the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) who, in refusing his son-in-law permission to marry another, had said, "Fatimah (his daughter) is a part of me: what annoys her would annoy me, and what hurts her would hurt me too."