With reference to the Islamic Family Law Bill that has been passed by the Parliament but will not be gazetted for the time being, I understand the concerns of the many Muslim women regarding its implication once it is enforced.

I am pretty sure that you would have observed that the majority of Muslim men who are more prone to be polygynous are Malay men. In the majority of cases, the reason for this is basically to enter into a religiously lawful sexual relationship with a younger woman, stemming from the foolish believe that the sexual gratification is greater with the latter.

This obviously makes a mockery of the law of the Book, where the reasons for polygamy are permissible as a result of ill-health on the part of the wife, inability to conceive, etc, which I am sure you are all well versed with.

As our hands are tied in stopping the act from being enforced eventually and from changing the mindset of Malay men, shouldn’t we as women then, not try to consider other avenues which could lead to a favourable solution for us? In short, fight back.

The incidence of polygamy in marriages between Muslim women and non-Malay men are, I believe, lower than if the husband is a Malay. This is a positive factor that we can use to our advantage.