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Calls for reforms in Islamic laws in South-east Asian societies are growing louder, but activists say they are not always heard enough because they run right into accusations of being un-Islamic.

They want reforms to check the abuse of Islamic or Shariah law, biases against women in laws on family and marriage, and want the laws updated to keep pace with the times.

At the same time, they say reforms should go with widening avenues within the Islamic framework for women to assert their rights - for instance, experts at a recent conference said, it is not known enough that women in Saudi Arabia and Iran virtually bang on the judges' desks during legal proceedings on divorce.

But changes, calls for which are increasingly heard in Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan and the Philippines, have not been easy to push because activists and other women's groups say they are accused of undermining Islam.

''To raise these issues, to question Shariah law and the implementation of the law does not mean that we are anti-Islam, that we are questioning the word of God,'' says Zainah Anwar, executive director of the Malaysia-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) Sisters in Islam.

What Muslim women in South-east Asian countries are questioning is the interpretation of the Koranic message, which Zainah says is 'limited by human capacity'.

Bride price

Objections to changes in Islam-based laws stem from a fear of instability after centuries of having essentially similar rules in many countries, adds Cynthia Abubakar of the Islamic Studies Institute at the University of the Philippines.

''There is a fear of change that will create trouble in society,'' Abubakar says in an interview. ''They say the laws are based on the Koran, so if you question the law, they think you're questioning the Koran and are not a believer.''

But at the discussion on Islam and women, campaigners and scholars said that Islamic laws need to become fairer and more women-friendly - especially those on marriage, divorce and family - and that the premises behind these laws need to be re-examined.

Issues like the mahr or dowry - which some translate as 'bride price' but a Pakistani activist called more of a 'consideration for marriage' - are rich grounds for debate. Some Muslim women call it degrading and an ill-suited context for marriage, others say it has proven to be a form of financial protection in troubled times.

For instance, Siti Ruhaini Dzuhayatin of the Indonesia-based Centre for Women Studies, said many activists and women want the mahr to be smaller so it is a 'symbol' and not a sign of ownership of brides. ''If it's a big amount, it seems like ownership. We'd like to reduce the sense of men' ownership of us,'' she explains.

But the mahr - pledged verbally in some Muslim communities and written in marriage contracts in others - can give women in Iran protection in marital disputes, as they can demand payment and have a means of financial support.

''Often, the only element that gives women some negotiating power is mahr ,'' points out Ziba Mir Hosseini, a Iranian researcher on gender relations in Islam at the Cambridge University and an author of books on gender and Islam.

Polygamy law

Many activists questioned the patriarchal assumptions behind Islamic marriage laws in many countries.

These include laws that allow marriage of girls as young as 12 under certain circumstances, or give less weight to a woman's consent in marriage than to the authority of the male wali or guardian whose role is required in such matters.

Then there is the abuse of laws allowing polygamy, and legal and social settings that make divorce a much less accessible option for women than for men.

'Disadvantageous and discriminatory' provisions toward women in Islamic laws should be removed, says Norma Maruhom of the Philippines-based National Network of Muslim Women's Rights.

Many criticised loopholes in laws on polygamy that allow men to have up to four wives under certain circumstances - including financial capacity and ability to treat wives equally.

Some activists were willing to discuss changes to plug weaknesses in the law on polygamy, while others wanted them scrapped - polygamy has been banned in two Islamic countries, Turkey and Tunisia.

'The failure of legal mechanisms to prevent the abuse of polygamy' is a key question, adds Nik Noriani Nik Badli Shah of Sisters in Islam. She says 'polygamy is practised elsewhere and to say it is special to Islam is wrong'.

Uneven relations

Modern-day trends have also created holes in the law and in the reach of Shariah courts. Malaysian and Singaporean lawyers say men who take second wives - without seeking permission from the first one or registering them as required - often do so by crossing the border to Thailand or Indonesia.

Issues like polygamy interact not only with religion, but with social customs.

''Actually it is not acceptable for us,'' Maruhom says of the culture of Filipino Muslims. Abubakar says polygamy has to do more with the macho culture than religion: ''Some men - political leaders, businessmen who travel - they sometimes see (a second) marriage as a status symbol that contributes to their macho image.''

''I have never met a woman who happily accepts polygamy,'' adds Hosseini.

She says that even if it is an exception, polygamy makes gender relations uneven. ''The very fact that a man has the right to this changes the balance of the relationship in marriage. Most men do not do it, but it puts them in a power position,'' says Hosseini.

Countries may have different Islamic laws, but their roots can be traced to a patriarchal society, says Egyptian professor of Islamic history Amira el-Azhary Sonbol, be it the traditionally big role of the male relatives in a woman's marriage to the need for the husband's 'permission' for women's work outside the home.

''Is there only one way to look at women in the way the law now does?'' asks Rasidah Shuib, a Malaysian health expert. ''It's time to reexamine that premise, because the premise is clearly wrong.''

Dzuhayatin says it is time the concept of marriage within Islamic laws is changed from one of 'sexual providence and obedience to partnership'.

Maruhom says for instance that Shariah law provisions in the Philippines (which applies to the Muslim minority in the mainly Catholic nation) needs to be updated with the times, such as requiring husbands' consent for wives to practise professions.

This does not apply to men although Islam refers to mutuality in marriage - 'so when we say mutuality, there must be consultation by both parties', she argues.

One-dimensional picture

But Nasaruddin Umar of the Intensive Course and Networking of Islamic Science in Jakarta says something more is needed - and that reforms need to start from accurate re-translations of the Koran.

Umar argues that a re-translation of the Koran in Indonesian and Malaysian would correct flaws that makes what are phrases that contain 'suggestions', say on the role of women in marriage, into 'compulsions' that tip the gender balance from them.

Muslim women activists and experts also say reforming religious laws means having more women learning the Koran and its fiqh (jurisprudence) and history in order to make it relevant to today's generation - a challenge also for many other religions.

Sonbol urges Muslim women to 'involve' themselves in the study of law. Hossaini adds the last 40 years has produced a generation of educated Muslim women with the knowledge to push reforms.

Malaysia's Shuib calls for more women Shariah judges, not seen in too many Muslim societies but found in Indonesia and the Sudan, especially since Shariah codes deal with family and personal matters.

In seeking change however, activists said in interviews that reforms must be done from within Islam's concepts of justice and fairness.

They say big media often gives a one-dimensional picture of Islam, without understanding that some of its legal provisions passed on from an earlier era and which give more to men - for instance in inheritance - come also with more responsibilities, such as that of looking after his women relatives.

Malaysia's Shah cautions against perceptions that bad things for women come from the east and 'what is good for women must be western'. Hosseini concedes that Islamic laws 'cuts both ways . . . Islam has avenues for women, but parts of it are oppressive'.

While activists believe in different degrees of changes - some think legal provisions can be adjusted and others question the premises behind them - she says: ''It's like a wound. If you put a plaster, it will become worse inside.''

Meantime, Hosseini says: ''The changes are happening and the gates are now open.''

The above article was first written for the Inter Press Service (IPS).