Description
Sisters in Islam (SIS) is a non-governmental organisation working towards advancing the rights of Muslim women in Malaysia. It was founded in 1988 by a group of Muslim women who came together to address the injustice women face under the Shariah (Islamic law) system. They engage with policy makers, media, NGOs and grassroots women’s groups, form coalitions and conduct campaigns to improve laws and policies and raise public awareness on range of issues such as matters that fall under the Islamic Family Law i.e. polygamy, equal right to guardianship of children and others such as moral policing, hudud law, freedom of religion and freedom of expression. The Polygamy Research study/project (nationwide) was to delineate how polygamy affects the quality of life and family relationships when it is practiced; and to examine and understand the dynamics of polygamous families, their different experiences, needs and concerns. The nationwide study included 1800 respondents: drawn from members of polygamous families--i.e. husbands (H), first wife (WF), second wife (WS), a child of first wife (CWF), and a child of second wife (CWS). The study also examined records of polygamous marriages registered in the various state-level Departments of Islamic Affairs; the federal government’s Department of Islamic Development or JAKIM to establish among others--the pattern of polygamous marriages throughout Malaysia, the average percentage of Muslim polygamy in each of the states--and through these two averages, to estimate how best to get a representative sampling of the 5 main roles/status and relationship tenets within a polygamous marriage that are meant to be upheld in an Islamic Syariah[i] Court jurisdiction (for polygamous marriages). The Arabic word shari’ah was used in this text to refer to Islamic laws generally or as a concept but the Malay word Syariah is used whenever a reference is made to the actual Islamic laws or Islamic legal enactments (as they are known) in Malaysia. Previous studies of polygamy both in Malaysia and elsewhere have focused on one or two specific areas of concern and within much smaller groups, located either within a particular socio-economic group or within a particular locale. The scale and scope of this SIS study is therefore an important one: given the realities and complexities of family life, it is not hard to see how much more complicated a polygamous family life would be.
Timeline
2013-2024/25
Funding body
Ford Foundation (USA), Philanthropy (Malaysia), Malaysian Universities Consortium
SERC researchers involved
Associate Professor Yaso Nadarajah (Key researcher, Editor – Polygamy Book)
Additional Resources
An edited book – entitled Polygamous Marriages in Peninsular Malaysia - Family, Gender and Religion at the Crossroads; Editors: Norani Othman, Yaso Nadarajah and Rozana Isa (in press, release December 2024)
The idea for this book originates from the collaborative research of this national project/research Malaysian NGO Sisters in Islam (SIS Forum Malaysia). It is an ambitious, far-reaching, collaborative, and committed effort with 14 chapters; and contributions to chapters from academics from across University Kebangsaan Malaysia, University Malaya, University Sains Malaysia, RMIT University (Melbourne); staff, and advisors from Sisters-in-Islam Forum, NGOs, and various community organisations.
