Women to join Muslim board

Not much comment to say..Have to refer to higher educated personnel about this.But I do proud when women start to proved they can be the part of the board.

From The Star online today;

Women to join Muslim board

FOR the first time, three women have been appointed to serve on a board that hears appeals of the Syariah Court and Registrar of Muslim Marriages.

In the nearly 40 years since the board was set up, only men have ever been invited to be on it.

The trio bucking this trend are Faridah Eryani Pairin, 39, a lawyer with the Housing Board; Harinah Abdul Latiff, 43, a teacher at the Madrasah Aljunied Al-Islamiah; and Hamidah Ibrahim, 53, a district judge.

They now form part of a 20-member panel.

From time to time, three people will be chosen from this panel to sit on an ad hoc appeal board to hear an appeal.

The issues that the board will deal with include those relating to the custody of children and the division of property in a divorce or death.

The board functions like a Court of Appeal and has the power to confirm or reverse the Syariah Court’s decision.

The 20 are appointed to the panel by President S.R. Nathan, on the advice of the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore.

Their tenure runs for two years till Dec 31 next year.

Harinah said she was honoured to be appointed and that she aimed to “bring a woman's point of view” to the board.

Faridah, who has been a lawyer for 15 years, agreed and added: “I hope to be able to contribute with the background and expertise that I have.”

Faridah also saw the appointment of the three women as an acknowledgment that women deserve a bigger role in the community.

“You already see a lot of women taking on bigger roles and it’s an opportunity for women to show what we can do for the community,” she said. – The Straits Times / Asia News Network