The only people who benefit in a divorce are the lawyers and the ex-husbands. Divorce is a costly affair, but few Muslim women feel that they are given any justice. For a Muslim woman who finds herself in this situation, divorce is a protracted and costly matter. It wears one down and takes a toll on the children. It is also cruel.

One woman, Anita, gave up her fight for justice. This was after years of being let down by the courts while trying to pursue alimony payments and maintenance for her children.

So when Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mujahid Yusof Rawa announced that ex-husbands who fail to pay nafkah (alimony) to their former wives and maintenance to their children may have their bank accounts frozen, Anita’s reaction was mixed.

“On one hand, Mujahid has given hope to the many divorced and abandoned Muslim women who have been denied justice in the shariah system,” she said.

“But for many divorced women like me, it is too late. Of course we feel bitter that successive governments have failed to look into our grouses.

“It is not we alone who suffered. Our children’s mental health and feelings were also ignored by many people.”

For Anita, there are sufficient laws in place, just that they are rarely enforced.

She said the shariah courts she dealt with were unprofessional and incompetent.

“They were supposed to serve the court papers on my ex-husband, but when I turned up for the hearing, they said they had failed to locate him. I doubt they tried because I knew where he lived and worked and had given them his addresses.”

It was a wasted day in court, she said.

“I paid a child minder and took the morning off from work to attend the hearing, only to find that the court had failed to do its duty. They adjourned for a month. My transport costs and the lawyer’s fees mounted.”

Anita said when she next attended court, her ex-husband had still not yet turned up.

“The court said they would send the police to look for him, and if he did not turn up at the following court date, he would be arrested.

“When I turned up a month later for the scheduled court date, the court had failed to inform the police to look for him. It was adjourned again, for another month. Who reimburses my transport and lawyer’s fees, as well as for the child minder?”

She said the entire episode took about 18 months to settle.

“Shariah court work grinds to a halt during Ramadan. My ex-husband employed more delay tactics but in the end, the court decided that he owed me and my two children alimony amounting to about RM60,000.

“I was told that the RM30,000 which he withdrew from our joint bank account, which was a present from my mother for my ASB, would have to be recovered through a civil court.

“In the end, he avoided jail by agreeing to the payment, but he only made three payments on time. Then the payments were delayed and after six months, they dried up. He claimed that he was unemployed.

“My lawyer suggested that his assets be seized, but I would have to initiate a new case for this. Also, he made himself scarce and his parents refused to divulge his whereabouts so that fresh papers could be served on him. I also found that his house deeds had been transferred to his brother’s name.

“By this time, I was physically and mentally exhausted as my son had to take his examinations to qualify as a Mara boarder. So I simply gave up. I cut my losses, paid off the lawyers, and just began afresh.”

Another divorced woman said: “We both had good jobs, but I sacrificed my career to bring up our children, two of whom are special needs, so he could concentrate on his career. When we divorced, my ex-husband told his lawyer to tell me to retrain.

“He walked out of our marriage when he met a girl who was young enough to be his daughter. It would take years for me to retrain, and I would be competing with people who are in their 20s. Moreover, the children are still young and need care.”

Last week, Mujahid said many divorced women are not given alimony or child support, especially as many ex-husbands neglect their responsibilities towards their former wives and children.

He said, “We need a bit of authority to act against husbands who do not pay alimony to their former wives. Many ex-wives have no place to forward their complaints, and there are flaws from an enforcement point of view.”

Perhaps prevention is better than cure. Right now, Mujahid is trying to sort out the mess created after divorce. Why not tackle marital laws instead of the tail end of a messy marriage?

Last month, Perak state executive councillor Asmuni Awi announced that the state government planned to amend Section 23 of the Islamic Family Enactment (Perak) 2004. The move would make it easier for Muslim men to enter into polygamous marriages.

In August 2017, a new law in Kedah legalised polygamous marriages, allowing Muslim husbands to marry without permission from the first wife. Kelantan had a similar plan to make it easier for Muslim men to marry in the state instead of going to Thailand.

Why make it easier for men to have a polygamous marriage? The common factor in most failed marriages is that the men forget all their responsibilities when they divorce. They fail to pay alimony, and they fail to make maintenance payments for their children.

In addition to freezing their bank accounts, Mujahid should ensure that shariah laws are standardised throughout Malaysia, and reform marital laws so that men do not think that marrying again is as easy as making babies.

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.