The Women's Charter
International Religious Freedom Report 2005 - Singapore
Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
The 1961 Women's Charter gives women, among other rights, the right to own property, conduct trade, and receive divorce settlements. Muslim women enjoy most of the rights and protections of the Women's Charter; however, for the most part, Muslim marriage law falls under the administration of the Muslim Law Act, which empowers the Shari'a court to oversee such matters. The act also allows Muslim men to practice polygyny. Requests to take additional wives may be refused by the Registry of Muslim Marriages, which solicits the views of existing wives and reviews the financial capability of the husband. There were 340 applications for polygynous marriage from 1999 to 2003, of which 109 were approved, representing approximately 0.5 percent of all Muslim marriages during that period.
Source:http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51529.htm.
The Women's Charter The Women's Charter was passed in 1961 to protect the rights of women and girls in Singapore. The Women's Charter is also an Act which provides the legal basis for equality between husband and wife.
- makes polygamy illegal;
- recognises the wife's right to a different domicile from her husband;
- gives equal rights and duties to both husbands and wives in the management of the home and children;
- makes it obligatory for a husband to maintain his wife and children during marriage and after divorce;
- entitles the divorced man or wife to a share of matrimonial assets;
- enables a battered spouse to gain protection from the perpetrator;
- provides the punishment for offences against women and girls.
The Women's Charter (1996) Amendment Bill was passed in Parliament on 27 Aug 96, assented to by the President on 27 Sep 96 and came into force on 1 May 97. It gives greater protection to women and children and aims to keep the family unit intact wherever possible. Major amendments to the Act include:
- harmonious resolution of family disputes to help family members maintain amiable relations;
- more equitable distribution of matrimonial assets;
- application for the maintenance of a child to be made by any person appointed by the Minister if a parent, guardian or elder sibling above 21 years old cannot be found or is unwilling to apply on behalf of the child;
- issue of protection order based on the balance of probabilities to make it less difficult for a complainant to secure protection;
- extension of the protection order to cover other family members besides the spouse and children of the perpetrator;
- order for a perpetrator/victim or both or their children to attend mandatory counselling by such body as the Minister may approve or as directed by the Court; and
- recognition of marriages of persons who have undergone sex re-assignment procedures.
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