Many Muslim Mothers Forgo Child Support Claims Due to Court System Hurdles
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – A significant number of Muslim mothers in malaysia are abandoning claims for child support following divorce, citing lengthy court processes and difficulties in enforcement, according to recent reports and legal experts. While Islamic law mandates financial duty for children, systemic challenges within the Shariah court system are leaving many women without the support thay are legally entitled to.
“A lot of them give up going to court,” saeid a representative from Sisters in Islam (SIS) Forum, highlighting the discouragement faced by mothers seeking financial provisions for their children.
Data from SIS Forum’s February 2025 report, The Financial Rights of Low-Income Muslim Women within the Islamic Legal System in Selangor and the Federal Territories, reveals that onyl 49 per cent of women surveyed pursued financial claims at the Shariah court, with the remainder not seeking such claims. Of those who did claim child support, 35 per cent had their cases resolved within a year, primarily at the Shariah court in Jalan Duta, Kuala Lumpur.
Even when successful, enforcement remains a problem. The SIS Forum report found that 74 per cent of ex-husbands complied with court orders for child support,though payment was often delayed – occurring in the same year as the order or several years later. The remaining 26 per cent did not receive court-ordered maintenance.
Delays within the Shariah court system contribute to the issue. A November 2024 written reply to the Selangor state legislative assembly indicated that child maintenance cases can take up to two years to resolve if spouses cannot reach an agreement during mediation.
Selangor lawmaker Nurul Syazwani Noh recently proposed streamlining the process, advocating for a “one file, one process” system mirroring civil courts. “When filing for divorce, we discuss straightaway, how much is the child’s maintenance, who will care for the child, where to deduct the salary to. And we can bring this judgment and execute it directly, no need to go for it one by one,” Noh, a lawyer and Bersatu’s Permatang state assemblyman, stated at the launch of SIS Forum’s 2024 Telenisa report.
SIS Forum has proposed several solutions to improve access to legal services, including: establishing a subsidised Shariah legal aid scheme in each state for the B40 income group; training and mobilizing volunteer Shariah lawyers through NGOs and legal institutions; and developing a multilingual digital platform providing information on women’s rights and Shariah court procedures.
