Inhumane for T’ganu to punish out of wedlock pregnancies: women’s advocates

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KUALA LUMPUR – The decision by the Terengganu state assembly to criminalise pregnancy outside of marriage has drawn ire from civil society groups who slammed the amendment to the state’s shariah laws as being “inhumane and deplorable”.

Muslim women’s rights group Sisters in Islam (SIS) criticised the state for coming up with a “solution” that appears to only find fault with women, questioning whether men will be subjected to similar punishments outlined under the law. 

“What about the men who fathered the children? What about women who were raped and had gotten pregnant? It is unfair to blame women only while men get off scot-free,” the group said when contacted by The Vibes recently.

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Criminalising out-of-wedlock pregnancies, births cruel, says health group

PETALING JAYA: Terengganu’s amended shariah laws which criminalise out-of-wedlock pregnancies and births appear to be unusually cruel to both mother and child, says a health advocacy group.

The Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy’s CEO Azrul Mohd Khalib said the state had failed to give any consideration to the health, protection and welfare of women and their children.

He said the state authorities had completely ignored the dangerous consequences the amended Syariah Criminal Offences Enactment 2022 will have on women and girls.

Azrul said women and girls in this country were still vulnerable to sexual and gender-based violence.

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