Reconciling gender equality and Muslim family law in Sri Lanka: a maqāṣid al-sharīʿah approach to the MMDA

Abdullah, Mohamed Mahroof Ali and Mohamed Sulthan, Ismiya Begum and Mohd, Azizah and Ibrahim, Norliah (2026) Reconciling gender equality and Muslim family law in Sri Lanka: a maqāṣid al-sharīʿah approach to the MMDA. Mishkath Journal of Interdisciplinary Research, 01 (01). pp. 107-120. ISSN 3121-5408

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Abstract

Sri Lanka’s 1978 Constitution guarantees equality before the law and non-discrimination on the ground of sex, and the country ratified CEDAW without reservation in 1981. Yet Article 16(1) of the Constitution shields all existing written and unwritten law, including the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA) of 1951, from constitutional challenge. This article asks whether that stand-off reflects a genuine doctrinal conflict between Islamic law and international human rights norms, or whether it is better understood as a product of restrictive juristic interpretation. Drawing on maqāṣid al-sharīʿah, the higher objectives of Islamic law, the article argues that CEDAW’s equality norms and Sri Lanka’s constitutional guarantees substantively converge with, rather than contradict, Islamic law’s own purposes. Rather than re-deriving that doctrinal convergence provision by provision, the article takes it as established and asks a further question, what does the convergence argument imply for how reform should be drafted and institutionalised? Using the minimum age of marriage, divorce procedure, polygamy regulation, the bride’s consent and Quazi appointments as illustrations, it moves from doctrinal justification to concrete proposals for statutory language and institutional design.

Item Type:	Article (Journal)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Gender Equality, Muslim Family Law, MMDA, CEDAW, Sri Lanka
Subjects:	BPK Islamic law. Shari'ah. Fiqh > BPK36 Islamic law (General)
Kulliyyahs/Centres/Divisions/Institutes (Can select more than one option. Press CONTROL button):	Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws > Department of Islamic Law Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws
Depositing User:	Dr Azizah Mohd
Date Deposited:	07 Oct 2026 12:03
Last Update:	07 Oct 2026 12:03
Queue Number:	2026-10-Q5479
URI:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/id/eprint/131762
Indexed In:	Google Scholar

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