WUNRN
LIBYA - SHARIA LAW DECLARATION
RAISES CONCERNS FOR WOMEN
MARCO LONGARI/AFP/Getty Images
October
24, 2011
By Simon
Martelli
Interim leader Mustafa
Abdel Jalil said on Sunday, during his speech to the nation in
“Any law that violates sharia is null and void legally,” he
said, citing as an example the law on marriage passed during the slain
dictator’s 42-year tenure that imposed restrictions on polygamy, which is
permitted in Islam.
“The law of divorce and
marriage… This law is contrary to sharia and it is stopped,” Abdel Jalil said.
His comments have provoked
criticism and calls for restraint both in
Many Libyans awaiting
Sunday’s historic speech expressed surprise at the decision by the National
Transitional Council leader to mention the role of sharia law in the new
country before addressing such important issues as security and education.
“It’s shocking and
insulting to state, after thousands of Libyans have paid for freedom with their
lives, that the priority of the new leadership is to allow men to marry in
secret,” said Rim, 40, a Libyan feminist who requested anonymity.
“We did not slay Goliath
so that we now live under the Inquisition,” she told AFP.
In his speech, Abdel Jalil
also announced the introduction of Islamic banking in
Adelrahman al-Shatr, one
of the founders of the centre-right Party of National Solidarity, launched just
last week, said it was premature for the NTC leader to speak about the policies
of the new state.
“It is a subject that
should be discussed with the different political groups and with the Libyan people,”
he said.
Leader of
“These declarations create
feelings of pain and bitterness among women who sacrificed so many martyrs,” in
the eight-month battle against Kadhafi loyalists, he added.
“By abolishing the
marriage law, women lose the right to keep the family home if they divorce. It
is a disaster for Libyan women.”
Western leaders also
responded swiftly to Abdel Jalil’s comments, with EU foreign policy chief
Catherine Ashton saying on Monday
Abdel Jalil, a respected
former justice minister of Gaddafi who distanced himself from the old regime,
is seen as a pious man and a Sufi follower of Islam who is at odds with
extremism.
He has already said that
the new
Nevertheless,
After suffering decades of
persecution by Gaddafi, they are also working hard to present themselves as
proponents of tolerant, democratic values and policies.
“The rules and laws (in
new
He insisted that freedom,
justice, equality and respect for human dignity should be enshrined in the new
constitution, along with the peaceful rotation of power.
“We believe in the rights
of others to show their programmes to the people, and to let the people
decide,” said Sallabi, who was jailed for eight years during the 1980s in
“We also believe in the
freedom of the press and the right to self expression. We believe that our
religion accommodates these rights,” he added.