April 8, 2006
Malaysian minister criticizes 'cruel' text message divorces
Muslim husbands who divorce their wives with a text message are cruel, Malaysia's minister for women and family affairs said on Thursday, after the husband of a popular singer claimed divorce by an SMS message, reports Middle East Times.
"While a husband has the right to divorce his wife, this should be done in a courteous and dignified manner, befitting the manner they had got married," she was quoted as saying in the newspaper. "New technologies including the SMS should not be misused to send out a divorce declaration," said Shahrizat Abdel Jalil, adding that text divorces could undermine the importance of marriage.
Her comments came after a highly publicized court case this week of a popular local singer whose husband divorced her with an SMS. The court ruled that the divorce message that read "I release you", was invalid after the husband reneged on his actions, and that the couple was still legally married.
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