PhD Student Champions Muslim Women’s Property Rights

Empowering women is something I really care about. This includes ensuring they have control over their finances. Unfortunately, there’s a critical gap in awareness around property rights within Muslim marriages.

This lack of knowledge often leads to significant problems for women, especially after a divorce or the death of a spouse. Making a claim on property rights can be even harder because the system is so confusing.

This has resulted in a staggering RM80 billion worth of frozen assets in Malaysia, which significantly hinders the Muslim economy.

To address this issue, I believe there are three key situations where women should be empowered to claim their rightful share of marital property: polygamy, divorce, and death. The current process for managing these claims urgently needs improvement.

When I was working as an Islamic Estate Planning and Management Advisor who helps families plan their estates, I met many wives who were left struggling when their husbands took another wife, divorced them, or passed away.

It is heart-breaking when they lose their source of financial support, especially when they have young children. This, along with meeting many single moms while I was doing community work, made me want to help women understand their rights better with regard to matrimonial property claims (tuntutan harta sepencarian).

There are a few reasons why claiming this property can be difficult. First, many women simply don’t know they have the right to it. Second, there’s a short window to claim it before the inheritance gets divided according to Islamic law (faraid). Third, sometimes the husband’s family isn’t helpful. Finally, the whole process for claiming property can be confusing and lack standardisation.

I decided to tackle the issue of matrimonial property claims for my PhD(Arts). The focus of my thesis is on empowering women and standardising the claims process, so that women can claim their rightful share before an inheritance gets to the faraid stage.

Ideally, couples should understand the concept of shared property at the stage of the marriage course that they must attend before getting married. This can help prevent problems down the line.

Issues related to property rights affect families and the Muslim community. With the rising number of divorces, particularly among Muslims, it’s important to be better prepared to prevent future conflicts.

Dr Hamidah Mat, my PhD advisor, provides fantastic support for my studies. She checks in with me regularly, offers encouragement, and is genuinely interested in my thesis topic. My fellow students are a great source of support, too. Their updates and achievements challenge me to work harder and motivate me to be more proactive.

This PhD is my third journey with OUM. I previously earned a Bachelor in Islamic Studies (Islamic Management) with Honours (2012-2017), followed by a Master of Islamic Studies (2018-2020).

I have access to the university wherever I go. This was super helpful last June when I was in Scotland for my fourth child’s convocation. When the deadline to sign up for my PhD in the May 2023 semester was coming up fast, the staff at the Negri Sembilan Learning Centre helped me to register online with no problem.

A PhD at OUM is an enjoyable journey and I believe it can produce graduates who are not only of international quality but also care deeply about helping their communities.

My plan is to bring the topic of my thesis, which focuses on empowering women through standardised property claim processes, as the main subject in lectures at mosques, institutions, and even at OUM itself. This broad platform will allow me to educate a large audience and empower more women to understand and claim their rightful share of marital property.

Zarinna Abu Zarin, 55
Director, Raza Hijrah Bestari Sdn Bhd, Seremban
Negri Sembilan Chairwoman, Dewan Perniagaan Melayu Malaysia
Negri Sembilan Chairwoman, Angkatan Wanita Amanah Negara
Director of Corporate Relations, Akademi Bina Insan TVETec USIM

If you are interested in doing your PhD(Arts) too, check out: https://www.oum.edu.my/all-programmes/postgraduate-programme/doctor-of-philosophy-arts/