The importance of a Registered Marriage

The title of this workshop may sound like one of common knowledge, but to many Indian Malaysian women the concept is totally alien.

It is a sad reality that even in today’s well informed society, there are many people who are not aware of important basic facts such as how to register a marriage, or the need to have such legal documents as marriage or birth certificates. Many Indian Malaysians are affected by this ignorance and the consequences of lack of such legal documents.

Community Centres under the project for Women Empowerment in Malaysia have, therefore, continuously conducted seminars, workshops at the district and national level, to educate the people of the absolute importance and necessity to possess legal identification. At the same time, the Centres have also assisted couples legalise their marriages, submit applications for birth certificates and identification cards for people who are rightfully and by birth Malaysians, but had been excluded of their legitimate rights as Malaysian citizens due to the lack of awareness.

One such seminar conducted at a Centre in Negeri Simbilan gave women and people in the community a better understanding of the different types of marriages, i.e. legal marriages, common law marriages, pre-marriage conditions, void marriages, voidable marriages and so on.

The crucial information is that women married under religious ceremony, but not registered legally under the law, will not be entitled to receive any spousal benefits or have any claim to her husband’s property. A seemingly logical and presumably widely known fact, but one that most Malaysian Indian women in the communities were totally unaware of.

The seminar was one amongst hundreds that have been conducted by the Community Centres since the project started in May 2003. There are currently ten Centres in Dengkil, Kapar, Slim River, Lunas, Sitiawan, Rasah Jaya, Aulong, Semenyih, Rawang and Sungai Petani.

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