Many women face difficulties with their partners but do not know where to turn to discuss their options and are unsure of their legal situation.  Sarawak Women for Women Society is therefore holding a public forum entitled When Relationships Go Sour to address these issues on Saturday December 5^th as part of its Women Calling for Change series.

The eminent UM law lecturer, Dr Farah Nini bti Dusuki, will be discussing their legal position under the Syariah and Civil Courts and the problems they may face.  She is known to many Sarawakians for her advocacy of children’s rights, openness, clarity and commitment.

To highlight the specific challenges facing rural women, Datu Nillie Tangai, the Chairman of Majlis Adat Istiadat, will be a panelist.  These challenges go further than accessing law courts and effectively applying customary law as socio-economic factors can also put strains on relationships and need to be addressed.

The third panelist will be Margaret Bedus, the president of SWWS who will be raising the concerns women, married and single, have expressed to the organization through its crisis phone line and outreach work. Ann Teo, SWWS’s vice-president and a lawyer will be moderating the discussion.

As in other forums, those attending are encouraged to share areas where they feel improvement is needed and ideas on how this can be achieved. All are welcome to attend this third and final forum in the current series of Women Calling for Change. Another series is planned for next year.

 The forum will be held at the Islamic Information Centre, Jalan Ong Tiang Swee on Saturday December 5th at 2.00pm.  Registration opens at 1.30 – please pre-book by phoning SWWS on 013 8044285 or email info@sarswws.org by Thursday 3rd.