Across many Muslim-majority countries, religion often is invoked to justify discrimination against women and girls. From unequal divorce rights to limited economic protections, these legal frameworks frequently are framed as religiously mandated, and therefore, resistant to reform. However, that is only part of the story.
Increasingly, advocates in Muslim-majority countries also are drawing on religious frameworks to advance reforms in family law. These developments challenge the assumption that religion is inherently at odds with women’s rights. They also offer an important opportunity to rethink Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) through the lived realities of Muslim women.
At its core, FoRB is about, not only protecting religious minorities, but also ensuring space for interpretation, dialogue, and reform within religious traditions. When states rely on religion to justify laws affecting women’s lives, they also shape whose interpretations are recognized and whose voices are excluded. Expanding space for diverse interpretations becomes, therefore, central to advancing both FoRB and gender equality.
One area where this dynamic is particularly visible is Muslim family law, especially in the recognition of matrimonial property regimes.
Matrimonial Property and Women’s Economic Justice
In many Muslim-majority countries, marriage is treated primarily as a financial arrangement where the husband is responsible for financial maintenance, while assets remain individually owned. This framework often fails to recognize women’s unpaid care work, indirect contributions towards the welfare of the family and the acquisition or improvement of assets, and economic contributions within the marriage.
However, several Muslim-majority countries have adopted matrimonial property regimes that recognize marriage as an economic partnership. These reforms acknowledge that both spouses contribute to the accumulation of assets during marriage, whether through financial income, caregiving, or household management.
These developments are particularly significant because they have been introduced and justified within religious frameworks, demonstrating how reform can emerge from within, rather than in opposition to, religious traditions.
Reform from Within: Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore
Malaysia long has recognized matrimonial property through the concept of harta sepencarian, which refers to property jointly acquired during marriage. Courts consider both direct and indirect contributions when dividing assets after divorce, recognizing the economic value of unpaid care and domestic work.
Similarly, Indonesia’s Marriage Law and Compilation of Islamic Law recognize joint marital property acquired during marriage (harta bersama), often divided equitably upon divorce. These frameworks acknowledge marriage as a partnership and allow courts to consider fairness and contributions when determining division of assets.
Singapore also has recognized similar concepts for its Muslim population. Through Islamic legal principles applied in Syariah courts, harta sepencarian allows for division of assets accumulated during marriage, reflecting recognition of shared contributions within a marital partnership.
These examples demonstrate that Muslim-majority jurisdictions are interpreting religious frameworks in ways that reflect contemporary realities and women’s lived experiences.
Recent Developments Across the MENA Region
Recent reforms across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region also highlight how Muslim family law is evolving through religiously grounded frameworks.
Saudi Arabia introduced its first codified Personal Status Law in 2022, marking a significant shift from relying solely on judicial interpretation to a structured legal framework governing marriage, divorce, and custody. While critiques remain regarding legal gaps and implementation challenges, the codification itself reflects a move toward greater legal clarity and state-led reform grounded in religious frameworks.
The United Arab Emirates also has introduced comprehensive reforms through the 2024 Federal Decree-Law No. 41, which took effect in 2025. These reforms modernize family law while maintaining a foundation in Islamic principles, including expanded judicial discretion, enhanced protections for women, and updated rules on marriage, custody, and family rights.
Morocco also currently is undergoing a significant revision of its family code, the Moudawana. In 2023, Morocco initiated a comprehensive review of family law, following two decades of social change. Proposed reforms include expanded guardianship rights for mothers, stricter conditions on polygamy, shared child custody, and recognition of women’s contributions within marriage. Although no amendments have been passed yet, the reform process has involved consultations with religious scholars and legal experts, and has been framed as aligning justice, equality, and contemporary realities with Islamic principles.
Importantly, these reforms explicitly allow judges to interpret religious principles in light of public interest and contemporary realities, creating space for evolving understandings within religious frameworks.
These developments across the MENA region reflect a broader shift. States increasingly are making space for interpretation within religious frameworks, acknowledging that family law must evolve alongside changing social realities. Importantly, these reforms are not framed as departures from religion, but rather as efforts to interpret religious principles in ways that reflect the lived experiences of women and families today.
Pakistan at a Turning Point
Pakistan may now be at a similar turning point.
A recent March 2026 Islamabad High Court judgment highlighted the economic vulnerability of women following divorce and underscored the need to recognize women’s contributions within marriage. The court emphasized that homemaking and unpaid care work contribute to the accumulation of marital assets and should be recognized as such in legal frameworks. This decision has sparked renewed discussion about introducing matrimonial property regimes in Pakistan.
While Pakistan does not yet have a comprehensive matrimonial property law, this judicial recognition signals growing momentum for reform.
Why This Matters for Freedom of Religion or Belief
These developments offer an important lesson for FoRB advocacy. Too often, discussions around Muslim family law are framed as a binary choice between religion and equality. But the experiences of the countries mentioned above suggest a more nuanced reality. Reform is happening from within religious frameworks, shaped by evolving interpretations and lived experiences.
This matters because when states recognize diverse interpretations of religion, they create space for women’s voices and agency. This, in turn, strengthens both gender equality and FoRB.
These reforms also provide important examples for other countries. They demonstrate that change is possible without abandoning religious frameworks. Instead, they show how religious traditions can evolve in ways that reflect justice, fairness, and contemporary realities.
Looking Forward
As debates around Muslim family law continue, there is growing recognition that women’s lived experiences must shape legal frameworks. Matrimonial property regimes are one example of how states are beginning to recognize marriage as a partnership and women as economic actors.
These developments challenge long-standing assumptions about religion and reform. They also offer a hopeful path forward, one where faith and equality are not competing values but mutually reinforcing principles.
At the same time, FoRB ultimately is an individual right. Muslim women must be able to make choices about their lives and relationships without being constrained by state-imposed interpretations of religion. They must not face discrimination simply because of their identity as Muslim women, and legal frameworks must ensure that meaningful choices are available to them. Expanding space for interpretation within Muslim family laws is therefore not only a matter of reform, but also a matter of protecting women’s freedom of religion or belief.
For Muslim women across the world, this evolving landscape represents not just reform, but recognition. Recognition that faith traditions are not static, and that women themselves are central to shaping the future of family law.
Fer Ghanaa Ansari is an international human rights lawyer based in Pakistan and the International Advocacy Senior Officer at Musawah, a global movement and women’s rights organization working towards equality and justice in Muslim family law, policy and practice. Fer Ghanaa’s work involves engaging with international human rights mechanisms and advancing reform efforts related to women’s rights and family law reform.
