“Cohabitation outside Marriage” in the Administration of Muslim Law Act

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ 

The Administration of Muslim Law Act should be further amended, and the government should consider repealing the following: 

Cohabitation outside marriage

134.—(1)  Any man who cohabits and lives with a woman, whether a Muslim or not, to whom he is not lawfully married, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $500 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.

(2)  Any woman who cohabits and lives with a man, whether a Muslim or not, to whom she is not lawfully married, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $500 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.

(3)  The court may, instead of sentencing a woman under subsection (2), order that she be detained in a place of safety established under any written law for such period not exceeding 12 months as it may determine.

Enticing unmarried woman from wali

135.  Any person who takes or entices any unmarried woman out of the keeping of the wali of the unmarried woman without the consent of the wali shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years and shall also be liable to a fine. 

In a secular state, enforcing this would be problematic.  I can imagine all sorts of complications bringing this to court.  How do we define cohabitation?  Does this preclude unmarried Muslims from renting rooms from single people? 

And in the 21^st century, would not the issue of the wali come into conflict with the Women’s Charter?  Are women not their own persons, and not someone else’s property?  These sections are outdated.