Singapore – 2014 results

Family matters are governed by two distinct legislative systems, the civil Women’s Charter and Muslim (Sharia) law.^[1] The Women’s Charter governs all civil marriages in Singapore and fixes the minimum legal age of marriage to 18 years, with parental consent. In 2008, amendments were made to the Administration of Muslim Law Act to raise the minimum legal age of marriage from 16 to 18 years for Muslim women. This aligns the minimum marriage age for Muslims with that for non-Muslims. Like their non-Muslim counterparts, a Muslim below 18 years of age wishing to get married will have to apply for a Special Marriage Licence from the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports before they can marry.^[2]

The United Nations reports, based on 2010 data, that 0.4% of girls between 15 and 19 years of age were married, divorced or widowed; compared to 0.1% of boys in the same age range. In 1970, 5% of girls aged between 15 and 19 were married, divorced or widowed which indicates that societal acceptance of early marriage has declined in recent decades.^[3] The average age of marriage for women reported in 2010 was 27.^[4]

Under the Women’s Charter, parental authority is exercised jointly. These rights and responsibilities apply both to non-Muslims and Muslims.^[5] 

The civil Women’s Charter provides equal divorce rights. The law makes it obligatory for the husband to financially maintain his wife and children during marriage and upon divorce and for the equitable division of matrimonial assets.^[6] Maintenance is payable to the custodial parent upon divorce. However if both mother and father are working, responsibility to maintain the children is a dual responsibility. Under The Women’s Charter, Maintenance Orders can be enforced if there is a default including, imprisoning the defaulting spouse or directly deducting maintenance directly from his monthly salary so that the maintenance can be paid into the ex-spouse‘s bank account.^[7] Amendments to the Administration of the Muslim Law Act mean that Muslim women may avail themselves of the same enforcement proceedings for maintenance as in civil marriages. Principles governing the division of matrimonial property, as well as custody control and access of children are now also identical for Muslims and non-Muslims.^[8] However, in practice, NGOs report that women often face significant difficulty in enforcing maintenance orders. In order to address this, the Government has established ‘Maintenance Support Central’, a one-stop centre to provide assistance to women claiming their monthly payment.^[9]

Civil law in Singapore provides equal inheritance rights for women and men.^[10] However, under the Administration of Muslim Law Act, male beneficiaries are favoured over female beneficiaries. A male relative receives a share equal to that of two females when children inherit from parents.^[11] However, in March 2010 a decision of the Court of Appeal clarified that the concept of joint tenancy and the right to survivorship in civil law extended to a Muslim women by way of the rights to survivorship.^[12]

The Women’s Charter, which applies to non-Muslims, forbids men in Singapore from taking more than one wife.^[13] Under the Administration of Muslim Law Act, Muslim men may take as many as four wives, upon approval by the Registry of Muslim Marriages,^[14] although NGOs have noted that in practice, this rule can be circumvented by marrying outside of the country.^[15] Case law has allowed polygamous marriages on grounds such as: a wife’s failure to conceive (whether or not medically the fault lay with her), a wife’s failure to produce male children, a wife’s long-term illnesses.^[16] Requests to take additional spouses may be refused by the Registry of Muslim Marriages, which solicits the views of an existing wife or wives and reviews the financial capability of the husband. A study by the US Department of State states that in 2013 there were 40 applications for polygamous marriages, of which 10 were approved. Polygamous marriages constituted 0.2% of Muslim marriages.^[17]

Both women and men have the right to divorce under the Administration of Muslim Law Act, however Muslim women are required to show grounds for divorce, whereas a Muslim man can simply pronounce “talaq” (repudiation).^[18] The Syariah court generally grants care and control of children under 7 years of age to mothers; while children above seven years are interviewed by the court.^[19]For civil courts, joint custody is the norm and sole custody the exception.^[20]

---