'Divorce by text message' up for a re-think

Malaysian authorities may soon overturn a controversial court ruling that allows Muslims to end marriages by text message.

Last week, a landmark ruling by the Islamic Syariah Court stated that an SMS is valid as a statement of divorce if it is verified in court. However - unsurprisingly - the move has been met with much protest from civil rights groups, who claim that this manner of divorce is an insult to women.

Due to the outcry, the government is planning to put the brakes on the SMS divorce system, according to Malaysian daily newspaper The Star.

The report said Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and his cabinet ministers unanimously agreed that this is not the right way for Muslim couples to split up and is putting together a proposal to outlaw the practice.

Under the plan, divorces declared via impersonal channels such as SMS, email, letters, faxes and telephone calls will be considered null and void and will not be validated by the Muslim court, said the report.

Authorities say the move aims to protect Islam from ridicule, because allowing SMS break-ups could give the impression that divorce is a trivial matter in the religion, the report added.