Equality for Muslim women and children in Sri Lanka: What is the status of MMDA reform?
The Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA), enacted in 1951, is a personal / family law that applies to Muslim inhabitants of Sri Lanka who marry within the faith. It governs their marriage, divorce and connected matters. As a result, the General Marriage Registration Ordinance (GMRO), which applies to most other citizens of Sri Lanka, does not apply to Muslim marriages, creating a different set of legal standards.
The origins of the MMDA date back to the Dutch colonial period, when early versions of Muslim personal law were introduced. Over time, the law underwent several changes. The current 1951 Act retains many of these earlier provisions, while also formalizing several local customs and practices followed by Sri Lankan Muslims at the time.
Calls for reforming the MMDA have continued for more than 40 years. Critics argue that certain provisions are discriminatory, particularly in how they treat Muslim women and children. Compared to other citizens, they often face unequal rights in key aspects of family life. In recent years, women’s organizations and grassroots movements have played a growing role in pushing for reform, working to ensure that the voices and experiences of affected communities are heard.
Key issues with the MMDA
Over the years, those calling for reform of the MMDA have highlighted several major concerns. One key issue is the absence of a minimum age of marriage. Unlike the General Marriage Registration Ordinance (GMRO), which sets the minimum age at 18, the MMDA does not specify a clear minimum. Under Section 23, a Muslim girl under the age of 12 can be married off with the consent of a Quazi. The law also does not require the bride to sign her own marriage contract (Section 17 and 18). Instead, a male guardian (Wali) signs on her behalf which means that written consent from the bride to contract a marriage is not mandatory. In some cases, marriages may even take place without the presence of the bride.
Divorce under the MMDA is governed by unequal standards. Men are permitted to unilaterally divorce their wives (Section 27), while women must go through a longer and more complex process, often facing a higher burden of proof (Section 28). The Act also permits polygamy without clearly defined safeguards (Section 24). A husband is not required to obtain the consent of his existing wife or wives before entering into another marriage. In addition, there are no explicit provisions requiring equal treatment or financial maintenance among multiple spouses.
Another area of concern is access to positions of authority under the law. Only Muslim men are eligible to serve as Quazis (judges in the Quazi court system) or as marriage registrars, effectively excluding women from these roles, based on their sex.
Beyond the text of the law, documented experiences of Muslim women and children across the country show that these provisions are often misused or inconsistently applied in practice, particularly within the Quazi court system. This has, in many cases, intensified the challenges faced by those seeking justice.
Additionally, Article 16 of Sri Lanka’s Constitution remains deeply problematic as it considers all written and unwritten laws predating the 1978 Constitution to be valid and operative, even where these laws are inconsistent with constitutional guarantees of fundamental rights. This includes the MMDA, despite its incompatibility with Article 12 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to equality and non-discrimination. In effect, because of Article 16, even where provisions of the MMDA infringe upon an individual’s fundamental rights, they remain effectively shielded from constitutional challenge before the courts.
Barriers to Reform
Despite concerted efforts to reform the MMDA, there have been challenges and complexities at many levels, resisting such reforms. At the State level, there has been a lack of prioritization of women’s rights, an abdication of responsibility and a tendency to position the issue back to the Muslim community on the basis that it is a personal law and therefore the recommendations for reform should flow from within the community.
Muslim, often male, parliamentarians have held misconceptions on the MMDA considering it to be a divine law which cannot be changed, often straying with caution and choosing to appease their constituency for political survival, undermining the interests of women and children. Meanwhile, the original law which was introduced to Indonesia by the Dutch at the same time it was introduced to Sri Lanka has undergone significant and progressive reforms.
Within the Muslim community there have been diverse positions on reform, and no single, uniform voice. Conservative Muslim religious leaders, holding positions of power, have often proposed their views as being representative of the whole community, with an adverse and disproportionate impact on Muslim women and children. Muslim women are also silenced within their families and communities, and there is a lack of understanding of and access to their rights within deeply entrenched patriarchal structures.
Sri Lanka’s International Obligations and the NPP government’s promises
The NPP-government, in its election manifesto, sought to prioritize gender equality, women’s rights and the rights of children. Specifically, the manifesto sets out that the government would bring in legislation that ensures fair and equal treatment for all marginalized groups; condemn all forms of violence against women and children, including systemic violence across all settings; and build a society free from regressive stereotypes perpetuated by social institutions and practices. This would include ensuring equal access to state services, rights, and justice for all identity groups, including women, and aligning domestic laws with the standards set by the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). This would encompass reviewing, amending or repealing outdated and discriminatory colonial laws that are still in force in the country.
In August 2025, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) issued a statement making recommendations to the government of Sri Lanka on reforming the MMDA and related matters. This was done with the objective of ensuring that national laws and administrative practices align with international human rights norms and standards, specifically the CRC, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and CEDAW.
Likewise, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in his 2025 report to the Human Rights Council reporting on the situation of human rights in Sri Lanka, observed that there have been longstanding calls to reform the MMDA. He pointed out that in February 2025, the CEDAW committee noted that the MMDA still lacked a minimum marriage age and reserved key legal and judicial positions under it exclusively to Muslim men. He pointed out that the previous Government had prepared a draft to amend the law in May 2023, but the current administration has said it will undertake further consultation. In light of this, the UN High Commissioner called upon the government to “swiftly amend the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act to meet its international human rights obligations.”
A Private Members Bill to amend the MMDA
On 05th February 2026, two private members bills – the first, relating to the irretrievable breakdown of marriage under the general law, and the second, including a few amendments to the MMDA – were proposed and handed over to Parliament by Faizer Musthapha, a Muslim Member of Parliament (MP). The amendments proposed to the MMDA through this private member’s bill included that the minimum age of marriage be raised to 18 years, with 16 years as an exception in certain situations; for the bride to sign a separate declaration and not the contract / registration of marriage document; setting out qualifications for Quazis; and permitting women to serve as Quazis. The bill is currently pending before Parliament.
Women’s organizations and community groups who had been advocating for reform for decades were critical of this move. They emphasized that piecemeal reform of this nature does not meaningfully address the full range of issues faced by Muslim women and girls and undermines the ongoing reform process. Further, they called on Muslim MPs to support comprehensive reforms to the MMDA and urged the Government to make progress on the existing draft bill to amend the MMDA.
The ongoing reform process
Under the NPP-government an Advisory Committee on Muslim Law Reforms has been appointed through the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to review the draft Amendment Bill to the MMDA which is pending before the MoJ. In January 2026, the MoJ sought input from key stakeholders on specific issues concerning the draft bill. This included views on the minimum age of marriage; including the bride’s signature on the marriage document; the practice of polygamy and related conditions; the model of the court system; and women as Quazis. Thereafter, in February 2026, the MoJ called for broader feedback from the public on these issues. The public consultation initiated by the MoJ has now concluded.
Almost two years into the NPP-government’s term, and amidst a spate of ongoing law reform processes, it is yet to be seen whether the government will hold on its promise and prioritize the rights of Muslim women and children, or whether the MMDA reform process will yet again take a backseat. In parallel, ongoing efforts to reform the GMRO – particularly proposed amendments that would allow Muslims to opt out of being governed under the MMDA – could provide a timely and important safeguard for women and children seeking equal protection and autonomy under the law.
References:
https://www.mmdasrilanka.org/faqs-about-the-mmda/
https://groundviews.org/2025/03/19/mmda-reform-is-about-womens-and-girls-lives-not-political-games/
https://campaignforjustice.musawah.org/repository/sri-lanka/