Jail for men who divorce wives by text

Islamic authorities will prosecute Malaysian men who try to divorce their wives by sending mobile phone text messages or email without going to court.

The warning marks the latest move by the government to discourage the use of electronic messages to initiate divorce proceedings in the predominantly Muslim Southeast Asian country.

Islamic law generally accepts that a husband has divorced his wife if he announces his intention to do so to her and the decision is ratified by a cleric.

The government has ordered religious affairs officials to take legal action against men who declare their divorces by phone text messages, faxes or emails and try to obtain divorce certificates without having undergone Islamic court proceedings. —Ananova

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