MALE: The Family Court has announced it will not register marriages which take place in foreign countries without Waly or permission of the guardian of the woman. According to statistics of the Court there are large number of Moldavians getting married abroad, mostly in Sri Lanka and India and about 90% of these marriages are without the consent of the father or guardian of the woman which is mandatory in Islam. There is information the number of such marriages are on the increase and there are more than 50 marriages requesting registration in the Family Court. The Law on Family requires all marriages to be registered in an appropriate court in the Maldives and there is a penalty of MRF 1000 fine or 6 months banishment if the law is violated and marriages not registered.
According to highly placed religious sources, marriage without permission of the guardian of the woman is not valid and therefore those marriages without such permission will not be legal and registered. There is also information that many such marriages break after a child is born and there is no support received from many fathers to look after the child. Because of this sad state, many women are undergoing difficulties to sustain their living.
According to our information these marriages are mostly marriages of convenience and many men marry a second wife without the knowledge of first wife. The Court says they are working with marriage registrars in Sri Lanka and India to stop marrying people from Maldives without the prior obtaining Waly from the guardian. Officials also say there is a great deal of awareness needed and they will undertake a vigorous awareness programmed to address the problem.
