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148:, or Persatuan Permudi Islam Singapura (PPIS). The group originally spread by word-of-mouth, and some members joined even though they had reason to fear that their husbands would leave them if they became involved in the group. The organization pressed lawmakers to create better legal protection for women. Their legislative victories included the outlawing of polygamy and the formation of a
103:. Siraj was the first case worker for the court, which had authority over marriages and divorces. In addition to her work with the PPIS, Siraj worked with a number of other organizations that worked to improve women's welfare. She was mother to law professor Mehrun Siraj (1945-2021) and grandmother to actor-director
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was almost 80 percent. Men were able to divorce their wives by paying $ 90 over three months, and needed only to verbally state that they wanted a divorce; they were then free to remarry immediately. Women did not have a say in whether or not they wanted a divorce, and there was no requirement that
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Khatijun Nissa Siraj was born in 1925, the daughter of a wealthy businessman of Indian descent. Before becoming an activist, Siraj spent her time as a volunteer at the St. Andrew's
Mission Hospital and as a member of the management committees of the Singapore Children's Society and the Family
179:, a significant piece of legislation for women's rights, was passed. Despite the passage of the Charter, and improvements to divorce and polygamy laws, women in the community were in need of social services. In 1964, Siraj founded the
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In 2014, Khatijun Nissa Siraj was recognized for her social and advocacy work by the
Singapore Council of Women's Organisations, which inducted Siraj into the Singapore Women's Hall of Fame.
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Planning
Association. Siraj was often the only Muslim woman on the committees that she sat on, which led her to fear that there was no one looking out for the interests of Muslim women.
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of women being abandoned by their husbands through inexpensive, informal divorces, Siraj and the PPIS successfully pressed for the formation of a
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Nazeer, Rita Zahara
Mohamed; Alias, Nafisah; Yeo, Nurul Liyana; Lee, Geraldine; Mazlan, Afiqah (28 July 2015).
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In 1952, Siraj and 21 other Muslim women from a diversity of ethnic groups co-founded the
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87:(1925 – 7 March 2023) was a Singporean women's rights activist and the co-founder of the
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the wife be informed of the impending divorce before it took place. Additionally,
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457:"Pioneer Muslim women's rights activist Khatijun Nissa Siraj dies at 97"
213:"Pioneer Muslim women's rights activist Khatijun Nissa Siraj dies at 97"
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Our Lives to Live: Putting a Woman's Face to Change in
Singapore
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Our Lives to Live: Putting a Woman's Face to Change in
Singapore
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were still legal, and there were few legal protections against
295:. Singapore Council of Women's Organisations. Archived from
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Ep 9: Khatijun Nissa Siraj – Pioneers of Early
Singapore
390:. Singapore: World Scientific. pp. 48–52, 248.
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172:as the main forces behind the court's formation.
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384:Soin, Kanwaljit; Thomas, Margaret, eds. (2015).
16:Singaporean women's rights activist (1925–2023)
194:Siraj died on 7 March 2023, at the age of 97.
152:in November 1958; Siraj was the court's first
124:During the 1950s, the divorce rate within the
358:(YouTube video). Pioneers of Early Singapore
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146:Young Women's Muslim Association
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522:Proponents of Islamic feminism
455:Xuan, Yong Li (8 March 2023).
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328:"Mrs Mohamed Siraj's Memories"
293:Singapore Women's Hall of Fame
211:Xuan, Yong Li (8 March 2023).
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181:Muslim Women's Welfare Council
93:Muslim Women's Welfare Council
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166:Che Zahara binte Noor Mohamed
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254:"The woman who began it all"
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289:"Khatijun Nissa Siraj"
420:. 2014. p. 69.
85:Khatijun Nissa Siraj
23:Khatijun Nissa Siraj
512:Singaporean Muslims
252:Yeo, Nurul Liyana.
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60:7 March 2023
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492:1925 births
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107:(b. 1973).
70:Singaporean
67:Nationality
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362:7 November
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303:28 January
268:7 November
198:References
154:caseworker
111:Early life
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131:polygamy
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
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