Mauritania has a mixture of Muslim laws and French-influenced civil law. Although the Family Code has some positive aspects for women, it is not always enforced, as local traditions have a strong influence in some communities.

Malaysia’s population is multi-religious; approximately 60 per cent of the population are Muslims. Malaysia has a dual court system, with Shari'ah- and fiqh-based laws that apply only to Muslims and include matters specified in the Federal Constitution such as matrimonial law, charitable endowments, bequests, inheritance, and offences that are not governed by federal law (matrimonial offences, khalwat, and offences against the precepts of Islam).

The personal status law in Jordan is based on the Islamic Shari‘ah as the sole source of legislation. Special religious courts exist with regards to family matters, and Jordanians use these according to their religion and sect. Therefore, there is a multitude of mechanisms and legal references, which can create problems for different populations.

More than 80 per cent of Indonesia’s 234 million people are Muslim, making it the largest nation of Muslims in the world. Marriage issues are governed by the 1974 Marriage Law, which was, at the time, considered the best compromise between women’s rights advocates and religious groups. In the last decade, Indonesia has been undergoing a historic process of socio-political change after 32 years of dictatorship.

Tamil Nadu is a large state in southern India. According to the 2001 census, Muslims constituted approximately 6% of the Tamil Nadu population and approximately 13.4% of the Indian population as a whole. Muslim personal law in India is largely uncodified; existing legislation is piecemeal, fragmentary and does not answer all of the needs pertaining to Muslim familial life. The interpretation of Muslim personal law rests on the courts, except in specific instances related to the dissolution of marriages and the awarding of maintenance.

Muslims constitute 90 per cent of Gambia’s population. The Gambia is seen to be one of the least developed countries in the world, with large areas of poverty in three of the seven administrative regions, and increased urban poverty in recent years. The Constitution of the Gambia guarantees equal dignity and equal treatment between men and women. However, these provisions have been weakened by the fact that the Constitution defines the personal status law as ‘the Sharia’.