Same-Gender Couple in Malaysia Told to Part; Husband Declared to be a Woman

The marriage of Mohd Sufian Mohamad (right) and Zaiton Aziz was not legitimate.

Couple in same sex marriage ordered to part

By Cynthia Lee

04 September, 2007

MALACCA: Three months short of their fifth wedding anniversary, a couple has been ordered to part as the husband was actually a woman.

Syariah judge Che Saufi Che Husin yesterday ordered a farak (part forever) between Mohd Sufian Mohamad, 40, and Zaiton Aziz, 43, as the marriage was not legitimate under syariah.

The couple arrived in court together in a Perodua Kancil, wearing matching yellow attire, and looked calm when the judgment was read to them.

They walked out of court together and left in the same car.

Sufian, 40, whose birth certificate bears the name Mazinah Mohamad, married Zaiton Aziz, 43, in December 2002.
They were alleged to have committed same-sex marriage and were charged under section 11 of the Malacca Islamic Family Enactment 2002.

The marriage, solemnised by imam Ishak Juki from the Bukit Cina mosque, had been deemed legal as all procedures had been adhered to.

However, problems surfaced a few months later when the Malacca Religious Affairs Department refused to register the marriage after becoming suspicious of the bridegroom’s gender.

Sufian was also ordered to amend his gender status and name in the National Registration Department according to the original birth certificate.

In announcing his ruling, Che Saufi said: "According to the first respondent’s (Zaiton) statement, she had never seen or touched her husband’s private parts and had taken him to be a man all along and that she felt good and satisfied together.

"This is astounding and illogical. It is abnormal to go through life as husband and wife as such."

He said the couple had also failed to prove the "husband" to be a hermaphrodite as claimed by Syariah lawyer Mohd Mokhtar Karim.

Malacca Hospital gynaecologist Dr Nor Hasinah Mohd Said had said a physical examination carried out with two other specialists revealed that Sufian was not a man.

Chromosome and blood tests also confirmed that Sufian was a woman.