KUALA LUMPUR,  (Reuters) – Malaysia’s first female  Islamic court judges have been granted powers equal to their  male counterparts after fears were raised that curbs would be  imposed on their authority, an official said yesterday.

The government appointed two women as sharia judges in May  but activists have questioned whether the country was really  ready to empower women after a panel of judges tasked with  deciding their powers said they could be barred from ruling on  marriage and divorce.

“A meeting of the judges has decided that the two female  sharia judges will have equal powers to their male counterparts  without any restrictions or limitations,” said Mohamad Naim  Mokhtar, an official at the Islamic judiciary department.

There are not many female sharia court judges in Muslim  countries because of differing views on whether they are  allowed.

Activists have long complained that Muslim women in  Malaysia have been victimised by undue delays and unfair  rulings in divorce and custody cases at sharia courts.

Malaysia practices a dual-track legal system, with Muslims,  who make up 60 percent of the country’s 28 million population,  governed by Islamic family and criminal laws while non-Muslims  fall under civil laws.