KUALA LUMPUR — Women’s groups have applauded the recent appointment of two female judges to Islamic courts in Malaysia, but its significance is not yet clear: The new judges will have to wait a month before finding out whether they will be prevented from hearing certain cases.

On Thursday, a committee of 20 senior judges is scheduled to begin considering whether Shariah guidelines would bar women from handling certain legal matters, like divorce. The judges are expected to conclude their deliberations in a month, said Mohammad Yusop Che Teh, a Shariah Court of Appeal judge.

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