Kuala Lumpur (AFP) — Hardline Islamists ruling a north-eastern Malaysian state were mulling a suggestion to impose whipping and jail terms as penalties for divorcing without valid cause, a newspaper reported Wednesday.

The government of Kelantan was willing to consider ‘heavier penalties’ to reduce the divorce rate of Muslims, the chairwoman of the state’s women development, family and health committee Wan Ubaidah Omar was quoted as saying by the Star newspaper.

Common grounds for couples seeking divorce include infidelity and the failure of one partner to satisfy the other. Officials did not explain what would constitute invalid reasons for divorce.