The president of Mali has announced that he is not going to sign the country's new family law, instead returning it to parliament for review. Muslim groups have been protesting against the law, which gives greater rights to women, ever since parliament adopted it at the start of the month. President Amadou Toumani Toure said he was sending the law back for the sake of national unity. Muslim leaders have said the law is an attack on Islam and traditional values. Some of the provisions that have proved controversial give more rights to women. For example, under the new law women are no longer required to obey their husbands, instead husbands and wives owe each other loyalty and protection. Women get greater inheritance rights, and the minimum age for girls to marry in most circumstances is raised to 18. Marriage definition One of the other key points Muslims have objected to is the fact that marriage is defined as a secular institution. Over the last few weeks Muslim leaders have organised protest after protest around the country, mobilising huge crowds against the law. The huge outcry left President Toure with little option: he announced that for the sake of national unity he was sending the law back to parliament for a second reading. The head of Mali's High Islamic Council says he was pleased with the president's decision. Women's groups are heartbroken - they have been trying for more than 10 years to get the law changed. Source: BBC