Dought & clear - Can the testimony of a woman be accepted with regard to sighting the new moon of Ramadaan?.

Can the testimony of a woman be accepted with regard to sighting the
new moon of Ramadaan?.
Praise be to Allaah.
The fuqaha' differed with regard to acceptingthe testimony of a woman
with regard to sighting the new moon of Ramadaan. There are two
opinions:
1 – Her testimony may beaccepted. This is the view of the Hanafis – if
itis cloudy– and the Hanbalis, and it is one of the two views held by
the Shaafa'is.
2 –That it cannot be accepted. This is the view of the Maalikis,
andthe more correct view according to the Shaafa'is.
Ibn Qudaamah said in al-Mughni (3/48):
If the one who brings the news is a woman, then according to the
madhhab her word is to be accepted. This is the view of Abu Haneefah
and is one of the two views held by the companions of al-Shaafa'i,
because it is news that has to do witha religious matter, so it is
akin to narration of reports, or telling peoplewhat the direction of
the qiblah is, or that the time for prayer has begun. And it may be
that it is not acceptable, because it is testimony about the sighting
of thenew moon, and the word of a woman cannot be accepted concerning
that, like the new moon of Shawwaal.End quote.
See: Tabyeen al-Haqaa'iq(1/319), al-Taaj wa'l-Ikleel (3/278),
al-Majmoo' (6/286) and Kashshaaf al-Qinaa' (2/304).
The Hanafis differentiatebetween cloudy and clear weather. If it is
cloudy, the testimony of two men, or a man and two women, is
acceptable, but if it is clear then it is essential to have many
people to testify to that . See: al-Bahr al-Raa'iq (2/290).
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Some
scholars say that the testimony of a female cannot be accepted, either
in Ramadaan or atother times, because the one who saw the new moon at
the time of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) wasa man, and because the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: "If two witnesses (shaahidayn) bear witness,
then start the fast and end the fast," and a woman is a shaahidah not
a shaahid.
The evidence of our madhhab is that this is a report concerning a
religious matter which isaddressed equally to males and females, as
males and females are equal with regard to narrating reports, and
reports are religious matters. Hence they did not stipulate that
sighting the new moon of Ramadaan should be proven by a judge, and
they did not stipulate any particular wording for the testimony,
ratherthey said: If he hears a trustworthy person telling the people
in his presence that he has seen the new moon, then he must fast on
the basis of this news. End quote from al-Sharh al-Mumti' (6/326).
As for the new moon of Shawwaal, it can only beproven by the testimony
of two men.
And Allaah knows best.