In its final consultation on Rights of Muslim Women: Reviewing Muslim Personal Law on July 15, the National Commission for Women did not invite even a single stakeholder, particularly women from the Muslim community, to the deliberations. Talking to Abdul Bari Masoud, functionaries of All India Muslim Personal Board and other Shari’ah experts opine that Muslim Personal Law is detailed, defined, codified, and complete. In divorce, rights of both partners are secured, waiting period establishes paternity, maintenance of the pregnant mother is guaranteed, and child custody and maintenance matters are all covered and NCW suggestion for codification of Muslim Personal Lawis based on prejudice towards Muslim Personal Law.
In a push to pitchfork the divisive Uniform Civil Code (UCC) issue, the National Commission for Women (NCW) held the final consultation on Rights of Muslim Women: Reviewing Muslim Personal Law on July 15. Interestingly, not a single stakeholder, particularly women from the Muslim community, was invited to the deliberations.
According to the Press Trust of India, the Attorney General of India, the Additional Solicitor General from the Supreme Court, representatives from high courts, vice chancellors of law universities, legal experts, and civil society organisations were among the key participants in the discussions, but no one from the Muslim community.
As expected, the so-called consultation only targeted Muslim Personal Law, stressing that the non-codified nature of Muslim Personal Law poses challenges to Muslim women.
In a statement following deliberations, the NCW stated that the non-codified nature of Muslim Personal Law makes it prone to misinterpretation.
“The absence of a uniform civil code has perpetuated inequalities and inconsistencies in our diverse nation. It hinders progress towards social harmony, economic growth, and gender justice,” the statement said.
“In India, the Muslim community follows Muslim personal law, which, being non-codified, is prone to misinterpretation and poses challenges for Muslim women. It’s time to address these issues for a more equitable society.”
NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma said that there is an urgent need for codified laws.
“In our pursuit of equality, let’s reflect: if a law cannot serve the rights of Hindu, Christian, Sikh, and Buddhist women, can we truly say it is just for Muslim women? The need for codified laws is urgent,” she said.
“We need to work towards a legal framework that ensures equal rights for all, regardless of religion.”
The Attorney-General of India, R. Venkataramani, emphasised the importance of strengthening and modernising the institution of marriage.
“He (Venkataramani) emphasised the following points:equal regard for men and women, equal status for men and women, and equality of processes ensuring dignity in entering and exiting marital relationships irrespective of religion,” ANI reported, quoting an NCW statement.
According to the NCW, discussions also covered the necessity to change inheritance rights and the reformation of divorce as a legal procedure, with the exception of divorce by mutual consent.
The discussion took place against the backdrop of the 22nd Law Commission soliciting new input on a divisive uniform civil code last month. It has now extended the deadline for viewpoint submissions till July 28, which was earlier July 14.
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board should have been invited, at the very least, by the NCW, which represents all schools of thought among Indian Muslims. This would have given the NCW’s exercise some credibility.
Commenting on the NCW chairperson’s remarks, All India Muslim Personal Law Board spokesperson, Dr. S. Q. R. Ilyas, said the NCW’s statement is based on prejudice towards Muslim Personal Law.
“All the facets of Muslim Personal Law have been collected in one volume by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board. It covers all facets of Shari’ah pertaining to family rules, including marriage, divorce, maintenance, inheritance, and others. This book also considers the several schools (Masalik) that are prevalent in the Muslim society. Translation into English is being prepared. This book might serve as a trustworthy source of information for our judges and solicitors,” he told Radiance.
“The Shariat Application Act of 1937 and the Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act of 1939 were two laws that were written while Britain was in power, but they were codified in accordance with the recommendations of the Islamic scholars of the day.”
On the NCW suggestion for codification of Muslim Personal Law, Dr. Ilyas said even if Parliament passes legislation in accordance with our views, that doesn’t imply they can’t later amend it.
Referring to the Shah Bano case and triple talaq legislation, the Board spokesperson pointed out:“The maintenance statute passed in 1985 in response to the Shah Bano judgement was not based on Shari’ah statute. We are quite concerned about the current regime, just as they were about the triple talaq issue. A civil dispute was turned into a criminal one by them.”
As a result, we oppose the Parliament’s codification of Muslim Personal Law. We will never permit anyone, including the legislative or judicial branches, to interfere with, modify, or change Shari’ah Law. Codification and reform are two distinct processes. The Muslim Personal Law Board actively pursues it and is always open to reform within the parameters of Shari’ah, he emphasised.
In the meantime, Muslim women also strongly objected to the NCW’s exercise on Muslim Personal Law, seeing it as only a political ploy for the ruling party’s electoral gains under the pretext of “gender justice and equality.”
Shari’ah Committee for Women president Dr. Asma Zehra said Muslims are stakeholders in this, which is why the NCW didn’t invite any Muslim Women or Muslim organisations.
“Why are Muslim organisations and Muslim women excluded from the discussion? Or is it just a political exercise for electoral gains in the guise of gender justice and equality?”Dr. Zehra asked.
“If Muslim Personal law is discussed and the bodies want to ensure Gender Justice and Equality for Muslim women, it is all the more important to understand the ideological basis of Muslim Personal Law.”
Strongly repudiating false propaganda that Muslim Personal Law is unjust to Muslim women, Dr. Zehra told Radiance that “Muslim Personal Law is detailed, defined, codified, and complete. In divorce, the rights of both partners are secured, the waiting period establishes paternity, the maintenance of the pregnant mother is guaranteed, and child custody and maintenance matters are all covered.”
On the NCW’s push for codification, she stated that the allegation that Muslim Personal Law is not codified is false and propaganda. In fact, the minor details that guarantee rights and ensure their protection are a special feature of Muslim Personal Law.
“For inheritance, the share of the daughter is calculated first, and this ensures her right to inheritance. Similarly, consent to marriage is an important step in Nikah that empowers women; the Qazi comes to the bride with two uncles to give Consent. There are Mehr rights, maintenance rights, and inheritance rights that empower Women not just socially but also emotionally and financially. Muslim women are privileged as they are not responsible for earning their livelihood. It’s their fathers, brothers, husbands, or sons who are maintainers, and if a woman has no close male relative, it is the responsibility of family or society. Widow and divorcee remarriage is not prohibited; therefore, the women are well protected and taken care of.”
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech at his party conclave in Bhopal, wherein he raked up the “so-called plight of Muslim women”, Zeenat Akhtar said the Modi government has in the past many years shown a lot of concern for Muslim women. It has been enacting laws that it believes will get Muslim women out of oppression and tyranny. It makes people believe that it is rescuing and helping Muslim women.But as a Muslim woman, I find it all hyperbole and far from truth, as what has happened in the Bilquis Bano case is that all the convicts of rape and murder were let off, she pointed out while speaking with Radiance.
Quoting the data-based journalism site IndiaSpend analysis of recently released census data, she said 12 Million Married Children under 10 Are Hindus. The data is at odds with Hindutva’s claims that a UCC is needed to curb the violation of women’s and children’s rights by adherents of Islam.
According to IndiaSpend analysis, nearly 12 million Indian children were married before the age of 10 – 84% of them Hindu and 11% Muslim.
To put it in context, this number is equivalent to Jammu and Kashmir’s population.
The data further reveals that 72% of all Hindu girls married before 10 were in rural areas, as compared to 58.5% of Muslim girls, with higher levels of education correlating with later marriage.
Jain women marry the latest (at a median age of 20.8 years), followed by Christian women (20.6 years) and Sikh women (19.9 years). Hindu and Muslim women have the lowest median age at first marriage (16.7 years), IndiaSpend reported earlier based on a seven-state report from Nirantar, a Delhi-based advocacy group.
30% of girls, 42% of boys married before their legal ages.
The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act states that a girl in India cannot marry before age 18, and a boy before age 21.
A Muslim girl can marry when she attains puberty or completes 15 years of age, according to Muslim Personal Law, as the Gujarat High Court and Delhi High Court noted in different judgements.
As many as 102 million girls (30% of the female population) were married before 18 in 2011; the number was 119 million in 2001 (44% of the female population), a decrease of 14 percentage points over the decade.
Among boys, 125 million were married before 21 years of age (42% of the male population) in 2011; the number was 120 million in 2001 (49% of the male population), a decrease of 7 percentage points over the decade.
As many as 7.84 million (65%) married children were female, reinforcing the fact that girls are significantly more disadvantaged; eight in 10 illiterate children who were married were also girls.
However, the NCW and other government organisations seem uninterested in such a grave problem.
Dr. Zehra suggested that specialists in Muslim Personal Law could combat the entire gender justice agenda. Muslim women uphold personal law as a component of their religious beliefs.
She also criticised news organisations for allowing women with “Urdu names” or women who identify as “Muslims” to speak and represent those who are no longer practising Islam.