WHY INDIA MUSLIM WOMEN FELT THE NEED TO ORGANISE THEMSELVES?

WHY INDIA MUSLIM WOMEN FELT THE NEED TO ORGANISE THEMSELVES?
Genesis of Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan

Dr. Noorjehan Safia Niaz

Since the inception of the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan in a January 2007 in New Delhi, it has been asked by many as to the need for Muslim women to organize themselves? Kya zaroorat hai Musalman aurton ko apni tehreek tayar karne ki? The reasons are many. To start with, no community can develop if its women remain behind and conversely the women of the community cannot progress unless the larger community also takes the onus to lend her a helping hand in playing her role in public life.

To state the obvious, Muslims who are the largest minority in India have a poor human development status- widespread illiteracy, low income, irregular employment - implying thereby a high incidence of poverty and marginalization. The documented evidence by various secular agencies reveals that in areas like education, work participation, health, income Muslims are found to be faring much lower than other communities. The rise of communal and conservative forces has made matters worse. Muslim women suffer from multiple marginalization owing to poverty, lack of education, inequality and lack of opportunities. The issue of marginalization and injustice is compounded by the fact that it is a minority community and is deeply influenced by conservative, religious patriarchal forces on one hand and exists in extreme poverty and marginalization on the other. Moreover rising communalism and fundamentalism has resulted in increased insecurity and sense of alienation within the community. The rise of terrorism and the impact from the so-called war on terror, increasing negative impact of the forces of imperialism and capitalism has led to the Muslims being a community under siege. In this context the issues of the Muslim women are put at the backburner.

It is to their credit that founding visionaries of India had a special commitment to the rights and safety of the minorities. This was reflected in the Constitution of India which enshrines the values of equality, democracy and justice for all citizens. There are safeguards for minorities in the form of various articles prohibiting discrimination on religious grounds and enabling development for minority communities. The fundamental rights are guaranteed to all citizens irrespective of religion, caste, sex or language. The Eleventh Five Year Plan states that amongst the minorities, the Muslims, and especially Muslim women need special attention since relative to other communities, they have remained socially, educationally and economically backward. And yet even a cursory look at the ground reality is enough to suggest that all is not well. In spite of all the Constitutional safeguards Muslims in general and Muslim women in particular continue to remain vulnerable.

The arrival of the forces of globalization and privatization in India since early 1990s have also led to the poor - dalits, adivasis, women and minorities being driven further to the margins with a direct onslaught on their lands and livelihoods. Civil society organizations have been protesting about the widespread exclusion of India’s large masses due to the very questionable notions of development which are increasingly finding deep roots into the successive governments and their policies. A malfunctioning PDS and nonfunctional primary schools both aggravate the social exclusion faced by the minorities as by the dalits and adivasis.

Indian history is replete with instances of struggle for social change and justice. Women and especially Muslim women have also initiated and actively participated in many historical movements for justice. These struggles are still on with increasing strength of women. Yet women’s participation and the articulation of her perspective of social justice and development have always been ignored traditionally. This alternative voice of women which is concerned with just, fair and humane society must get due recognition. And this fuelled in some Muslim women a strong need to create a collective that will not only address the concerns of the Muslim community and particularly of the Muslim women but also take concrete steps to ameliorate this situation. They felt that a mass organization is required where the most oppressed and marginalized sections gets a voice and are able to mobilize themselves to create conditions in society which will ensure social, economic and political justice, upholding of human rights, equality and peace. This urge led to the formation of the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan. Over the last four years it has established itself as an alliance of like-minded individuals that take upon themselves the onus of taking up the issues of the Muslim women and Muslim community head on.

The Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan [translating into Indian Muslim Women’s Movement] was formed on 17^th January, 2007 at a hugely attended inaugural program in Delhi. It has emerged as a mass organization of Muslims, led by Muslim women which fight for the citizenship rights of the Muslims in India. The Andolan works for all the rights and duties emanating from the Constitution. In its fourth year its membership has crossed 20,000 members across 15 states. The Andolan works on the issues of education, jobs, security, law and health. It being a national entity seeks to carry out its activities through a formal national democratic structure with a system of accountability. It addresses the issues of education, employment, security and legal reforms and takes proactive and concrete steps towards these. It not only works at the grassroots on these issues but also does political advocacy to raise issues at the appropriate fora. In short it seeks to create an alternative voice of Muslim women and works for its leadership development.

The vision of the Andolan is to create conditions within the Indian society where the Muslim community and especially the Muslim women are able to eradicate their own poverty and marginalization and live a life of equality, justice and with respect for human rights. It believes in the values of democracy, secularism, equality, non-violence, human rights and justice as enshrined in the Constitution of India. These are the guiding principles in their struggle. It believes in the inherent capacity of women to lead and ameliorate the social, economic, political, legal and educational backwardness. It also seeks to carry out positive, liberal, humanist and feminist interpretations of religion for ensuring justice and equality to Muslim women. And to achieve its vision of an equal society it seeks collaboration and alliance with other movements and networks that are fighting for social equality and human rights and are opposing forces of fascism, capitalism, communalism and imperialism in all its forms.

To achieve this vision and objectives the Andolan through its well laid out administrative structure reaches out to Muslim women in villages, towns and cities and organizes them into pressure groups under the leadership of a committed woman leader. The emergent leadership of Muslim women at the national, state, district, block and village level carries out programmes and activities related to education, livelihood, law reform and health services. Amongst its many achievements the Andolan in all the states where it is active, has mobilized Muslim women and exerted pressure on local government machinery to issue important documents like voter I-cards, ration cards, widow pension cards etc. As we know these documents are important to assert one’s self as a citizen of this country. The Andolan has also published a women-friendly Nikaahnama and more than 50 marriages have been solemnized on it. The Nikaahnama prohibits polygamy and oral unilateral divorce and contains many provisions to safeguard the matrimonial rights of Muslim women. Through its quarterly newsletter, which contains articles, stories, information relevant to the Muslim women, the Andolan is trying to reach the voices of Muslim women to a larger audience. This newsletter is widely distributed and has received good response from Muslim women. Since the time of its inception the National Council of the Andolan which comprises of state leaders and founder members has been meeting regularly to share its work, take stock of objectives achieved and to plan and strategize for the future. Perspective building and inputs and information-giving workshops are organized on various issues on a regular basis. 

The Andolan which is growing from strength to strength with each passing year has given a platform for Muslim women to emerge as leaders and take their community out of its stagnation. Muslim women are taking tremendous interest in the affairs of the community as well as the country. This churning amongst the Muslim women has a historical significance as they have never been organized on a national scale ever before. Their dreams and aspirations of a prosperous, just, plural and democratic Indian society and Muslim community are matched equally well by their administrative and organizational skills. This development only confirms that that the deliverance of the community lies in the hands of its women.

Noorjehan Safia Niaz

The author of this article is the Founder Member of Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan