IMPACT ON THE PHYSICAL HEALTH OF WOMEN IN POLYGAMOUS MARRIAGE

 

IMPACT ON THE PHYSICAL HEALTH OF WOMEN IN POLYGAMOUS MARRIAGE 

Article 9 based on the data published by BMMA in ‘Breaking the Silence’ https://notionpress.com/in/read/breaking-the-silence-1410178808-1410178808 

Let’s look at the impact on the physical health of the first wife. She starts to suffer from blood pressure [40%], loss of sleep [45%], migraine [34%], body pain [27%] and joint pains [21%], menstrual issues [15%]. Although for more clarity there is a separate article to assess mental health impact, just the physical impact is overwhelming. Most of these ailments require regular medication and doctor visits. The ailments do not give her enough bandwidth to take up and job and earn, to look after small children and manage all the stress. All the above ailments are debilitating, giving very limited physical strength to go on with life. We all know what happens to us when we have not slept well or when migraine hits us or when there is a nagging, chronic body ache. All this because a man thinks it is his right to marry more than one woman.

The data reveals a significant disparity in physical health outcomes between first and second wives, indicating that the emotional and social consequences of polygamy translate into tangible health impacts, especially for the first wife.

• First wives are consistently more affected across every health indicator, suggesting that emotional distress, insecurity, and neglect following the husband’s second marriage have direct physiological consequences.
• The high rates of hypertension (35.9%) and sleep loss (45.3%) strongly imply psychosomatic stress linked to marital strain.
• In contrast, second wives report comparatively better health, likely due to greater attention, emotional validation, and social status during the early years of their marriage.
• The gap in reported “no health issues” (20% vs 51%) highlights a stark contrast in overall well-being.

Polygamous marriage exerts a disproportionate toll on the physical health of first wives, reflecting how emotional deprivation and competition translate into chronic illness. The findings indicate that polygamy not only destabilizes marital harmony but also undermines women’s physical well-being, creating a cycle of stress, illness, and medical dependency. The gap is compelling. 12 % of first wife compared to 5% of second wife have diabetes. Almost 15% of first wife compared to 8% of second wife have menstrual issues. 27% of first wife compared to 9% of second have body aches and pains. The numbers clearly indicate that the first wife suffers more.

When we checked with the action that women take to look after themselves. A large portion of women [32%]. Almost equally high (31.9%) visited government or charitable health centres, showing reliance on affordable care. 17.8% could not afford treatment, highlighting economic barriers. 16.8% used home remedies, and 14.9% engaged in physical activity to manage stress, indicating informal/self-care methods are common. Only 2.1% reported doing regular exercise, suggesting low preventive health behavior. 10% did not face any health issues, possibly due to youth, lifestyle, or underreporting. Overall, the data suggests that economic factors, access to care, and self-managed solutions play a major role in how individuals deal with health, while preventive behaviors like exercise remain minimal.

The shock and humiliation of the second marriage has an immediate physical impact. The body goes into a shock followed by the pain of being betrayed. Anger is predominant, fear is inevitable and a long term experience of these emotions can have long standing damage on the body. Constant headaches, sleep disturbances, fatigue, body aches, joint pains then feed into more stress and the loop continues. The body keeps accumulating the pain which keeps getting added as more stress and crisis unfold. Many years of single handedly shouldering the responsibilities of raising children, managing home and finances takes it’s toll on the body with entrenched long term chronic illnesses.

If the second marriage has happened after a long gap then the second wife is also much younger and hence less ailments. She is also not yet burdened with marriage conflicts, child birth and other related stressors. First wife being already older may have already been experiencing various ailments.

Physical ailments begin with the mind anyway. Because she suffers emotionally, her body stores all the mental aches and pains. Feeling replaced, unimportant and dispensable affects her self-worth and dignity and that has a huge impact on her body.

It is not to say that the second wives do not suffer at all. The numbers do show that she too suffers. But a large part of the impact is definitely on the first wife.

 

THE MUSLIM WOMEN (PROTECTION OF RIGHTS ON DIVORCE) ACT, 1986 Muslim Women’s Right to Post-Divorce Maintenance

DAY 16

THE MUSLIM WOMEN (PROTECTION OF RIGHTS ON DIVORCE) ACT, 1986

Muslim Women’s Right to Post-Divorce Maintenance

This law came in 1986 almost 50 years after the last legislation of 1939/1937, why so?

That is because, from 1937-39, until 1986, for 50 long years, no ulema, religious body, political party, social reformer bothered about Muslim women facing discriminatory practices within the family. Triple divorce, polygamy, underage marriage, halala, muta, unequal inheritance – all continued in the name of religion. Muslim women remained unprotected despite the provisions of her religion and the constitution. Even the women’s movement since the 1970s, fell short of asking for a legislation. Beyond a point they succumbed to the conservative sections of the Muslim community, scared of repercussions and also scared to breach a boundary which did not belong to them, most of them being Hindu, upper caste and upper class. A large section of Muslim women who fought for 1937/1939 legislations migrated to Pakistan after independence and partition. There was no Ambedkar and Nehru within the Muslim community to push for legislation nor did the duo take the lead the way they did for the Hindu community and got 4 set of legislations in 1955-57 for them. 

What led to the passing of the Supreme Court judgement in favour of Shahbanu? 

In 1932 Shah banu was married to Ahmed Khan, a lawyer. They had 5 children. After 14 years of marriage he married another woman. At age 62 she was thrown out of the house by Ahmed Khan. In 1978 she filed a case under CR.PC 125 for maintenance in Indore Court. Same year he orally divorced her and said since he has divorced her, he is not entitled to pay her maintenance. The magistrate asked her husband to pay maintenance. She later went to Madhya Pradesh High court. And later to the Supreme Court against the order of the High Court. The Supreme Court gave the judgement in her favour.

What were the key points of the judgment? 

The judgment established that the Cr.Pc is applicable to all citizens irrespective of their religion. Triple divorce cannot take away the right to maintenance of a divorced Muslim women who is not in a position to maintain herself. It is the responsibility of the Muslim husband to provide maintenance to his divorced wife. And she is entitled to invoke Cr.PC 125. 

What was the impact of this judgment? 

The judgment was criticised by the clerics and various religious bodies and they cited that this judgment was in contravention to the rules of Quran and Islamic laws. There was a big hue and cry and the clerics were out on the roads to deprive Muslim women of her right to access the laws of the land. They wanted a legislation which could overturn the consequences of the judgment. The Rajiv Gandhi government could not resist the pressure from the regressive religious groups and it passed the Muslim Women [Protection of Rights on Divorce Act in 1986. This Act invalidated the Supreme Court judgment. 

What were the main provisions of this Act?

To summarise:

• A divorced Muslim woman was thus entitled to maintenance from her former husband only for a period of 3 months. He had the least liability. 

• It kept Muslim women out of the ambit of law of the country, Cr.PC 125 which ensures maintenance to the wife by husband after divorce.

• It also turned a Muslim woman into a beggar because after 3 months she begs for maintenance first from her relatives who would inherit from her on her death, then her parents, her children and finally from the Wakf Board

• This provision was justified by misquoting and misinterpreting the Quran and thus misleading the community

What was wrong with the law? 

The MWA was passed in1986 under the pressure of regressive religious groups. It took away a Muslim woman’s rights under the laws of the land.  It was passed to supposedly protect the rights of Muslim women who have been divorced by, or have obtained divorce from, their husbands. But it was infact a law which intended to take Muslim women away from her rights as enshrined in the Quran. While the Supreme Court judgement in the Shah Banu case quoted the relevant Quranic verses in favour of post-divorce maintenance, the Parliament passed the said law to nullify the SC’s decision and in fact took away the Muslim women out of the ambit of the Cr. PC 125. A Muslim man could pay the maintenance for just 3 months and go scot free. In one stroke the law took away what a Muslim woman is entitled to not just by her religion but also by the Indian Constitution. 

How did this law go against the Quran? 

We cannot miss the irony here that what Quran ensured through verse 2:241 and which was upheld by the Supreme Court of India, was nullified by the Parliament by passing a law which went against the Quranic provision as well as the protective provision of the constitution. This verse Surah Baqara clears states a divorced women’s right to maintence. 50 years back the British parliament upheld Muslim women’s right to divorce through the 1939 Act and 50 years later the Indian parliament takes her away from her constitutional and Quranic rights. 

This law through its content and process was steeped in patriarchy and a result of an unholy alliance between the political dispensation and religious groups. When this alliance happens, women’s rights are frozen and in fact regressed. It also implied that a secular, liberal and democratic government is not necessarily sensitive about the rights of women who are a minority within a minority. 

What was common/different between these 3 laws; 1937,1939 and 1986

All the three laws had political ramifications. Before independence it helped the Muslim community consolidation which helped the political parties then. Political parties, religious groups, reformers as well as Muslim women backed those legislations. Muslim women had an organised voice. They spoke openly and aggressively about their rights in independently organised forums. Sadly that force melted away with partition. 

In 1986, the reverse was happening. A law was being passed to take away Muslim women’s rights ensured in the Quran and the Constitution. While the 1939 law gave Muslim women the right to divorce, the 1986 law took away her right to post-divorce maintenance. In 1986, it was a lone woman, Shah Banu who fought her lone battle against an apathetic state and an entrenched patriarchal clergy. This time around the political dispensation stood solidly with the clergy. Women’s organisations did support Shahbanu and condemned the passing of the 1986 law. But they were no match for the hooligans having political patronage. 

Were Muslim women not organised then?

While Shahbanu fought her individual battle in the courts, one woman who stood out for her courage in 1984 was Shehnaz Shaikh. She was also a victim of a discriminatory family law and challenged it in the Supreme Court. She also started Awaaz-e-Niswaan, the first ever Muslim women’s organisation in independent India. Her exemplary work in Mumbai initiated much needed debate around the issue of law reform. At great personal risk, she organized Muslim women in the large ghetto of South Mumbai. Both these women took their individual fights to a level where it reflected the community issues. But the political dispensation used the Muslim community against these Muslim women making their work and their survival difficult. But large scale organized force of Muslim women did not exist which could have stood shoulder to shoulder with Shehnaz and Shahbanu. 

What happened to the law later on? 

After the law was passed, there was widespread discontent as it got the Muslim women out of the ambit of Cr. PC 125 which was a common law of maintenance for all Indian citizens, thus endangering the citizenship rights of the Muslim women. It also went against the Quranic provision of post-divorce maintenance. Also many High Courts thereafter came up with conflicting judgments

The issue was put to rest by the Danial Latifi judgment which came in 2000, which interpreted the law thus:

• A divorce women is entitled to maintenance AND a reasonable and fair provision 

• Both have to be paid BY the husband NOT JUST FOR the iddat period but WITHIN iddat period. 

• The payment of maintenance is not just restricted to iddat period but untill she remarries. 

The Supreme Court read the Act with Articles 14 and 15 of the constitution which prevented discrimination on the basis of sex and held that the intention of the framers could not have been to deprive Muslim women of their rights. 

So the Supreme Court came to the rescue again?

Yes it did. This interpretation of the law ensured that Muslim women could ask for maintenance AND provision for future to be paid within iddat period. This interpretation was critical in restoring her rights as a divorced women. 

Reference: 

Legalserviceindia.com 

THE HISTORY OF SHARIA APPLICATION ACT, 1937 [SAA] Indian Muslims First To Begin Codification

DAY 14

THE HISTORY OF SHARIA APPLICATION ACT, 1937 [SAA]

Indian Muslims First To Begin Codification

Is it that the Muslims were the first to codify their family law? 

It is indeed tragic that the community which started first to codify its family law is still to end the process, 73 years into independence. While the rest of the population enjoys the security of the law, however faulty its implementation, and faulty it is, the largest minority in India and the second largest in the world still remains deprived of that privilege. 

Today there is resistance to codifying Muslim law from the orthodox clerics and many are still wondering what the issue is all about. But Muslim law began to get codified even before Hindu law. The call for codification of Muslim law then came from various quarters. It came from religious groups, political groups, social reformers as well as Muslim women’s organisations. While each had their own reasons, they all wanted legal reforms to happen. 

Name the family laws which govern different communities in India? 

At the cost of repeating myself which I have done in practically all articles on Muslim law, it is important to recall that Hindus are governed by 4 Acts, Hindu Marriage Act, Hindu Succession Act, Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act Hindu law governs Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists. The Christians are governed by Indian Christian Marriage Act of 1872 and the Parsis are governed by Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act of 1936.

Muslims as on today are governed by Shariat Application Act, 1937 about which we will learn today. They also have the Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act, 1939, The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986 and the recently passed The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019 

Other than these personal laws all the citizens are governed by the optional family law called the Special Marriage Act, 1954 which makes space for inter and intra religious marriages. This law gives you the freedom to opt out of your personal laws. 

What are the implications of these laws? 

With passing of these Acts, it became mandatory that each community is governed by their respective family laws unless they choose to marry under the Special Marriage Act. Before these codified laws were passed, Indians across religions followed a mix of customs and traditions. Even now it will not be surprising to know that even the well-educated and aware don’t know under which law they have married. We now follow a mix of codified law and local customs and traditions. Over the period of time, the personal laws are seen as intrinsic to each community’s socio-religious identities. 

What does the Shariat Application Act say?

Let’s look at the text of the SAA. It says, notwithstanding any custom or usage to the contrary, in all questions (save questions relating to agricultural land) regarding succession, property, marriage, divorce, maintenance, dower, guardianship, gifts, trusts and wakf, the rule of decision in cases where the parties are Muslims shall be the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat). In simple words it says that Muslim community hence forth will NOT be governed by customs and traditions but by the shariah law in matters of marriage, divorce etc. 

Which groups supported the codification process in 1937?

Muslim women wanted the shariah law although some of them also were also aware that the turn of political events in the 1930s are actually undermining the joint women’s call for equality and justice. Turning to codifying the shariah would ensure inheritance rights, they will have a say in the marriage, they will have the right to divorce and maintenance after divorce. These shariah provisions were conveniently ignored by the Muslim clerics then. Although the shariah provisions ensured rights for women, they were not made aware of it and were subjected to the discriminatory customs and traditions. 

Political leaders who paved the way of passing the SAA wanted a separate Muslim identity for their own political purposes. It fulfilled a colonialist agenda of creating religious identities and pitting them against each other. A community bound by a common shariah law, is easy to mobilise for creating a separate identity which can be then mobilised for political strength. 

Religious groups wanted shariah to further strengthen their religious identity which was increasingly feeling threatened by the turn of political events. 

What was the context in which the law was passed?

A quick look at the context in which the law was passed. The political scenario was changing rapidly. The Muslim League had emerged as a political representative of the Muslim community. The Muslim women along with other women were extremely vocal about their rights and were demanding a better legal deal for all women. The Muslim shariah provisions had been ignored very conveniently by the clerics then and as a result Muslim women suffered. While she had the right to khula, she was not allowed to exercise it. Many women were trapped in violent marriages with no hope ever to come out of it unless the husband divorces her. There was an alarming increase in the number of women who started to convert out of Islam to annul their marriages and save themselves the agony. The religious groups were alarmed along with the political leaders as a large number of Muslim women converting out of Islam would harm the numerical strength of the community standing at the cusp of national uprising against the British and also bearing the brunt of their divide and rule policy. Moreover as said earlier the Muslim women who led the rights movement then, knew that shariah provisions were favourable for them. They not only had the right to divorce but also right to post-divorce maintenance. The marriage was not possible without the woman’s consent. Moreover she also inherited property. Muslim women were not ready to give up their rights ensured by the religion but taken away by local customs. They played a significant part in ensuring that women got their shariah-protected provisions in the form of a codified law. 

Who opposed the SAA and why? 

The Act did face opposition from various quarters. The rural farmers of the north opposed the law as it ensured women’s right in the property. For centuries, women of all communities were deprived of their right to property and this Act in a jiffy restored that to the Muslim women atleast. Many Muslim land owners objected this fair provision. To pacify them, the Act barred the application of this law on agricultural property to ensure the political support of the Muslim landowning class. Such a convenient arrangement between the elite and the political dispensation then! Reminds you of the same arrangement between the religious groups and political dispensations in independent India. 

The opposition also came from the religious groups who for centuries had held the reins of religious matters, including the family law matters, in their hands. The passed fatwas, they misled the masses from the pulpit, depriving the women to educate herself, impacting her mobility, misinformed about purdah, deprived her of her right to divorce, maintenance, encouraged child marriage and kept her out of her property rights. Such a shame that this was allowed to continue even after independence. Even today women are deprived of her rights in the absence of shariah backed legal provisions. Some of them did support the passing of the law, but many objected to it being allowed to be governed by a secular dispensation, through lawyers and judges who will not necessarily be Muslims. This irked them more than the fact that 50% of the population will have access to their rights. They were clearly not comfortable with the power slipping away from their hands. 

All in all, the SAA ensured women’s right, specifically her right to property and her right to divorce. As we will see in the next article of the series that the process of codification did not stop. The next legislation came in less than two years of the SAA ensuring Muslim women’s right to divorce. 

Keeping in line with the trend set in 1937, the process of a comprehensive codification of Muslim law must happen. 

Summary Of Findings NATIONAL STUDY ON POLYGAMY MUSLIM WOMEN’S VIEWS AND EXPERIENCES

Summary Of Findings

NATIONAL STUDY ON POLYGAMY

MUSLIM WOMEN’S VIEWS AND EXPERIENCES

Our survey indicates that being in a polygamous marriage causes tremendous emotional trauma to the woman apart from economic and other hardships. It effects the woman’s sense of self respect, self-esteem and dignity as a human being. The issue is compounded by educational and economic deprivation as they are in no position to raise their voice and demand fair treatment. Most wives in polygamous unions have low education and income status. 77% first wives are dropouts below SSC, 43% do not have an income. Further, a large proportion of women in such arrangements – about 52% - have an income below Rs 10,000. This indicates that women in these marriages are deprived of economic independence. In 45% cases the age of the husband at the time of the 1^stmarriage is between 21 and 26 years and in 38% of the cases the age of the husband at the time of the second marriage is between 21 and 26 years. With only 9% of the husbands having studied between graduation and post-graduation, it can be concluded that the educational level of husbands in such unions is also quite low. Another important piece of data that has come out of this survey is that in 49% of the cases where the woman happens to be in a polygamous union, the parents have selected the spouse. This shows the relatively little autonomy that women have within this institution and makes a mockery of the Quranic provision of consent. It also highlights that assumptions about free, autonomous choice of spouses in polygamy is not true.

It is clear that women hardly have the same bargaining power as men when it comes to choice of spouses, especially in instances of polygamy. An overwhelming number of women said they felt a sense of betrayal, loss of dignity and loss of self-respect when the husband remarried despite her being the wife. The survey highlights severe mental health issues that plague the women. 50% of the women said that they were depressed most of the time. They also reported other symptoms of depression such as lack of adequate sleep (43%), frequent aches and pains (33%), not feeling good about themselves (33%), and even a tendency to self-harm (43%). An overwhelming number of women (84%)  felt that polygamy should be outlawed. A large number of them (73%) even said that the husband who takes a second wife should be punished.

Under- age marriages:

o    29% girls [ who are 1^stwives] and 18%  [ who are 2^ndwives] were married below the age of

18

Low education:

o    71% second wives are dropout below SSC, 20% illiterate, 4% graduate

o    77% first wives are dropout below SSC, 11% up to SSC, 7% graduate, 1% PG

Poverty:

o    42% first wives have no income at all; 40% have an income of below Rs 1000

o    45% second wives have no income at all; 34% have an income of below Rs 1000 

 Wife’s permission not sought:

o    Only 23% husbands informed the wife about their second marriage

o    72% women learnt about husband’s second marriage through family or external sources like neighbours or friends.

o    90% wives’ said their permission was not sought by the husband

Reasons: the women narrated the kind of reasons provided by the husbands as follows:

o    35% of the husbands gave the reason that they fell in love with someone else o 11% gave the reason of no children

o    6% said they remarried to support a widow or divorcee o 12%  said their parents asked them to o 4% said their wives were bed-ridden o 10% blamed their first wives o 6% remarried because they wanted sons

o    11% were not happy with her body (skin colour, too fat/thin)

45% of the husbands threatened their first wife with divorce if she resented his second marriage

Role of Qazi Court

o    29% of the women approached a Qazi for redress after their husband’s  second marriage

o    42% of the women were told to adjust because it is allowed in Shariat o 10% said it was his right in Islam o 22% were asked to take Khula

o    26% were asked to file a case against the husband if they were unhappy

Relations  after Second marriage

o    41% of the husbands do not live with her anymore, o 25% husbands spend less time with her,

o    16% said the frequency of fights has increased,

o    15% husbands do not at all care for the first wife

Monthly maintenance

o    40% of the husbands provide first wife’s monthly maintenance, o 47% do not provide monthly maintenance,

o    13% husbands provide monthly maintenance irregularly

o    44% of women started working after the husband remarried

Housing status

o    41% moved to their parent’s house, o   35% live in the same house as before, o            14% live on their own in a rented house

o    10% live in a new house provided by their husband

45% women said they are tolerating the second marriage because they have no other option and they are concerned about their children

Over 50% women suffer from mental trauma such as depression, self-blaming, suicidal tendencies

84% women feel that polygamy should be made illegal

73% women feel that husbands indulging in polygamy should be punished.