INTO THE LIFE OF AN URBAN POOR MUSLIM WOMEN

INTO THE LIFE OF AN URBAN POOR MUSLIM WOMEN

Noorjehan Safia Niaz

Introduction

The Muslim women in India have been made to remain invisible, first by the Muslim community and then by the larger society. We know very little about the daily lives of the Muslim women who stay in urban slums. What do they do for a living, what is the kind of relationship they share within the family, what are their daily problems and concerns, how do they manage to lead a life of poverty and marginalization – all this remains hidden from our larger social consciousness. But contrary to the perceptions, the Muslim women are not only concerned about their status but are also taking initiatives to modify the situation in which they find themselves in. The last 2 decades have seen the emergence of Muslim women’s groups across the country.

One can see the development of Muslim women’s movement which finds its impetus in the new economic policies announced in the budget of 1991. The growth of communal forces coupled or rather given impetus by capitalist forces led to the complete political, social and economic marginalization of the Muslim community. A progressive liberal male leadership being absent the vacuum was filled in by women of all hues and classes to take matters in their own hand. The demolition of Babri masjid and the consequent communalization of the social fabric of the country and the insidious way in which the capitalist forces were unleashed paved way for Muslim women to raise their voices against not only its own conservative forces but also against the anti people and anti poor policies of the state.

The Muslim women in Gujrat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka had already taken a lead in organizing themselves. Tehreek in Uttar Pradesh, National Muslim Women’s Welfare Society in Rajasthan, Hukook-e-Niswan Mahila Sanghatan in Mumbai, Aman Samuday, Parwaaz, Niswaan in Gujrat, Institute for Minority Women in Madhya Pradesh, Samadhan Foundation in Karnataka, Wind-Trust in Tamil Nadu, Muslim Women’s Welfare Organization and BIRD Trust in Orissa. The most marginalized were taking the lead in impacting their own lives and the life of the community. The launch of the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan suggested the coming together of these scattered forces of Muslim women who since its launch has been galvanizing Muslim women’s leadership towards issues of development, justice and peace.

Mumbai which also witnessed a second phase of state violence against the Muslim community in January 1993 after the demolition of Babri Masjid saw the emergence of local community based groups like the Mahila Shakti Mandal, Samjhauta Mahila Mandal, Priyadarshini Mahila Mandal, Milan Group and others. Amongst many other issues, some of these community based groups engaged themselves in providing legal aid to the Muslim women. Women who faced domestic violence, women who were abandoned by their husbands, women who were orally divorced by their husbands or had remarried or women who were sexually abused, all thronged to these community based women’s groups with their legal concerns. These groups were women headed; were local and community-based, were managed by local poor women, were accessible and cheap and were there to help distressed women at odd hours. With time and experience some of these groups/mahila mandals now have turned into Muslim women’s Nyaya Panchayats and have acquired huge experience in providing legal aid to Muslim and non-Muslim women. These mandals as they call themselves are slum community based and are managed by women who are poor, illiterate, live in big families, are subjected to violence and control, and yet have managed to organize themselves to help other women. In their endeavours to support fellow women they have been supported by many organizations which took upon itself the responsibility to build up the capacities of these groups. The mandals mentioned here were supported by Anjuman-e-Islam and Women’s Research and Action Group for many years so that they can become better justice providers and can carry out their responsibilities systematically and consistently.

Profile of the Litigant

The women who come to the mandals for help are from all communities, but mainly Muslim women approach them for help. From amongst Muslim women also women from different regions of the country come for support. Women from different sects like Bohra, Khoja from Shia sect and Qureishis, Ansaris from the Sunni sect approach the mandals. The mandals may use different strategies to help a woman but their primary value is that she is a human being first and a woman. Her other identities come latter.

The experience of the mandals suggests that the number of litigants have increased. In Mahila Shakti Mandal [MSM] in Navpada community of Bandra east more than a 100 women register their cases every year. The Samjhauta Mahila Mandal [SMM] in Behrampada, Bandra east gets about 50-60 cases per year and the Humraaz Legal Cell [HLC] in Jeri Meri, Kurla gets about 300 cases per year. About 5-6 years back it would be around 70-80 per year. The nature of problems faced by women has also changed. Earlier the woman would come to the mandals after having tolerated the difficulties for at least 5-6 years. Only when it became unbearable would she take any action. She was also willing to adjust after initial attempts at reconciliation by the mandal. The issues are still the same. The house is small, income is meager, and there are fights and squabbles with the in-laws. She would then demand a separate house and would demand a mala or a portion of the house where she can manage her own family. The difference in the last one decade is that now the woman demands the same within a year of her marriage. The girl then goes back to the maternal home and would agree to come back only if a separate house is arranged for.

The capacity to adjust and tolerate has reduced. The men have not changed but the woman has. She is aware of what she wants and is not hesitant in asking for it. Unlike the past, now she also gets support from her parents who are by her side and negotiating on her behalf. The mandal activists explain this shift by saying that the size of the family is as big, the cost of living has gone up but the income levels are the same or in fact have reduced. People continue to stay in small homes with lack of privacy and space. There is a struggle within the family for meager resources. The son is still the earning member of the family and both the families vie for his income. There is just not enough money to stay comfortably. The probable cause could also be that the young girl with increased parental support wants to lead an independent family. Comparatively she is more educated than the previous generation and hence more aware of her rights and has the confidence to assert her individuality and independence.

The mandal gets cases from far off place like Nagpur, Delhi, Calcutta, Allahabad, Gulbarga. From the state of Maharashtra they get it from Malegoan, Bhiwandi, Thane, Nanded, Osmanabad. If the litigant is from Mumbai, then the mandal takes up the case but if she is from another district or state then the mandal takes the help of other organizations to support her.

Problems Faced by the Litigant

All kinds of marital problems are received by the mandals. But the main ones are domestic violence, lack of financial support from and harassment from the in-laws. They also get property matters. Over a period of time the number of cases has increased. All three mandals collectively receive close to 500 cases every year.

Domestic violence

Domestic violence is rampant. In this matter, the Muslim women are on par with her other counterparts. Out of the 28 women interviewed for this study, 16 have faced violence from their husband and in-laws which mean 57% of the respondents of this study have faced physical violence. Nafees had her hand smashed on the hard floor which made her bangles to break and cut her. Her husband beat her up with his belt the whole night by pushing her between the bed and the cupboard so that she could not escape his fury. Arwa was a convert to Islam. Her husband wanted to remarry and being a bohra, her jamaat required her husband to get his wife’s permission to remarry. To get that permission, he and his would-be second wife tortured her. They tried to kill her by giving her phenyl to drink. They would eat gutkha and spit on her. Her husband would hit her on her chest and hit the sole of his shoe on her head. They would have sex in front of her and her son for hours together. They would hit her and then force her to say that she has an affair with someone. But she refused as she knew they were trying to frame her so that they can get a divorce. He used to hit her on her private parts. He used to try to put belan in her vagina so that she could be accused of having an affair with someone. Both of them would raise the volume of the TV and hit her so that nobody could hear her. He would bang her head against the wall, against the edge of the paari, he used to make her run in the chawl with a katar in his hands. The whole chawl is witness to his violence. He used to hit his helmet on her head. He would not let her meet anyone; he would lock the door from outside and go. He would wait outside the toilet but never leave her alone.

They used to hit her son Abbas also. Her husband would show notes to him and ask him did anyone come in the house and give notes to his mother. He used to give her only Rs. 15/- per day for herself and her son. Her husband and the other women stayed with her for a year and harassed her. Then they took away everything from the house. There was no chadar in the house. Her son used to feel cold so she used to make him sleep on her chest but for how many days she could do that? So she borrowed a banner from the neighbour and slept on that. Then she started working. She got the work of cutting rubber. One man would give her hot rubber which had to be cut in pieces while it was still hot. Her husband would throw that away. Then she started doing embroidery work. The other woman would cut the pieces. All this while the mandal members were with her, to support her, in visiting the police station and the court.

Nazneen could not wear the clothes of her choice. Her daadi-saas told her that if she disobeyed her, she would be beaten up by her husband. While she was pregnant she was made to carry heavy pots of water up and down the house. She would not let her breast feed the child. When she went back after delivery, she used to hit the child whenever he would be breast fed. She wanted to separate the two when they would be sleeping. She would insist that the child be fed with tea in the bottle and not milk. She was not allowed to even use milk powder. The child was also beaten up with a belt when it would cry.

Akko was beaten up so badly that as she bled she left the house in Indore and came to Bombay without a ticket along with her 6 children. She was also sexually abused by her brother-in-law who also abused her daughter. Her husband very clearly told her that he wants her for sex and that he is not interested in maintaining her.

Right from the time of marriage Mehrunnisa faced violence from her husband. It has been 30 years now and she has been hit since the time she was 13. She never understood the reason for his violence. She also believed that some fault on her part has led him to beat her up. As she grew up she realized that what is happening to her is not right. He also demanded money from her although her parents were very poor and he had a good income. He wanted her old father to pay 2 lakhs so that he could start a shop for his sons. When she asked for an account of his money, he would hit her and warned her not to ask about his income. She never spent on her illness also. She has also faced violence from her sons. He has broken her ears, strangled her and banged her head against the wall. Her husband and MIL supported him. Even Naazma faced violence since the age of 13. She also found her sexual relationship with her husband very painful. Her husband and MIL were violent with her till she stayed with them. If the rice is burnt or if the salt is less, that would be good enough reason for the violence.

Shahnaz’s daughter faced violence since the second month of her pregnancy. He wanted a house, fifty thousand cash and other goodies. When her mother refused he became violent. At the time of her second pregnancy she was hit so badly that her kidneys got damaged and she had to be admitted to the hospital. All attempts at reconciliation by the mandal, by jamaat and other organizations failed and she got divorce with the help from the mandal.

Many women faced sexual violence which they felt embarrassed to report, though the mandal creates a comfortable environment for her to open up and discuss the intimate details which are the cause of her problems. When women insist that they just cannot adjust with the man, there are probably these hidden sexual reasons which should not be ignored or brushed aside. Parveen mentioned that she was scared of sex and of producing children. She was scared that the husband and family will come of know if she used any family planning method so she would avoid sex. And to avoid sex she would go away to her maternal family again and again. If a woman is not comfortable she will never disclose this angle in the mandal. Zarina’s husband only wanted sex and would insist on it whether day or night. He would send away his three children out and have sex, and then he would come back from work and have sex. If she refused he would fight. Since he had three children from his previous wife he did not want any child from Zarina. Nazneen was forced to have sex by her husband even when she had her periods.

Alcoholism, drug addiction and gambling

Violence is also linked to alcoholism. Hamida’s husband though handicapped would hit her when he would come home drunk. Salma’s husband was an alcoholic as well as a drug addict. His brothers were also the same and he would force Salma to sleep between his brothers. The entire family would gang up and hit her. She got support from her neighbour and reached the mandal for legal guidance. She was able to get divorce from him. Her second husband was also an alcoholic and even he did not support her financially. In fact he was unemployed and even snatched away her hard earned money which she had saved for her son’s education. He was violent with her as well as her son. He would hit him with a rickshaw wiper.

Shamima’s husband was also an alcoholic and would beat her up the whole night. He would also accuse her of having relationship with other man. The violence continued for 3 years. She was very scared of him and would even get scared of men who would resemble him. He had also sold away all her belongings and gambled away that money. Although he was skilled [he was an electrician, mason and a driver] he never worked. He earned close to Rs. 1000 per day but never gave her anything. He thought of women as lowly to be used and discarded. His violence increased after child birth. He wanted young women for sex. He was also demanding dowry and in spite of earning made her stay near a dust bin and never bothered to feed even his child. Her father told her not to tolerate his violence and so she approached the mandal for help.

Lack of support from husband

Men also do not live up to the promises. In one instance the man promised that he would put the child in an English medium school but refused to do it. They don’t care for the women nor do they care for the children. Hamida’s husband never supported her financially although she married him with her own money and he was a handicap. He was an electrician but never made any effort to earn money. He never had his own house although he promised to buy a house within 15 days of marriage. That never happened and she continues to stay with her mother. She does domestic work and earns about Rs.20/- per day. Arwa had to do odd jobs to support herself and her son as her husband who earned a handsome amount refused to support. He wanted to remarry and wanted her permission which she refused. To get that permission he stopped giving her maintenance. She did embroidery work and also cut hot rubber for survival. This indicates that maintenance is withdrawn to put pressure on her to succumb to his demands. Salma’s husband though gave maintenance for her and her children; he did not buy a house. All her married life, she stayed with her mother and he stayed in Dubai. He had a house in Gujrat but he made her stay in Bombay with her mother. At the end of 8 years of marriage, she did not have a house of her own. When she demanded that he stopped paying her maintenance and she had to start working in a call centre to support herself and her children. Naeema faced violence and lack of financial support for herself and her 3 children. On top of it he never let her work to support herself. He once broke her head and she was bleeding profusely. In such a state she came to the mandal. The members marched to her house and demanded an explanation from her husband. The mandal advised her that every time he hits her she should go to the police station and complain. After repeated warnings by the mandal, his violence stopped and he also did not stop her from working outside. But he does not maintain her. Similarly Safia was not given maintenance by the husband and at the same time he refused to let her work outside. Firdous’s maintenance stopped when her second child was also a girl. When she fell ill she was sent to her mother along with her 2 daughters with the promise that she will be given financial support. But no support came in after that. With support from mandal, Firdous is getting 1300/- per month from him.

Stress due to hostile environment

A woman is looked upon as free labour. When a woman goes into the house as a wife, the domestic help is done away with and all responsibility of running the house falls on her. There is also a lot of pressure to do things in a particular way, food has to be cooked in a particular style, it should be done in a short time frame. The food is rationed within family, whatever the MIL distributes that has to be eaten without asking for more. In the maternal family she is used to a particular lifestyle but that changes suddenly and too many restrictions are put on her. In a new set up she does not get support from her husband on whom she is dependent, physically and emotionally. Women are also made to go hungry. This is not just out of poverty but because of the control exerted by the marital family. Even the stale food is not kept so there is absolutely nothing to eat. Naazma went without food for 10 days. She did not even know that she was pregnant. When she was on the verge of death, she was taken to the hospital. She was made to abort her child and left at her mother’s house. Women go through a lot of stress because of this and suffer from many psychosomatic disorders. She feels guilty and her self-confidence gets affected. There are constant comparisons with other women in the family and that puts a lot of stress on her as she wants to constantly change herself to please others. A woman is always in a state of fear in the family. She is constantly getting the vibes of not being wanted or wanted only for her labour and the children. She is expected to be like a doll, wound her up and she will play your tune. She has no personality of her own, no likes and dislikes and no wishes and dreams. She should do what she is asked to and should not do what she has been forbidden. She should not go to her mother’s house, should not call her or her relatives. This is probably the reason for her demanding a separate household. In a nuclear family it is more probable that he will listen to her and not his family.

Rubina’s family found contradictory reasons to harass her. For 4 years after marriage she did not conceive a child. This irked her MIL who mentally harassed her. Her husband in this phase was very supportive of her and even when his mother insisted that he remarries, he refused. When she gave birth of a child, her MIL was happy but her husband refused to maintain her. Her husband also had an extra marital relationship after the child was born. Her MIL also refused to support her but was willing to support her son whether he is earning or not. For 2 years he was dependent on his mother. She would send Rubina back home and look after her son. She too worked as a domestic help. The problems went on 3-4 years. Her husband was not able to settle down and earn enough money. She started doing odd jobs. In five rupees she would make 1000 tobacco packets. To earn Rs. 20 she made 4000 packets. Then she made labels. For labels worth Rs.5 she would have to sit for 2-3 hours. She was spending more on her medicines and she was also feeding so the child was suffering because of her work with tobacco.

Shamim had no right over her husband. The couple was completely controlled by his brother and bhabhi. There were restrictions on food, where she was told that she eats more even if she ate only 1 ½ chapatti. His bhabhi also did not like it if she shared anything with her husband; she wanted Salma to confide in her only. Even when she wanted to talk to him she would be surrounded by the family who would sit around to listen to them. They were not able to talk to each other. If she bought medicines for her child she was objected to. She had to take permission to buy medicine for her child. Her husband never said anything in her support. He never objected if she hit her. His bhabhi hit her husband also.

The stress is not necessarily from the husband. Zarina and Rubina both sisters, faced a lot of discrimination within her maternal family. They were not educated and married off at an early age. They were told that girls have to listen to others. Even if the brother is younger to her she has to follow his instructions. When she came home after her divorce she was made to do all the work in the house. She would be constantly nagged about her divorced status and would be told that her sister’s marriage is in jeopardy because of her.

In one instance the mental and physical stress impacted the mental health of the woman. The mental stress led to physical symptoms, typically called psychosomatic problems. The women lost all the calcium from her body and started losing her hair. She also became mentally unstable and would run away from the house. The hospitals too are not equipped to understand the physical from the psychosomatic. In case of mentally unstable women, if she runs away from the house, she is at risk of sexual abuse and assault. In such cases a woman is extremely vulnerable. She allows the problem to grow because if she shares these problems immediately after marriage, both families and the larger society accuse her of not being able to adjust. Sometimes sheer adjustment into a big family combined with increased household responsibilities takes a toll on her mental health. If in this situation, she does not get in-laws who are sensitive, then she starts experiencing stress and anxiety. A woman thus demands that she would prefer to stay independently, away from the in laws as then there are higher possibilities of the man listening and respecting his wife. The men usually do not listen to their wives and are more under the influence of his own family. Men give threats to their wives that they would divorce her if she leaves him. This means that he can divorce her but she cannot and to refrain her from going away, he, in a twisted logic gives her the threat of leaving her. 

In some instances women are not able to adjust to a life after marriage especially if the man shifts to another village or another city. Parveen was not able to adjust to the village life where the toilet was far away, the water had to be filled from a far off place, the vessels had to be cleaned at one place and dried at some other place, there was no place to throw garbage. In such situations the man does not let the women speak to anyone in the mandal. They do not even allow her to speak on the phone. Man always makes efforts to take the women away from her support system. But when the woman is aware that somebody is behind her she gets empowered and gets the strength to face the man. Once Parveen’s husband was violent she told him that if he hits her again she will hit back at him and that too in front of everyone.

Remarriage by husband

Salma’s Firdous’s and Sabera’s husband’s had remarried and that was one of the reason for these litigants to approach the mandal for help. It was by chance that Salma’s mother and brother spotted her husband along with his new wife. Her husband also had a previous marriage which lasted for 7 years and he unilaterally divorced her by stating that he did not like her. Sabera’s husband had another family in the village and after his death; his second wife and his children were made to stay with Sabera. Firdous’s husband remarried because she gave birth to a girl child. When she fell ill with malaria, she was sent to her mother’s house. She spent two months there. When she made inquiries as to why he has not come to take her back, she came to know that he has already married a divorced woman. Naazma’s husband had an extra marital relationship with his own aunt. Rubina’s husband had multiple relationships with other women. When Rubina shifted to Mumbai and shared her room with her sister, he misbehaved with Rubina’s sister too and insisted that she marries him.

Inability to adjust

Mostly it is the daughter in laws that come to the mandal but there are also instances of mother in laws who have approached the mandal. There is an instance of a woman who had approached the mandal when her daughter in law filed a 498 A against her. She said her MIL had tortured her and had demanded dowry.

Other instances of problem include the inability of DIL to adjust with the family. One MIL complained that her DIL would insist on going back to her mother’s house every two months. For 6 months she would go to her mother’s house and would stay there for 2-3 months. This led to squabbles with her husband who would then be violent with her. There is also a new trend seen where young women are not willing to go to any extent to adjust in their marital family. They insist on setting up their own homes with their husbands. This is not acceptable to the mother who does not want her son to be separated from her as a son is looked up to as a support in old age.

Although all men are patriarchal, the mandal finds it a little difficult to deal with Muslim men. Begum apa says they are of a different kind. They would justify their harassment to their wives by blaming it on the community. ‘hamare mein aisa hi hota hai’. They do not listen to the mandal members and do not take them seriously. The mandal out of sheer helplessness have to take the help of the police. At such times Begum apa says tedhi ungli ka sahara lena padta hai. The Muslim men also justify their polygamous behaviour by blaming it on the religion. The inward looking temperament added to the larger insecurity and alienation faced by the Muslim community does impact the man’s relationship within the family. There is a general sense of being unaccountable to anyone. All institutions of law, religion, and family are irreverentially treated. The increasing influence of many conservative patriarchal religious groups which justify polygamy and oral, unilateral divorce also impact the minds of young Muslim boys who accept this social behavior as having sanction of the religion.

To conclude one can say that the tide is turning favourably within the Muslim community and Muslim women are playing a quiet but a very significant part. The other stakeholders in the society, be it the state or the civil society groups, must now play a more active role in addressing the concerns of the Muslim women and must lend their helping hand. A very significant role can be played by the media as so far they have not yet acknowledged the presence of the voices of Muslim women. The larger Muslim community, especially the Muslim male who is liberal and progressive must shed his inhibitions and support the cause of Muslim women. As far as the state is concerned it needs to adopt multipronged strategies to address the poor social status of the Muslim women. Education, gainful employment, better housing conditions, better awareness amongst women about their rights, a gender just Muslim personal law, better vigilance of the state institutions like the police in supporting Muslim women, increased civil society engagement with the Muslim youth are some of the measures required to be taken facilitate the Muslim women in her quest for a dignified life. 
[names changed to protect their identity]

Muslim Women and Law Reforms: Concerns and Initiatives of Excluded within Excluded

Muslim Women and Law Reforms: Concerns and Initiatives of Excluded within Excluded

Noorjehan Safia Niaz

J.S Apte

The Muslim community forms a significant minority in the Indian and Muslim women population is about seven crore at present. Despite the propaganda of appeasement, the community is most marginalized (see Sachar Committee Report 1996). The Muslim women have been very adversely affected of the above development and suffer from triple burdens: of her class, community, and gender. A Muslim woman thus faces acute educational, social and economic hurdles in her path to live a dignified life. Unfortunately, most of the time her effort has been to come out the archaic and unjust social institutions and norms and values of her own community. Muslim women’s struggle for a gender just Muslim Personal Law (MPL) has not been accorded any priority. The law as practiced is extremely discriminatory towards women and yet no serious efforts have been made by the traditional male leadership of the community to constructively address this issue. As a new beginning and a chapter in the history of the community, Muslim women in recent years themselves have taken the lead and have made some remarkable contribution by taking the debate on law reform at the next level. The formulation of an ideal nikaahnama and the initiation in drafting an alternative gender just law are some key advances made by the Muslim women. The Muslim women not just in major metropolitan city like Mumbai but also across the country have formed their associations and organizations to address their concerns and to highlight the larger issues of the community, thus taking on the leadership of the community. This chapter highlights the efforts, initiatives and steps taken by the Muslim women in addressing their concerns especially pertaining to law reform and challenging the long held myths.

LEGAL CONCERNS OF MUSLIM WOMEN

Although the Indian sub continent was ruled by the Muslims for a quite long time, no attempt was made to enforce the shariah, as a result different sects and sub-sects continued to follow their own versions of it. There are two main sects amongst the Muslims; the Sunnis and the Shias. The sunnis are further divided into 4 schools of jurisprudence the Hanafi, Shafii, Hambali and Maliki. The Shias are further sub divided into Ismailis, Bohras, and Ishnaashari. The Bohras are further sub divided into Dawoodis, Sulaimani Bohras. And thus it goes on into further sub sub-sects. Apart from this there are regional groups like Memons, Malabaris, Qureshis, Ansaris, Pathans, Halais etc. Some of them are governed by their group/jamaat’s understanding and interpretation of shariah. All the interpretations have one thing in common, that they are extremely patriarchal and always understand law to be on the side of the man. This heterogeneous community was never ever united under one shariah. And yet this shariah was evoked to mark the community differently from others and to deny women her rights either by not implementing the shariah or denying any reforms in favour of women. Protection of shariah is a convenient excuse to deny women her rights [Shahida Lateef, 1990].

As seen earlier the British successfully crushed the joint struggle of the Hindus and Muslims against its rule by initiating the policy of divide and rule. [Dalrymple William, 2006] During the British rule the Indian male reformers pressurized the British to introduce legislation in favour of women. These reforms impacted all women but were mainly legislated keeping in mind the Hindu women, allowing widow remarriage, prohibiting marriage and ensuring right to property to women. When the reforms of law for Hindu women took off it put the Muslim leadership under pressure to introduce the same for Muslim women and hence the passage of the 1937 and 1939 Acts.

Post independence the leadership of the community, the clergy, who supported the Congress during the independence struggle, committed their support provided it did not interfere in the Muslim personal law and other institutions. With partition of the country the Muslim middle class migrated to Pakistan. Those who remained in India turned out to be self-seeking leaders who did not take any concrete measures to improve the conditions of the community, least of all the personal law. The Muslim community came to be governed by innumerable secular laws but it continues to resist even Quranically approved changes in the shariah. The State policy is non-interference in matters of shariah even though the Muslim women have suffered due to its non-implementation. Thus the most important and most politicized and most neglected has been the legal reforms for women.

Uniform Civil Code and Muslim Women

The debate on reforms-in-personal-law verses the Uniform Civil Code [UCC] has been an ongoing one. While women’s organizations favored a UCC for gender justice, the same demand was made by right-wing forces to get the Muslim community to give up their personal laws. With increasing attacks on the identity of the community nationally and the changing perceptions internationally, especially after 9/11, the community has acquired the tendency to look inward. While a UCC remains an ideal to be achieved, in order to take the matter of reforms forward, it is essential that the personal laws are reformed as and when an opportunity arises.

It is also important to seek the opinion of other minority communities on the issue of a UCC. Why questions related to UCC are posed only to the Muslim community and why is the Muslim community always the first ones to respond either ways when the issue is raised? Are the other communities willing to give up their personal laws and adopt a uniform family law? Moreover since the Special Marriage Act of 1954 is in force and is being used as an alternative to personal laws, is there really any need for another common law? If at all there is a need for a more comprehensive UCC then would it not be more beneficial if it is made optional just the way the Special Marriage Act is? These and other related questions must be discussed and debated and the issue must be settled once for all so that it is not used as an excuse for some more Muslim bashing. Suffice it to say that in such a scenario a reform process, which is sensitive to the predicament of the community, and is undertaken under the leadership of Muslim women, is the need of the hour. To substantiate this study by Vahida Nainar shows that 52 % of Muslim women are in favor of reforms within the religious framework. [Vahida Nainar, 2000]

Due to widespread communal violence over the last so many decades, the Muslim community has always been on the defensive, and constantly feeling the need to protect its minority identity. The insecurity and a sense of alienation prohibit any progressive interface with the Muslim law which has become a mark of the Muslim identity and any reference to reforms within it conveys an attack on this identity itself. Muslim women are caught in a bind, always having to choose between her rights and the rights of the community. As Vahida puts it she can either safeguard her interests or the interests of the community. Her identity as a ‘women’ and as a ‘Muslim’ is always in a state of conflict. [Vahida Nainar, 2000]

The state thinks of the clergy as the true representative of the Muslim community and the clergy thinks that by defending the Muslim personal law they are doing a yeoman service to the Muslim community. It does not matter to them that this defense of a discriminatory law has made the struggle of Muslim women even more difficult. With the state recognizing only the conservative religious voice, with the conservative sections consciously oblivious to the situation of the Muslim women and the Muslim women themselves still far away from the becoming a political voice – the legal rights of Muslim women are hanging in the air.

History of Reforms

The British government enacted the Shariat Application Act [SAA], 1937 which was an attempt at applying Shariat law and not customary laws to the Muslim community. The Act states that the Muslim community will be governed by the shariat and not customary laws. The Muslim women at least by law had the right to divorce, right to remarry after divorce or widowhood, had right over property. But her legal rights were eroded by customary practices. Hence a need was felt for legislative changes. This passage of SAA would in some way restore her legal rights. This law was welcomed by Muslim women and other political leadership of the community as it served to unify the community under one law at the same time gave rights to Muslim women as ensured by her religion.

The community is still governed by this law. It does not specify the content of the Muslim Personal law but merely states that Muslims will be governed by their Muslim Personal Law. As a result, each school of thought continue to apply their different understanding and interpretation of the shariah. One cannot see much advantage of this Act except that it tried to bring the Muslim community under one law. The fact that different sects and communities are left to interpret and apply their own laws shows the heterogeneity of the Muslim community and its laws.   It brings home the fact that Muslims in India have not made a serious attempt to codify diverse practices of the different schools of thought. Other Islamic/Muslim countries have codified their laws and tried to ensure justice to women.

In 1939, the Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act (DMMA) was passed which gave Muslim women the right to seek dissolution of her marriage on nine specified grounds. This is the only legislation enacted by the British, which introduced a substantive codification of the divorce law. The Muslim Personal Law as practiced in the early 20th century did not offer any ground on which a woman could dissolve her marriage. The right to divorce was absolutely in the hands of men and they exercised it at their own will. There was no legal means by which a woman could free herself from a bad marriage. The DMMA was thus passed, not because men who made laws were sensitive to the needs of women but because Muslim leaders feared conversion of ‘their’ women to other religions. This Act was uniformly applicable to all Muslim women of all sects. It shows that despite the diversity of sect and practice, a uniform codification is possible if the political will exists within the community.

However the Act though benefited women was indeed piecemeal. The Act only lays down the grounds on which women can seek divorce. It does not lay down any procedure or a time frame within which she can get a divorce. The man can divorce his wife without assigning any reason and even in her absence. He may or may not approach the court or any authority to seek divorce. The Act does not question or restrict the man’s unbridled right to oral triple divorce. The Act deals ONLY with divorce and not with related matters such as maintenance, custody of children, payment of mehr etc. For these matters, the woman has to file separate cases under other laws, sometimes in other courts.

The next piece of legislation came nearly 40 years after independence in the form of the Muslim Women’s [Right to Protection on Divorce] Act. Under Cr. P. C. 125-128 any dependent (parents, wife, child) is entitled to the right of maintenance. Prior to 1986, a number of Muslim women took the protection of this Code and claimed maintenance. However, in 1986, following the controversy in the Shahbano case, the Muslim leadership in India holding that Cr.P.C. 125 amounted to interference in their religious matter, disqualified Muslim women from applying for maintenance under the provision of the Criminal Procedure Code and enacted the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986. This Act was passed to neutralize the judgment and appease the orthodox Muslim religious leadership.

The Act places the responsibility of maintenance on Wakf Boards which either do not exist or are not functional in many States. It shifts the responsibility of maintenance from the husband to the relatives and the Wakf Board. The husband knows that if he does not provide maintenance, he could still control and harass his divorced wife by making her beg at different places for maintenance. The husband takes responsibility for the children till they are 2 years of age. After that the responsibility falls on the wife. In order to claim further maintenance from the husband she has to again approach the civil court. This negates the legal right of the child to be maintained by her/his father and absolve the father of responsibility beyond a certain period. Moreover, it also contradicts Muslim law, which requires former husband to maintain boys till they are 18 years of age and girls till they are married. The provisions of the Act are patently violative of the fundamental rights to equality, equal protection of laws and non-discrimination on the ground of religion, as guaranteed by the Indian Constitution to all citizens. Since then there has been no effort either by the State or by the Muslim community to revive the process of gender-just reforms in Muslim personal law.

Moreover, Muslim law is not homogenous and its provisions vary according to the different sects and sub-sects. Further it is an amalgamation of customary law and practices, statutory law and interpretations of Quranic verses. So while a Muslim woman can go to the court to seek divorce a Muslim man is not required to do so, he can pronounce divorce thrice and terminate the marriage contract and this despite the fact that there is a Supreme Court (SC) judgment against oral unilateral divorce by the husband. While gender-just reforms within Parsi and Christian matrimonial laws are effected with the initiative and support from the State, it is a stark reality that there exists no political will to bring about reforms in Muslim matrimonial law that would benefit the women from the community. 

There are multiple implementing agencies that dispense justice unlike the Hindu community where family disputes can only be addressed by the court. In case of the Muslim community there exist shariah courts, Qazis, Muftis [religious clerics], jamaats [sect arbitration councils] that also take in cases of family dispute. These bodies are readily accessible and have closer contacts with the community unlike the secular court structures, which are expensive, inaccessible and time consuming. Though accessible they are dominated by men who arbitrate and settle disputes, which more often than not go against the interest of the women. These individuals and institutions have adopted a very patriarchal, conservative and anti-women interpretations of the religious texts and some of the more parochial groups do not recognize the Indian Constitution and the secular legal machinery. Muslim women do approach the family court and other localized State run legal structures but as said earlier the time and money required to pursue the case is beyond the reach of many women especially so of the Muslim women.

Experiences of poor Muslim women

To challenge the patriarchal interpretations and to relook at the Quranic injunctions, feminist scholars [see Riffat Hasan, Fatima Mernissi] have documented a fresh approach towards reading and interpreting the divine text. [Fatima Mernissi, 2004] The interpretations are progressive and ensure that it is possible to secure women’s rights without renouncing the religion. Indian Islamic scholars [see Dr. Zeenat Shaukat Ali and Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer] have extensively documented the rights of women in Islam and have given hope to many young Muslim women to challenge the clergy and demand a gender just law based on these interpretations. There are many positive SC judgments in favour of Muslim women which if a Muslim women manages to reach, the SC can be used for her benefit [Saumya Uma, 2007]. Given the fact that the Muslim law is partly codified and what is uncodified is dependent on the interpretation of the clerics, these judgments are relevant to propel the struggle of Muslim women for justice.

In spite of these positive developments, poor Muslim women in Mumbai who come for legal aid do not really benefit as they continue to be deprived of their legal rights. The mehr amounts continue to be meager. The data of the Mahila Shakti mandal [MSM] in Mumbai where the poor Muslim women come for legal support shows that the women get mehr amounts as low as Rs. 501, Rs.1001 and the favorite is still Rs.786. The women does not decide the amount nor does the girls family. The amount is decided by the groom so obviously it is going to be a low amount. She also has no stake over this meager amount.

The community being besieged by poverty, the men especially the poor asset less are anyway not in a position to maintain his wife. It has been observed that women do not claim maintenance from their husbands. Only 4 women out of 56 [Mahila Shakti Mandal Case Register, 2009] cases registered in MSM from January 09 till August 09] have claimed maintenance from their husbands. The reasons elucidated are that men are unemployed or have irregular employment and hence will not pay even if asked as it is beyond his capacity. The women are also worried that if he continues to maintain her or their children he will also continue to exert his control and that is what the woman does not appreciate. She would rather be independent of this relationship rather than depend on his doles which anyway will not come after some months.

There has been a perceptible change in the attitude of Muslim women. Earlier they would wait for atleast 5-6 or even 10 years to walk out of a marriage. Now the time gap has reduced to a year or even less. The data given by MSM for the year 2008 shows that the gap between marriage and case reporting was less than 1 year for 18 women. 27 women reported for marital dispute in less than 5 years of marriage and 20 reported when the marriage was between 5-10 years. About 40 per cent of women approach the mandal with a marital dispute within 5 years of marriage. It has also been observed that women who have been divorced orally and or have been asked to do halala have categorically refused to go back to their husbands finding the whole arrangement as hurting her self esteem. [Reena Martins, 2006]. Out of the 114 cases that the MSM received in 2008, 39 women were from the age group of 20-25 and 24 from the age group of 25-30. This indicates that very young women are approaching the mandal for resolving their marital disputes. Collectively 63 out of 114 from the age group of 20 – 30 approached the mandal. Thus 55.26% of total women who approach the mandal are from the age group of 20-30. [Mahila Shakti Mandal Case Register, 2008]

This is not a national trend. Women otherwise in keeping with the culture of tolerance put up with years of violence and most of them do not think of walking out of marriage. But there is a different trend happening with women in Mumbai who if in an intolerable situation refuses to bear inhuman treatment and on getting support seeks divorce or if husband has pronounce divorce and wants to take her back refuse to go. There are many reasons for this walk out. Incompatibility, excessive mental and physical violence, excessive control, excessive interference by in laws, irresponsibility in maintaining the family by the husband are some of the reasons. Many are willing to forego their financial rights like the mehr or things given to him at the time of marriage in order to free themselves from this bond. A sea change in the attitude of parents can also be seen in recent times. Earlier women were told ‘khadi jana, leti aana’ (go in good health and come back only when dead). Walk into the marriage and come out of that house only as a dead body. Like all other cultures Muslim women who have been divorced or widowed are not welcome to their maternal families. In a city like Mumbai the space crunch in Muslim ghettos especially the slum colonies where the poor live inhibits even the women to come back to her parent’s house. But in the recent years parents have welcomed their daughters and in fact insist that she need not put up with the harassment of the family. This support is most welcome as she has support from where she needs it the most.

Men on the other hand continue to orally and unilaterally divorce their wives as per their convenience. Although unQuranic and illegal [there is a Supreme Court judgment prohibiting oral unilateral divorce] men use the threat of divorce to keep the women on tenterhooks. But when the same women wants divorce he withholds it to trouble her some more. Men are very prompt in giving the financial rights to women if he has initiated the divorce. But when a woman initiates and then demands her rights he refuses giving explanation based on the shariah that if a woman demands divorce she will not get her mehr back.

On the one hand there are the insensitive clerics who prescribe heinous practices like the halala, who endorse and support oral divorce, who support the husband to be irresponsible in avoiding maintenance. They want to continue to maintain their hegemony over the community and refuse to let newer ideas percolate their ranks as a result they are dogmatic, traditional and regressive. And on the other hand are the secular courts which require huge investments of time, money and energy if she approaches them for divorce. Given the fact that a Muslim woman faces multiple marginalization she is not in a position to access the formal courts. In such a scenario the mahila mandals, or nari adalats run by Muslim women play a crucial role in supporting them.

Leadership Of Muslim Women On Law Reform

The Muslim women in the 1990s, especially after the demolition of the Babri Mosque have been taking lead in small ways to challenge the age old dogmas and asserting themselves for realizing their rights. The first instance of this awakening was visible during the Imraana controversy. Imraana was raped by her father in law. She received a fatwa which declared her marriage to her husband as void. There was a huge uproar from the community against this fatwa. Many Muslim women activist came forward to support Imrana and rallies were organized to condemn the fatwa.

In sharp contrast to this was the year 1986 when the Muslim women were hardly organized and there was no public outcry against the Act which instantly took away a Muslim women’s right to a secular law. Imraana was not alone as she was supported by scores of Muslim women across the country who organized rallies and public meetings to condemn the fatwa. A social organization in Lucknow called Tehreek galvanized public opinion against the fatwa and supported Imraana through the ordeal. In Mumbai, Hukook-e-Niswan Mahila Sanghatana [Federation of Muslim women’s Mahila Mandals (women’s organization) in Mumbai] along with other women’s groups like Women’s Research and Action Group [WRAG] organized a massive rally to condemn the fatwa and questioned the existence and validity of bodies like the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and other assorted bodies who issue fatwa to subjugate women. They raised slogans like ‘sarkar hamari chup hai maulana se darti hai ! (the government is silent and afraid of clerics). It was a massive show of strength by Muslim women against dogmatic forces.

The Muslim women’s groups in Mumbai also tore to pieces the nikaahnama released by the AIMPLB. The Board’s nikaahnama did not invalidate triple oral unilateral divorce nor did it include the delegated right to divorce. It did not put any restrictions on polygamy. In fact it validated violence against women by the husband. A young Muslim girl from Mumbai called Muskaan Shaikh tore the nikaahnama in a crowded press conference to bring home the point that Muslim women are coming of age.

In 1996, a group of Muslim women in Mumbai got together to make a standard Nikaahnama which ensured the rights of Muslim women in her matrimonial home. This Nikaahnama was sent to the AIMPLB for their approval. The Board rejected the nikaahnama on the ground that it allowed women to exercise the delegated right to divorce. A Muslim woman if she wants divorce can get one as it has been delegated to her by her husband at the time of marriage. This provision makes a woman independent of men if she needs to terminate the marriage. After this rejection another set of Muslim women in Mumbai affiliated to WRAG took up the same nikaahanam and further modified it in favour of women and released it in Mumbai under the aegis of the Muslim Women’s Rights Network. 35 marriages were conducted on this nikaahnama in Mumbai in the year 2005. In 2008, activists of the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan [BMMA] further modified the nikaahnama and released it during its Annual Convention held in Delhi in 2008. The salient feature of this document is that it completely disallows oral, unilateral divorce, it makes arbitration compulsory and puts a complete ban on polygamy. 35 marriages were conducted in Gujrat and 10 marriages were conducted on this nikaahnama since its release in December 08.  

In a spontaneous reaction, Muslim women in Mumbai called a press conference to condemn the fatwas issued by a cleric pressuring Muslim women to wear purdah. More than 50 women participated in the conference and condemned the fatwas and stated that women alone can decide what purdah means to her and whether she will observe it or not. Nobody has the right to decide for her and nobody has the right to issue such discriminatory edicts. The press extensively covered the event and it was widely reported.

The Muslim women activists have also taken the lead in drafting an alternative Muslim personal law which is gender just. A National Consultation was held in Mumbai in December 2006 to seek Muslim women’s views on codification of Muslim law. The Consultation was attended by close to 300 Muslim women from different states like Uttar Pradesh (UP), Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, West Bengal, Rajasthan Karnataka etc. The delegation from different states deliberated on the discriminatory aspects of the Muslim law. The two-day conference took up each aspect of Muslim law and deliberated on not what the law is but on what they want. What kind of Muslim law is aspired by Muslim women? How should be the process of divorce, how much mehr should a woman be getting? These and many aspects of Muslim law were discussed. The Conference resolved that the Muslim law as it exists is discriminatory and it is time that it is codified and the conference takes on the responsibility to work out a draft of an ideal Muslim personal law. Thereafter regional consultations were held in Chattishgarh, UP, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Gujrat to discuss the draft law with the Muslim women. The Muslim women enthusiastically participated in these consultations and gave their views about an ideal Muslim personal law. The draft is being further modified as the consultations are going on.

Muslim women’s groups in Mumbai have been providing legal aid to Muslim women thereby facilitating a Muslim women’s access to legal support. These quasi-judicial informal forums have emerged as a platform to which a Muslim woman can approach for support. The Mahila Shakti Mandal, mentioned earlier in the article is registered body of Muslim women which has been receiving cases of Muslim women since 1995. So far the mandal has been able to reach out to more than 2000 Muslim women. The Mandal is supported by lawyers who help them with such cases. Many such Muslim women’s groups have been formed indicating that Muslim women have indeed taken on the leadership of the community and especially remarkable has been their intervention in the area of law reform and legal aid to fellow Muslim women. Other Muslim women’s groups like the Samjhauta Mahila Mandal, Priyadarshini Mahila Mandal, Milan Mandal, Hamraaz Committee, Roshni Mahila Mandal, Sujhav Mahila Mandal, Parwaaz Mahila Mandal have been established in Mumbai.

Muslim women have been actively advocating for reforms in the family law. In the recent history activists like Hamid Dalwai have highlighted the challenges before the community and have advocated for social reforms. The Muslim Satyashodhak Mandal thus formed initiated efforts for change. These initiatives impacted the mindset of the literate section of the Muslim society. Work at the grass roots with the masses began earnestly after the communal violence post the demolition of the Babri masjid. Rahe-Haq, a Muslim women’s organization worked extensively with Muslim women in Mumbai. Similarly the above mentioned Mahila Shakti Mandal was formed in 1995 to address the legal concerns of Muslim women. Many small and big organizations working for the betterment of the Muslim community were established. Many youth committees emerged overnight to carry out relief and rehabilitation work after the violence broke out. These groups of young women and men carried out the survey of damaged homes, identified the dead and injured, liaised with government bodies for distribution of compensation. Some even conducted counseling and group sharing workshops for healing the trauma of the victims.

Efforts of Organizations run by the Muslim community in Mumbai

There are 12 areas in Mumbai and the suburbs which have a predominantly Muslim population. They make up 1.5 to 1.75 lakh of voters. [Gangan Surendra, 2009]. Over the many years of communal strife and ghettoisation, there are distinct Muslim localities. For eg. Nagpada, Mohammed Ali Road, Bhendi Bazar, Dongri, Zakaria Masjid are almost entirely Muslim. Dharavi, which houses a million people, is called Asia's largest slum. Muslims constitute about 40 per cent of Dharavi's population. Located in the industrial belt of Mumbai, Dharavi is a centre of small-scale entrepreneurial activity, particularly garment manufacturing, leather processing, waste disposal, pottery and suitcase manufacturing.[ Naunidhi Kaur, 2003] In the suburbs, Jogeshwari east, Millat nagar, Qureishi nagar in Kurla, Park site in Vikhroli, Behram pada in Bandra, Golibar in Khar have a sizeable number of Muslims.

Muslims staying in Mumbai are very heterogeneous. The Khojas and the Bohra form the small but wealthy Shia sect. The Konkani Muslim who migrated to Mumbai from the Konkan coastal belt are there in large number.[Naunidhi Kaur, 2003] Apart from these older set of sub-communities, a majority of the Muslims in Mumbai have come from UP and Bihar in search of jobs. Muslim weavers from UP called Ansaris came to Mumbai to work in textile mills. [Naunidhi Kaur, 2003]. Since the 1970s the poor from UP and Bihar have been steadily coming into the city in search of livelihood and better living conditions. They work in central localities of Nagpada and Madanpura in small and informal businesses and workshops. [Naunidhi Kaur, 2003]

The city has thrown up many civil society groups and many have been initiated by the Muslim community which implies that in spite of all the setbacks, the community is making all efforts to move in the direction of development. The community is running a large number of educational institutions, giving medical and handling charitable causes. The work by the Muslim NGOs on the educational front is very crucial especially when the state has dithered from its essential job of providing easy access to education for the poorest sections of society. The NGOs have to some extent filled in the vacuum although they do not have the reach and the capability matching the state machinery. The nature of these efforts is varied. Some organizations are big, others run by professionals, some are skilled some others are voluntary. Some have registered themselves whereas some have emerged naturally and are contributing in their own small way. Issues like education, livelihood, medical aid, social concerns are being addressed and that has definitely led to a great deal of awareness within the community. The activities and programmes that they run include scholarship for school, higher and technical education, distributing sewing machines to women, distributing zakat during ramzaan, distributing ration, giving medical aid. The prominent ones in Mumbai being MESCO (Modern Educational, Social and Cultural Organisation), Rahat welfare trust, AICMEU (All India Council for Muslim Economic Upliftment). Organizations like CSSS (Centre for Study of Society and Secularism), Wisdom Foundation and Muslims for Secular Democracy have been instrumental in raising, discussing and debating crucial issues like communal violence, rights of women in Islam and thus bringing forward a liberal and progressive understanding of the divine scriptures.

Post Babri Masjid demolition organizations especially women’s organizations have taken special efforts to incorporate Muslim women’s issues in their agenda. WRAG, Akshara, Navjeet Community Centre, Awaaz-e-Niswan are some of them who have been doing long term developmental and political work with the Muslim women. There has also been a qualitative change in the women’s movement. While it was earlier led by women from the upper caste and class, it now comprises of women from the dalit, Muslim and other marginalized groups who undertake developmental as well as political work.

Muslim Women’s Movement

One can draw parallels to see the development of Muslim women’s movement which finds its impetus in the new economic policies announced in the budget of 1991. The growth of communal forces coupled or rather given impetus by capitalist forces led to the complete political, social and economic marginalization of the Muslim community. A progressive liberal male leadership being absent the vacuum was filled in by women of all hues and classes to take matters in their own hand. The community being in a tight grip of conservative forces stifled the liberal voices. The demolition of Babri Mosque and the consequent communalization of the social fabric of the country and the insidious way in which the capitalist forces were unleashed paved way for Muslim women to raise their voices against not only its own conservative forces but also against the anti people and anti poor policies of the state. While the women’s movement has done a huge task of highlighting the women’s issues and bringing them out of the closet, it unfortunately ‘assumed the homogeneity of women’s identity’ [Annual Report, Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan]. It, for the reason of being elitist, could not address the concerns of excluded and marginalized groups like the dalit and the Muslim women. In fact the deafening silence in Gujrat in which the women’s organizations participated after the genocide conveys the insensitivity of the women’s movement. The issues of Muslim women could not be seen to a large extent without looking at the issues of the larger community.  The Muslim women in Gujrat, Mumbai, Rajasthan, UP, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka had already taken a lead in organizing themselves. Tehreek and Bahin in UP, National Muslim Women’s Welfare Society in Rajasthan, Hukook-e-Niswan Mahila Sanghatan in Mumbai, Aman Samuday, Parwaaz, Niswaan in Gujrat, Institute for Minority Women in Madhya Pradesh, Samadhan Foundation in Karnataka, Wind-Trust in Tamil Nadu, Muslim Women’s Welfare Organization and BIRD Trust in Orissa are some of the examples of organized efforts of the Muslim community. The most marginalized are taking the lead in impacting their own lives and the life of the community. The launch of the BMMA suggested the coming together of these scattered forces of Muslim women.

The BMMA is committed to work for ameliorating the exclusion of the Muslim community with special focus on Muslim women and towards demanding the social, economic, political, civil, legal and religious rights of all Muslims. It is also committed to undertake and propagate positive and liberal interpretations of religion which are in consonance with the values of justice, equality and protection of human rights enshrined in the Constitution of India. It has emerged as a mass organization of Muslim women from all over the country cutting across class and caste. It is an andolan by the Muslim women to take leadership of issues concerning their community and towards realization of full citizenship.

The alienation, exclusion had created a large vaccum in leadership which is being readily filled in by the women through forums like the BMMA. In fact the circumstances forced the Muslim women to enter the public domain. Be it for fighting the POTA victims in Gujrat or facing the brutal police in the Mumbai riots in 1992, be it the illegal detention of Muslim youth in Andhra Pradesh, be it the Imraana/Gudia case in UP – Muslim women had effectively and forcefully entered the public domain. Forums like the BMMA facilitate to give direction and motivation to the emergent women. There is a very visible and palpable churning within the community. Not just women but youth, professionals, clerics, academicians are taking an active interest in the affairs of the community. This is the most important development since independence and very significant especially since the sunni Muslims have never be truly organized at the community level.

Conclusion

For too long the State as well as the larger Muslim male leadership has ignored the plight and the voice of the Muslim women. Muslim women are citizens of this country and are entitled to all that the Constitution guarantees to other citizens. The Muslim women in turn must organize herself to avail the Constitutional benefits for ameliorating the social, economic, political, legal and educational backwardness of her self and of the community. For this she must also build alliances with other socially and economically marginalized groups and movements who are fighting for social justice. She must also undertake positive, liberal, humanist and feminist interpretations of Islam for ensuring justice and equality for herself.

To conclude it can said that Muslim women must now be heard by the State as an alternative, progressive and liberal voice of the community. And any debate on the issue of law reform must have the active presence of Muslim women who over the last many years have accumulated enough knowledge and leadership to influence policies.

REFERENCES

1. Lateef Shahida, Muslim Women In India Political and Private Realities: 1890 – 1980s, Kali for Women, New Delhi, 1990

2. Dalrymple William, The Last Mughal – The Fall of a Dynasty, Delhi, 1857, Alfred A. Knopf, Random House, 2006

3. Nainar Vahida, Muslim women’s Views on Personal Law – The Influence of Socio-Economic Factors, WRAG, Mumbai, 2000

4. Mernissi Fatima, Women and Islam – An Historical and Theological Enquiry, Women Unlimited [an associate of Kali for Women], New Delhi, 2004

5. For more details on rights of women as enshrined in the Quran please refer to: Shaukat Ali Zeenat, The Empowerment of Women In Islam: With Special reference to Marriage and Divorce, Vakils, Feffer & Simons Ltd., Mumbai, 1997.

6. For a detailed narration of rights of Muslim women please see: Dr. Engineer, Asghar Ali, The Rights Of Women In Islam, IBS Buku  Sdn Bhd, 1992.

7. Uma Saumya, The Supreme Court Speaks, Judgments on Muslim Law and Women’s Rights, Women’s Research and Action Group, 2007

8. Mahila Shakti Mandal Case Register, Bandra east, Mumbai, 2009.

9. Martins Reena, Calling it Quits, 2 May 2006, The Telegraph, Calcutta, India, http://www.telegraphindia.com/section/frontpage/index.jsp. accessed on 14th October 09

10. Mahila Shakti Mandal Case Register, Bandra east, Mumbai, 2008

11. Gangan Surendra/DNA, Sunday, September 27, 2009 2:24 IST, Muslims feel left out in allocation of tickets,http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_muslims-feel-left-out-in-allocation-of-tickets_1293275, accessed on 16^th Oct 09

12. Naunidhi Kaur, Mumbai: A Decade After Riots, Frontline, Volume 20 - Issue 14, July 05 - 18, 2003, http://www.thehindu.com/fline/fl2014/stories/20030718002704100.htm, accessed on 16 Oct 09

13. Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, Journey So Far, Annual Report, 2007-8