‘DIMAAG KI BATTI JALAO’ - Significance of Wisdom in Islam

‘DIMAAG KI BATTI JALAO’

Significance of Wisdom in Islam

It is indeed liberating to read that the Quran exhorts all humans to use their faculty of reasoning and rationality to assess knowledge. It is almost saying, ‘Akl Ka Istimal Karo’. There is emphasis on use of senses to see, hear, feel the knowledge around and gain it for yourself and for the people around you. All that is given in experience then is to be assessed based on the power of reasoning. Use of basic intelligence and common sense is what the Quran lays emphasis on.

Another important value in Islam is compassion and kindness. All Muslims, living in any corner of the world invoke God as merciful and beneficent before beginning to do any task. Bismillah irrahman nirrahim – beginning in the name of God who is beneficent and merciful. Understanding and impacting social reality with the use of wisdom and tempering wisdom with values of compassion, kindness, equality and justice is what any responsible Muslim must believe in and must behave accordingly.

Questions to be asked by any wise Muslim man to himself: Am I being just and fair to the women in my family, be it wife, mother, sister, daughter? Am I behaving wisely if I unilaterally divorce my wife and throw her out of the house? Am I behaving like an intelligent being if I force my wife to do halala in order to bring her back? Next question to be asked is: Am I being compassionate when I throw away my wife and children out of the house just because I want to marry another woman? Is polygamy a just practice? Am I being compassionate when I don’t feed my children? Am I intelligent if I force my wife to continue with multiple pregnancies, endangering her life and the life of the children? Do I educate myself about the rights of women in Islam? Or do I listen to only the regressive voices around me which ask me to abandon my critical thinking? Do I care enough to ask a few questions and look out for answers in places which put premium on knowledge with compassion? Do I ask myself enough- is it right? Am I troubling anyone? Am I being just and fair? Is there any self-talk which reflects critical thinking and raising questions to find reasonable answers? I am afraid the answer is No. We have become a community of zombies who have abandoned our capacity to reason. We pride ourselves on being Muslims but do nothing to deserve the universal values of Islam.

Let us see what the Holy Quran has to say about use of reasoning and wisdom in guiding human actions. These Quranic verses may be rooted in the contexts at times and at times they appear to be normative, applicable to human beings for all times to come. Nonetheless they are very good lessons in critical thinking.

USE OF SENSES TO GAIN KNOWLEDGE

There is heavy emphasis on gaining knowledge and taking decisions based on what you see and hear and understand. It is important to evaluate the information that you receive through your hearing and seeing. The senses are doors to knowledge. Do not support anything that does not appeal to what your senses see and hear. Evaluate all that you see and hear and do not follow like a herd. Do not follow anything and anyone blindly but use your senses to evaluate.

·       17:36-Do not uphold what you have no knowledge of. For the hearing, eyesight, and mind, all these             are held responsible for that.

·       7:179- ........ they have hearts, yet they do not comprehend; they have eyes yet they do not see; they               have ears yet they do not hear. They are like cattle; no, they are even more astray. These are               the heedless ones.

IMPORTANCE OF READING

Reading is the door to knowledge. Only if one reads one would be exposed to knowledge available in the outside domain. Reading, reading with reasoning, reading to gain deeper knowledge

·         96:1 Read in the name of your Lord who has created.

·         96:3 Read, and your Lord is the Generous One.

·         96:4 The One who taught by the pen.

·         96:5 He taught the human being what he did not know.

·         55:3 He created the human being,

·         55:4 Taught him how to distinguish.

IMPORTANCE OF KNOWLEDGE

The Quran lays great emphasis on gaining knowledge. It is the most valuable thing that a human can possess. It says do not do guess work but seek the truth as much as possible. Conjectures are only half truths having the potential of creating more harm than good. The majority is not always right especially if they base their opinions on mere heresay and guess work. The question to be asked always is: is it the truth? Have we seen it? Have we heard it? Does it appeal to our reason and common sense? It is harmful to pass judgments and take decisions based on conjectures.

·         29:43 Such are the examples We cite for the people, but none reason except the knowledgeable.

·         29:49 In fact, it is a clear revelation in the chests of those who have been given knowledge.

·        6:116 If you obey the majority of those on earth they will lead you away from God's path; that is                  because they follow conjecture, and that is because they only guess.

·         55:9 Observe the weight with equity, and do not fall short in the balance.

·       53:28 While they had no knowledge about this; they only followed conjecture. Conjecture is no                      substitute for the truth.

USE OF REASON TO EVALUATE KNOWLEDGE

The Quran clearly says that they worst of the lot are those who do not reason. God is asking humans to use the faculty of reasoning. Those who do not use this faculty suffer due to their own unwillingness to see, hear and reason it out. It is important to be alert to what is being said. Many things are going to be said but it is imperative that we pick and choose what is the best. We always have a choice and the Quran emphasises on choosing the best that is being offered. We need to listen to all views and arguments and then follow what is the best that is being offered.

·         8:22-The worst creatures with God are the deaf and dumb who do not reason.

·        10:100 - ........... He casts the affliction upon those who do not reason.

·       12:111 In their stories is a lesson for the people of intelligence. It is not a hadith that was invented,               but an authentication of what is already present, a detailing of all things, and a guidance and              mercy to a people who acknowledge.

·       39:18 The ones who listen to what is being said, and then follow the best of it. These are the ones                 whom God has guided, and these are the ones who possess intelligence.

God has given us a mind and it is asking us to use it, that’s it. If we use it and ask a few basic questions to ourselves before embarking on any task or activity, we should be good. There is no going back on use of wisdom and compassion for conducting ourselves in private and public life.

 Dr. Noorjehan Safia Niaz

 noorjehan.sn@gmail.com

ETERNAL VALUES OF ISLAM FOR ALL HUMANITY - Justice, Equality, Wisdom, Compassion

ETERNAL VALUES OF ISLAM FOR ALL HUMANITY

Justice, Equality, Wisdom, Compassion

Dr. Noorjehan Safia Niaz

The larger Muslim society would have been a lot better if Muslim women had read, translated and interpreted the word of God. Very cunningly, Muslim men [and the rest as well] have kept to themselves the right and the privilege to educate themselves, especially education pertaining to religion. Muslim men know that knowledge is indeed power and if Muslim women learn to read and understand what is written, they will take for themselves what benefits them just the way men have done so far.  

Very deviously Muslim women have been told to read the Quran in a language which they don’t understand. You see, reading the Quran in Arabic is sawaab ! Not just reading and understanding of the Quran but even its translations and interpretations have remained in the male domain. So dear women, they say, if you know how to read then please read the Quran in an alien language. If you are lucky and understand the alien language then please don’t interpret. And if you are reading a translation don’t interpret that translation and don’t analyse the credentials and motives of the translator. And if you have managed to read, understand, translate and interpret, then please keep your mouth shut as religion is the territory of the so-called alims and scholars and experts. You as a woman have no business to enter that territory. Thus continues the male hegemony over religion-based-knowledge which has destroyed the lives of many Muslim women across the world. Men are the readers, translators, interpreters and givers of this knowledge and women continue to merely receive it without questioning.

But times are changing for better. Many recent women readers of the Quran have managed to come out with their own translations and interpretations which question the tradition, male-centric and patriarchal understanding. They have also gone beyond the written word to extract the eternal values of Islam which put not just women and men on par but also puts all humanity equal to each other as one creation.

To me and to many like me, these eternal values of Islam which are conveyed to the humanity through the Quranic verses, gives the courage to fight for justice within and outside the Muslim community. Those eternal values are remembered best through the acronym, JEWC. That is how I choose to remember them. J for justice, E for equality, W for wisdom and C for compassion. For any Muslim to proclaim himself or herself as a Muslim, he or she must believe and abide by these principles.

Let us read some of the Quranic verses which exhort us to treat women and men equally and to be just and compassionate in relationships.

1.      Women and men are created from one source and hence by default they are equal. The very essence of their existence is mutual dependence as they come together in this world from one single source [4:1 O people, be aware of your Lord who has created you from one person and He created from it its mate and sent forth from both many men and women; and be aware of God whom you ask about, and the relatives. God is watcher over you]

2.      When it comes to equality before God, women and men are equal. In all aspects which include surrendering to God, being truthful, being patient, being humble and charitable, following religious rituals, women are equal to men. There are no exemptions to woman just because she is a woman and there is no special treatment to man just because he is a man. [33:35 - Surely, the peacefully surrendering men, and the peacefully surrendering women, the acknowledging men, and the acknowledging women, the obedient men, and the obedient women, the truthful men, and the truthful women, the patient men, and the patient women, the humble men, and the humble women, the charitable men, and the charitable women, the fasting men, and the fasting women, the men who guard their private parts, and the women who similarly guard, and the men who commemorate God frequently, and the commemorating women; God has prepared for them a forgiveness and a great recompense.]

3.      Women and men are owners of what they earn or gain. Some men gain more than women and some women gain more than men. Sometimes men gain more than women and sometimes it is the reverse. God favours equally. [4:32 - Do not envy what God has favored some of you over others. For the men is a portion of what they gained, and for the women is a portion of what they gained. Ask God from His favor, God is knowledgeable over all things.]

4.      The purpose of marriage is tranquillity and peace in relationship. Spouses must love, respect and care for each other and be content and happy in each other’s company. That is the essence of spousal relationship in Islam, which exhorts us in the end to think and reflect on what should one be aspiring for. [30:21 - Among His signs is that He created for you spouses from among yourselves, in order to have tranquillity and contentment with each other. He places in your heart love and care towards your spouses. In this, there are signs for people who think.]

5.      Women and men are made for each other, to shield and guard each other. There is mutuality of support, care and protection. Linked to the above verse it conveys that women and men are there for each other, to lead a life of peace and harmony. [2:187 - They are a garment for you and you are a garment for them…]

There are of course many more Quranic verses, written in different contexts, which again and again harp on the same values and principles which bring people together and which define relationships based on mutual respect and support. It is time that these timeless eternal values are brought to the forefront of any debate concerning Muslim women. 

‘I DIVORCE THEE FOR YOUR THIN WAISTLINE !’ Reasons and Methods of Divorce used by Muslim men

‘I DIVORCE THEE FOR YOUR THIN WAISTLINE !’

Reasons and Methods of Divorce used by Muslim men

Author – Dr. Noorjehan Safia Niaz

It is sad but true that Muslim men have divorced their wives for the most flimsiest of reasons. It not only reflects on their deeply patriarchal mindset but also is an indication that the Muslim society and the legal system within and outside the community have allowed Muslim men to play with the lives of Muslim women.

There is no sense of accountability or fear of law because there is no law in the first place and the system which is supposed to seek accountability is in cohorts with the patriarchal Muslim men. Clergy is completely men-sided because the qazis and muftis themselves endorse the reasons which range from ‘ I do not like the food that is being cooked’ to ‘ my wife has a thin waistline’, to ‘my wife has white patches on her legs’ to ‘ she wears spectacles’ to ‘ she is suffering from TB’. One woman was divorced because she was somehow responsible for her husband’s sister eloping with a man. Another was divorced because she went to a funeral in her mother’s house without informing her husband and yet another was divorced because she did not get a good dowry and came to the legal aid centre for reconciliation. What gives the man the authority to do as he pleases? The audacity arises simply because the social and the legal system do not question him. In fact it endorses his action and takes cues from him to perpetrate and worsen the situation.

One wonders why ordinary Muslim men do not revolt against these practices. One obvious reason is that it benefits them not to question the inhumanness that has crept into intimate relations. The second reason is the lack of any legal deterrent. Because the Muslim law is not codified, it is a free for all. Kuch bhi chalega, kaun puchnewala hai? This unhindered sense of freedom in managing legal relations gives immense power to Muslim men. And the support of the clergy only makes it worse. The clergy in India think that the religion of Islam is their personal fiefdom and nobody, not even God can interfere in their affairs. They are ruining the lives of women and also tarnishing the fair name of Islam. Do they not realize that the Muslim community has become a laughing stock for the larger society? And why will they not laugh? The Muslim society has lost its conscience and lacks the courage to question the existing inequities. It is killing itself from within.  

The indignity with which relationships are terminated in the Muslim society needs to be questioned not just by the activists but by ordinary women and men. Divorce by post and courier is common enough. Oral divorce is the bane which the whole world is aware of anyway. Divorce by email and overseas trunk calls are gaining ground. Husband sends divorce papers by registered post, wife signs innocuously and receives the letter and lo her divorce is done! She had no idea that her marriage is getting terminated as she signs. In another instance, divorce is done as the husband, by fraud takes her signature saying it is for changing the mobile sim card or simply by forging her signatures on the divorce papers himself. Divorce is so easy for some men! One man took a little more trouble and sent the divorce papers to his own father asking him to divorce his wife on his behalf! One man did not even bother to find a good A-4 size sheet but tore off a small chit of paper from a nearby book, wrote divorce on it three times and threw it on his wife’s face! And that is not all, some men only need to intend to divorce and the divorce is done. It is all in their minds, you see! Poor woman does not even know that she has been divorced.

Inspite of protests and ridicule the community refuses to change, which means that there is no substitute for a good and just law which would legally prohibit unilateral divorce. As a nation comprising of a large number of the Muslims we are late anyway. A codified law is the need of the hour to stop men from behaving like thugs in their own families. 

I AM AN INDIAN MUSLIM WOMEN, ANY PROBLEM?!

I AM AN INDIAN MUSLIM WOMAN, ANY PROBLEM?!
Women and Multiple Identities

Dr. Noorjehan Safia Niaz 

All of us have multiple identities. We are so many, all at the same time. Our basic identity of being a human is the primary identity. Over and above that, we are what we mean to people; friend, spouse, sibling, parent and so many more. Most of the time there is no hierarchy in these relationships. We are all these at the same time. Is one identity better than the other? Am I sister first and then a mother? Am I a mother first and then a wife? No. Each identity surfaces as per the requirement. Sometimes I am more a wife than a mother, sometimes I am more a daughter than a wife and at other times the friend in me takes over and all other identities take a back seat. Come to think of it, we juggle between these identities so well that we don’t even realize that we have seamlessly woven one into the other.

On the same lines, am I a Muslim first and an Indian later? The Hindu right wing would prefer that I am an Indian first and the Muslim right wing would want me to be a Muslim first. And there I get caught between ‘this’ or ‘that’! I am asked to choose between my identities. And to complicate matters the women’s organizations want me to say, ‘I am a woman first’ and the human rights organizations want me to say, ‘I am a human being first’.  So should I make a neat hierarchy and arrange myself in a column? What do I do and how do I manage my multiple identities without breaking myself up into pieces?

Well, many complicated matters are actually very simple! Instead of saying ‘this’ OR ‘that’, I would prefer to say, ‘this’ AND ‘that’. I am all these at the same time. There is no hierarchy. These identities do not cancel each other. Each identity will surface as and when required without me having to cancel the other. I am a Muslim and an Indian and a woman and a human being and a mother and a daughter and so much more all at the same time. Why should I have to choose between the multiple me?

Coming to the Muslim community, my identity of a being a Muslim does not cancel my identity of being an Indian and vice a versa. My Constitution allows me to practice, promote and propagate my religion and to maintain my religious identity and Islam demands that I behave like a responsible citizen of my country. Where is the contradiction?

The holy book of the Muslims, the Quran has essentially propagated 4 values; Justice, Equality, Wisdom and Compassion. I am not a good Muslim if I don’t practice these values in my daily life. To that extent we as Muslims are only trying to reach there, at least some of us, and we are nowhere close to these ideals. So in a way, we are still, Muslims-in-the-making. Similarly, the Constitutional values of Justice, Equality, Freedom and Fraternity are our guiding principles as Indians. Again where is the contradiction between being a Muslim and being an Indian?

May be I am too simplistic but what’s wrong in simplifying if it helps me to build bridges, if it helps me to connect far off ends, if it helps me live in peace with everyone and everything around me? In the end what do I choose to see? Do I want to see similarities or do I want to see differences? For too long we have set our eyes on differences and see where we are today as a world community! We have killed and ripped each other apart because we think we are so different from each other. For once let us concentrate on the similarities between us as people, between our books, between our values and ideologies. May be then we will be at peace with each other and with ourselves. 

PLEASE LET ME MARRY AFTER 18! Muslim Women and Age of Marriage

PLEASE LET ME MARRY AFTER 18!

Muslim Women and Age of Marriage

Dr. Noorjehan Safia Niaz

Muslim women in India are governed by their own personal laws and also by the law of the land. The law of the land has laid down 18 as the age of marriage for girls and 21 for boys. This law is applicable to all citizens of the country irrespective of their religion. The Muslim personal law has many versions. Widely accepted is the version which puts age of marriage at 15, some at 16 and some other versions bring it further down to onset of puberty.

In the last 6 years as part of the consultations on codification of Muslim family law, this question was put before many Muslim women’s groups; what should be the legal age of marriage of a Muslim boy and a Muslim girl? Overwhelmingly, illiterate to semi-literate Muslim women have endorsed strongly that the age of marriage should not be lower than 18/21. These women have in all probability not seen a school, have been married early themselves, mostly at the age of 13/14, earn little after working very hard and hence, these seemingly uneducated women do not want their daughters to have the same fate as theirs. In one such consultation in Bhopal one Muslim woman even went to the extent that even 18 is not good enough. By the time a girl finishes her graduation, which she should, she is 20/21, so common sense suggests that the age of marriage should not be lower than 21 for girls and 25 for boys. These endorsements and suggestions indicate that Muslim women know where her future lies and it shatters the myth of their ignorance and cocooned life. Not to say about the girls themselves. They are in no hurry to marry but aspire to educate and earn for their better future.

What dreams and aspirations do our girls have? Many inspite of their severe social handicaps want a more humane and dignified life. They want quality education and a safe and reliable source of livelihood. Their dreams are very ordinary but even those are beyond their reach, thanks to the community which refuses to see horizons beyond marriage and motherhood. Patriarchal notions do not encourage parents, especially fathers to see their daughter as an independent thinking entity. That she can also dream and aspire is beyond his understanding. He does not dream for her and so she does not know how to dream for herself. Her vision is limited to being a wife at 16-17 and a mother at 18 and that’s about it.

A section of the educated Muslim middle class actually endorses early marriage. In one of the consultations in Bangalore, a Muslim male practising lawyer asks, ‘what is wrong if a girl is married at the age of 13?’ In another consultation in Hyderabad, an educated, elite Muslim woman says if consent to sex is 16 years then why not consent to marriage? As if marriage is nothing but sexual relationship. Another one goes a step further and says age of marriage of boys should be brought down to 18. The most incongruous argument is of those who are ok with marriage at puberty. A girl who menstruates at the age of 9, 10, 11, 12 automatically qualifies for a married life! A young Mumbai-based graduate Muslim man of 23 years believes very strongly that the right age for girls to marry is 15-16 years. He firmly believes that a woman must marry early, bear and rear children, look after the family, wear good clothes, go shopping and generally lead a contended life. Another young Muslim man of 20 years, elitist and educated believes that woman need not earn a livelihood if her husband has a strong financial background, where is the need, he says. One always thought that a community is led by its educated and enlightened sections. It is a worrying phenomenon if this very educated section justifies early marriage.

In Islam marriage is a social, solemn contract based on mutual agreement, terms and conditions. The question to the above educated Muslims is: can a pubescent boy and girl enter into a contract which will determine their entire lives? Puberty does not even indicate physical maturity, let alone social, emotional and psychological. It is a worrying trend in cities like Hyderabad where a Muslim girl of 18 is too old for marriage. By the age of 20 her prospects of marriage are practically nil unless the parents pay a hefty dowry.

Poverty and patriarchy is keeping the Muslim girls out of the ambit of a better life. Where aspirations are there, the means are missing. Where means exist, the aspiration is absent. Where both exist, patriarchal notions and values play the spoilsport. Restrictions on mobility, restriction on education, a big no to earning livelihood, early marriage and hence early motherhood and all chances are, for all practical purposes, lost for this woman.

Is there a way out? Well, there better be a way out! There is a need for multi-pronged strategies. Parents play a crucial role in creating the urge to dream and aspire. Educational institutions and state too have a vital and fundamental role to play. To begin with the state must ensure good quality public education till class 12 atleast if not till graduation. This step in one stroke will take care of those who aspire but do not have the means.  For those who have the means, the aspiration/inspiration must be provided by the educational institutions. Muslim girls are terribly obsessed with doing B.Ed and D.Ed. Nothing wrong, except that there is a whole big world out there which is offering so much more. Institutions imparting formal education must open up this horizon for Muslim girls. They can also play a decisive role in diversifying the span of the parents and encouraging them to encourage their wards.

State must create conditions of security and safety. If woman do not feel safe in their localities, communities, railway bridges, skywalks, trains and buses, their mobility will automatically get affected along with their self-confidence. Effective implementation of laws, effective control over anti-social elements, cleaner and better civic infrastructure will go a long way in making daily life safer for girls. 

For long term legal and social solutions, the Muslim family law must be codified to legally bring age of Muslim girls to 18 years. In addition, registration of all marriages must be made mandatory. And in the end the young women themselves must shake off the severe limitations and take a bold step forward. 

MAHILA SHARIAH ADALAT An Initiative of Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE LEGAL RIGHTS OF WOMEN IN THE QURAN THROUGH MAHILA SHARIAH ADALAT

An Initiative of Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan

Dr. Noorjehan Safia Niaz

Muslim family law as practiced in India is not codified, as a result Muslim women face injustice as judgments by qazis, muftis and shariah Adalats are given based on discriminatory shariah law which is in total contrast to the Quranic injunctions. Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan [BMMA] has initiated a campaign demanding codification of Muslim family law based on the Quranic verses. As part of the campaign, BMMA had published a women-friendly nikaahnama and more than 200 marriages have been solemnized over it. BMMA has also drafted a codified law after many rounds of consultations with Muslim women, lawyers, academicians and with people having knowledge of Islam.

BMMA has been able to do this campaign because it has a vast body of experience in dealing with cases of Muslim women facing discrimination due to oral divorce, polygamy, lack custody of children, lack of maintenance etc. As a natural progression of its work on law reform it is now imperative that they scale up their work by not just drafting the law but also creating structures to implement that law.  

BMMA has dovetailed its campaign on codification with a practical idea of setting up Mahila Shariah Adalat [MSA] which provide legal aid to Muslim women based on the provisions of the codified law which it has prepared. It is a natural progression for BMMA as it progresses from formulation and implementing model nikahnama, to formulating codified, Quran-complied family law, to setting up structures for implementing this law.

As is known that Muslim religious institutions have for long exercised their hegemony over the community and specifically over the women. They have formulated laws, they have misinterpreted the religious texts and they have set up institutions which are patriarchal, unjust, dogmatic and unIslamic. BMMA represents Muslim women’s aspiration to reclaim these spaces from Muslim patriarchal forces represented by Muslim men. BMMA represents Muslim women’s desire to not just formulate laws and wait for these patriarchal institutions to implement it but to create, sustain and nurture those institutions which will also implement these laws and are bound values of justice and equality. The drafting of a codified law and setting of the Shariah Adalats is in continuation of Muslim women’s engagement with its family law moving towards the goal of justice for Indian Muslim women.

Rationale Behind MSA:

The main concern of the Mahila Shariah Adalat of BMMA is justice for the Muslim women. The formal court system is inaccessible, expensive, slow and bound by archaic rules and regulations. A poor woman does not have enough resources to hire a lawyer to fight her case. MSA are easily accessible, inexpensive, fast and women-friendly. They work as complimentary bodies to the formal courts and unlike the Shariah Adalats set up by religious groups, do not want to run a parallel system of justice. MSA works in conjunction and coordination with the formal court system.

The MSA of BMMA also do not challenge the existence of the Shariah Adalats run by the religious bodies. They do challenge the decisions which they take. The MSA works in close coordination with many qazis and muftis who are sensitive to the cause of women and support the legal aid of work on BMMA. 

Many amongst the religious groups, women’s organizations, lawyers have objected to the use of the word ‘Adalat’ used by BMMA. Well, what is an Adalat? To put it simply and without jargon, an Adalat is a place where people go seeking justice. Since the purpose of BMMA’s initiative is to enable justice delivery to the poorest Muslim women, they call themselves a ‘Adalat’. MSA of BMMA is an Alternative Dispute Resolution Forum the formation of which is mandated by Article 39A of the Constitution of the India. The authority to form MSA comes from the Constitution of the country which wants to enable justice delivery to the poorest of the poor. Also if the religious bodies can run the Shariah Adalats why can’t the Muslim women themselves? There is nothing in the religion nor in the law of the land which prohibits Muslim women to set up structures for better justice delivery?

The objectives of the Mahila Shariah Adalat of BMMA are to provide legal aid to Muslim women based on the Quran-complied codified ‘Muslim Family Law’, to undertake activities to promote women-friendly nikaahnama prepared by BMMA and to create awareness among Muslim women and men about their legal rights of women in Islam

Muslim Women Justice Cadres

The Muslim women who manage the MSA are well equipped to provide legal aid as they are the victims of a discriminatory law. The legal aid providers are well versed in law and they are also aware of the various strategies that are to be employed so that a harassed Muslim woman gets legal redresser. They have undergone training in counseling and work from a very strong gender perspective. The decisions of the Adalat are based on the rights of women enshrined in the Quran. They take recourse to all secular laws like the Anti-Dowry Act, Domestic Violence Act etc and they utilize the existing legal machinery like the courts etc to help women get legal aid. They will also use the justice implementation machinery like the police and work in coordination with qazis and muftis to help the litigant.

The Mahila Shariah Adalat takes decisions based on the following Quranic guidelines:

·         Triple oral/unilateral divorce is not acceptable

·         Polygamy is invalid

·         Whoever initiates the divorce will have to go through the process of talak-e-ahsan method of divorce.

·         Women must get maintenance during her marital life from her husband

·         Women must get maintenance after divorce as per the provisions of the Muslim Women’s Act, 1986

·         All grounds of divorce mentioned in the 1939 Act are applicable to the women visiting the Shariah Adalat

·         Halala is not acceptable at all

·         No other restriction except remarriage during iddat period

·         If the children are small the custody of the children will be with the mother

·         If the children are the age of 7 whether boy or girl, they child will be given the right to decide.

It is hoped that in the near future, BMMA will be able to set up more such Adalats so that justice for Muslim women does not remain a distant dream. 

Dr. Noorjehan Safia Niaz

Dr.Noorjehan Safia Niaz is Ph.D in Sociology from the Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University and an MASW from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, graduated in 1992. She worked as Development Officer with Mahila Arthic Vikas Mahamandal, a Maharashtra State Government Corporation. Thereafter she joined YUVA as Project Coordinator with special focus on the Muslim women’s groups. She has worked with SAHARA in Anjuman-e-Islam, an institution working for the educational and social development of the Muslim community. From 1999 till 2008 she worked in Women’s Research and Action Group [WRAG] as Project Coordinator and thereafter as the Co-Director. There she worked on developing educational material on Muslim personal law and also initiated and coordinated the Community Outreach Programme, which worked in 30 communities of Mumbai.

She has done an Advanced Diploma in Management Programmes for Executives with specialization in Management of Voluntary Service Organisations from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies. She has completed the 6-month long Common Purpose Leadership Development Programme, called Meridian. She has graduated from the 7th Cohort of the Dasra Social Impact, an executive education program, which provides successful non profits and social businesses with transformational skills necessary to build sustainable and scalable organizations to accelerate their impact. She is also an Ashoka Fellow working towards codification of Muslim family law.

She is the Founder member of Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, a secular, autonomous mass based national movement of Muslim women. She is also the Founder member and Managing Trustee of Ashana Trust which works towards supporting initiatives of women from marginalized communities for justice, peace and development. Through the years she has concentrated on developing the capacities of marginalized Muslim women, locally and nationally.

She was also a Visiting Faculty and Field Work Coordinator with the Centre of Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy, SNDT Women’s University. She taught gender and human rights.