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Govt plans meet on Muslim women’s issues -Imran Ahmed Siddiqui
-The Telegraph

New Delhi: The Modi government is planning to convene a meeting of all Muslim stakeholders, including the personal law board, to discuss the plight of women in matters of marriage, divorce and alimony.

The move is certain to stir a controversy as the All India Muslim Personal Law Board has already alleged that the Centre is trying to impose a uniform civil code in the country. Such a code will “impinge on the religious freedom and secularism principles enshrined in the Constitution”, it has claimed.

A government source said: “The government has decided to call a meeting of prominent Muslim organisations, including Muslim women representatives, to address the age-old problem faced by women.”

Last November, the Mumbai-based Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, which has around 70,000 members, had written to the Prime Minister, law commission and the National Commission for Women seeking reform in the Sharia law.

The organisation had also sent a copy of its survey on what Muslim women felt about men being allowed to take four wives and divorce them orally at will, domestic violence and other issues. The survey was done across 13 states, including Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu

According to the survey, nearly 92 per cent women want a total ban on oral divorce that enables a man to utter talaaq thrice and unilaterally dump his wife. Over 78 per cent women did not have any say in their divorce.

About 91.7 per cent women said they did not want men to take another wife while married; 75 per cent wanted the age of marriage for girls to be above 18 years; 93 per cent favoured a mandatory arbitration process before divorce; and 53.2 per cent said they faced domestic violence.

In 1986, in the landmark Shah Bano case, the Supreme Court had ruled that divorced Muslim women who were unable to sustain themselves were entitled to alimony for life or till they remarried. But the Rajiv Gandhi government had overturned the verdict, reverting to the three-month alimony period with a provision that women could move court if denied this relief.

Zakia Soman, the co-founder of the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, said: “We welcome the government’s move as we want codification of Muslim personal law to protect women from harassment. We want the government to reform the law as orthodox Muslim leaders have failed to address the problems.”

She said the community’s marriage and divorce laws were loaded in favour of men, allowing them to marry up to four women and pay only a measly amount as maintenance after divorce.

The law commission had recently confirmed receiving the organisation’s petition and a copy of the survey, she added.
Soman blamed “orthodox” Muslim organisations and religious leaders for the plight of women. “Muslim women are the worst sufferers of discrimination when it comes to marriage and divorce laws.

“Instead of addressing the issues, orthodox Muslim organisations and so-called leaders have always resisted the move to reform the Sharia law,” she said.

Zafaryab Jilani, a member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, claimed the Centre’s design was to impose a uniform civil code.

“Article 25 of the Constitution of India gives right to all minorities to have personal laws based on respective tenets of religious communities. The government’s move would impinge on the religious freedom and secularism principles enshrined in the Constitution.”

He said the personal law board had been raising awareness among Muslim men not to misuse triple talaaq. Sharia laws call for a 90-day period of discussion, dialogue and arbitration before divorce, he added.

“Awareness campaigns have to be undertaken to protect Muslim women from discrimination. The government or the Supreme Court have no role to play in the Sharia laws,” he said.

Jamiat petition

The Mumbai-based Jamiat-i-Ulama has moved an application in the Supreme Court saying any exercise by the court to evolve a uniform civil code would amount to “judicial legislation” and interference with personal laws.