{"id":23323,"date":"2017-04-15T18:37:19","date_gmt":"2017-04-15T13:07:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.indialegallive.com\/?p=23323"},"modified":"2017-10-16T13:05:41","modified_gmt":"2017-10-16T07:35:41","slug":"muslim-women-want","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.indialegallive.com\/top-news-of-the-day\/analysis-updates\/muslim-women-want\/","title":{"rendered":"What Muslim Women Want"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"tdi_1\" class=\"tdc-row\"><div class=\"vc_row tdi_2  wpb_row td-pb-row\" >\n<style scoped>\n\n\/* custom css *\/\n.tdi_2,\r\n                .tdi_2 .tdc-columns{\r\n                    min-height: 0;\r\n                }.tdi_2,\r\n\t\t\t\t.tdi_2 .tdc-columns{\r\n\t\t\t\t    display: block;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_2 .tdc-columns{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: 100%;\r\n\t\t\t\t}\n<\/style><div class=\"vc_column tdi_4  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<style scoped>\n\n\/* custom css *\/\n.tdi_4{\r\n                    vertical-align: baseline;\r\n                }.tdi_4 > .wpb_wrapper,\r\n\t\t\t\t.tdi_4 > .wpb_wrapper > .tdc-elements{\r\n\t\t\t\t    display: block;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_4 > .wpb_wrapper > .tdc-elements{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: 100%;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_4 > .wpb_wrapper > .vc_row_inner{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: auto;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_4 > .wpb_wrapper{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: auto;\r\n\t\t\t\t    height: auto;\r\n\t\t\t\t}\n<\/style><div class=\"wpb_wrapper\"><div class=\"wpb_wrapper wpb_text_column td_block_wrap td_block_wrap vc_column_text tdi_5  tagdiv-type td-pb-border-top td_block_template_1\"  data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_5\" ><div class=\"td-block-title-wrap\"><\/div><div class=\"td-fix-index\"><p><span style=\"color: #000000\"><strong>~By Rashme Sehgal<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000\">What do Muslim women on the ground feel about the issue of triple <em>talaq<\/em> which they refer to as `<em>teen talaq<\/em>\u2019? Speaking to a cross-section of Muslim women from the towns of Saharanpur, Muzzafarnagar, Roorkee, Pauri and Dehra Dun provided an unusual insight into this crucial issue which will be heard by the apex court in the weeks to come.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000\">One aspect that becomes obvious is that the plight of Muslim women is very similar to that of their Hindu sisters. Muslim Personal Law is based on the Shariat where marriage is a contract entered between the bride and bridegroom, with the husband announcing a <em>meher<\/em> for his wife which will be given to her in case the marriage is annulled which can often be the case since Islam permits unilateral divorce.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000\">According to the Quran, the pronouncement of <em>talaq<\/em> can be uttered three times with intervals of three periods. These correspond to the menstrual cycles of the woman. But there are other Muslims who maintain the Shariat has stipulated a time period of three months between each <em>talaq<\/em>. Unfortunately, triple <em>talaq<\/em> is being pronounced over mobile phones, postcards and via the internet and the casual manner in which these words are uttered has raised the ire of the Muslim women.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000\">Thirty-five-year-old sociology postgraduate and mother of two children, Shayara Bano, from Kashipur in Uttarakhand, was so incensed at receiving a verbal divorce from her husband that she decided to challenge the constitutional validity of\u00a0 the Muslim personal law regarding divorce by taking the matter in the Supreme Court.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000\">Late last year, Bano claims she was approached by members of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board who asked her to withdraw her petition from the Supreme Court as it was giving the Muslim community a \u2018bad name\u2019 but she declined stating that while she had suffered enormously at the utterance of these \u2018three words\u2019 she was fighting to ensure other women did not find themselves in a similar situation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000\">Dehra Dun-based Gulistan Khanam, who runs an NGO titled Sarvardharam Sadhbhavna Samiti (SSS) says triple <em>talaq<\/em> is easily misused, citing the shocking example of a 90-year-old Muslim man, Abdul Rehman, who divorced\u00a0 his aged\u00a0 wife on the grounds that \u201cshe did not listen to him\u201d!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000\">She also regrets that several detrimental Hindu practices have made their way into Muslim society. The scourge of dowry is now rampant in Muslim households where parents of brides-to-be are expected to provide a car\/motorcycle as essential at the time of the marriage, besides a range of electronic items. Woe betide the unfortunate bride who fails to bring these \u2018essential\u2019 items. This is a far cry from the <em>nikah<\/em> or marriage contract, where the groom had to provide a substantial settlement in favour of his wife.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000\">Ruksana Bano from Saharanpur says she was turned out of her marital home by her husband, mother-in-law and sister-in-law for the lack of a big dowry.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000\">Said Ruksana, \u201cNo marriage is solemnised if these dowry items are not provided.\u00a0 My in-laws expected me to bring a fridge, a TV set and a car and since my parents failed to provide them, four years into my marriage, my in-laws connived to throw me out.\u00a0 Despite a panchayat being called, my husband has not given me my <em>meher <\/em>of Rs 30,000.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000\">\u201cIn desperation, I have filed a complaint at the Mahila Ayog office. Since my husband never showed up for the hearings, I have also filed a civil case against him. I was divorced by <em>teen talaq<\/em>. I am relieved that I no longer have to live with my in-laws who had often threatened to burn me alive.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000\">Burning of brides is on the rise in Muslim households, and records provided by the Allahabad High Court indicate that in the last decade, over 20 per cent of dowry deaths out of 120 cases before them occurred in Muslim homes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000\">Merissa Begum who presently lives in Dehra Dun was also tortured by her in laws for not bringing an \u2018adequate\u2019 dowry and finally her mother-in-law connived to have her thrown out of the house. Fortunately for her, her husband, a tailor by profession, stood by her. They moved to Dehra Dun to escape the torture inflicted upon her by her in-laws.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000\">Said Merissa, \u201cMy father owned a small grocery shop which ran into hard times. He did his best for us which obviously was not what my mother-in-law had expected. When I left my in-laws house, I was not allowed to bring any of my personal belongings with me but the saving grace is that my husband supported me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000\">The All India Personal Law Board claims that there is less divorce amongst Muslim women than women from other communities. But Gulistan Khanam disagrees with these claims.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000\">Not only does she believe there has been an exponential increase in the number of divorces across all communities but she also believes <em>teen talaq<\/em> is facilitating the process.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000\">Khanam said, \u201cMy experience of working with women in marital conflict during the last decade has shown that there has been a 30 per cent rise in the number of divorces amongst all communities including Muslims.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000\">Her explanation for this trend may sound clich\u00e9d but she is willing to stick her neck out. \u201cThere is one breed of husbands who are plain incompetent. They are boozers, they do no work and are not willing to change. Many also have affairs. I once tried to counsel a man in his mid-twenties who was a womaniser. His reply was, \u2019<em>Hum raat ke shehzada hain<\/em>; Hindustan <em>azaad hein, hum bhi azaad hein<\/em>. If my wife does not like my behaviour, she is welcome to leave\u2019.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000\">It goes without saying that the wife\u2019s increasing protests saw her being served with a triple <em>talaq<\/em>. However, many wives are not willing to take this punishment lying down.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000\">\u201cWhen a marriage breaks down, the women opt to file their complaints in the <em>Mahila Aayog<\/em> (Crime Against Women Cell) and their next step is to file a criminal and civil suit against the husband. These cases can drag on for years but the women are dogged and are determined to fight it out,\u201d said Khanam.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000\">Some Muslim organisations do not accept that there has been an exponential increase in divorce within the community.\u00a0 Executive member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Asma Zehra, has asserted that the incidence of divorce among Muslims is much lower than the prevalence in other communities. Also, women have maintenance rights even after the divorce.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000\">Zehra further pointed out, \u201cMuslim women can also go for remarriage to begin a new life.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000\">The AIMPLB has gone to the extent of stating in an affidavit submitted to the apex court that if triple <em>talaq<\/em> is discontinued, men may well resort to murdering or burning their wives in order to get rid of them. In its affidavit, the AIMPLB has even declared that if a serious discord develops between a couple and the husband does not want to live with the wife, legal compulsions of time-consuming separation proceedings and expenses may deter him from taking the legal course. In such instances, he may resort to illegal, criminal ways of murdering or burning her alive the affidavit has stated.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000\">The Muslim community is sharply divided on this issue. Khanam cites the example of some women who are not able to reconcile with the reality that their husbands have deserted them and found other women for themselves.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000\">Sometimes a man takes a second wife but refuses to divorce the first one. Islam permits men to have four wives. The first wife finds herself in a bind. Islam permits her to ask for divorce in the form of \u2018<em>khula<\/em>\u2019 but she has to forgo her \u2018<em>meher<\/em>\u2019. Further, there is social disapproval and <em>maulvi<\/em>s often make it difficult by demanding money from her to grant the divorce.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000\">It is clear that these festering issues need to be addressed urgently. Activists believe the government, the courts and society can no longer turn a blind eye to the plight of women suffering due to this practice. Since the community and its leadership have been unable to resolve the issue, the remedy lies in the courts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000\">As Noorjehan Safia Niaz, co-founder of Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA), and a petitioner in the Supreme Court against triple<em> talaq<\/em>, has pointed out, \u201cNo one can stop the citizen of this country from approaching the court. That is a right Muslim women also have.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23324,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[2304],"tags":[3186,1158,896,2066,2067],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/d2r2ijn7njrktv.cloudfront.net\/IL\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Lead24.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.indialegallive.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23323"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.indialegallive.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.indialegallive.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.indialegallive.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.indialegallive.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23323"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.indialegallive.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23323\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.indialegallive.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.indialegallive.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.indialegallive.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.indialegallive.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}