|
|
|
|
Articles: Women | Muslim Bride & Predilection
- Miss Syeda Sultana
| |
In India the situation of the divorced Muslim woman is pathetic as “the Muslim brides in earlier days were hardly between the age of 11 to 13 years and by the time they were into 20’s they used to get divorced from husband. The talks of divorce, desertion, indignity, polygamy, sexual harassment, etc., are the things, which a dignified woman neither discloses nor express to others. One can hardly ignore the plight of women either. Many Muslim men are unjust in their behavior towards women.
Islam had provided women not only with dignity but also gave them concrete legal rights in no way inferior to men. As far as women are concerned Islam is nothing short of a social revolution for them. However, the society is not prepared to accord high or equal status to women. It managed, through various means, to push women to lower status on the social ladder.
Today women's rights have assumed great importance and have to be taken into account while deciding the cases pertaining to marriage, divorce, maintenance and property. Still our social traditions are as such to deny rights to women in these aspects. And as far as Muslim personal law is concerned, in the absence of any codification it is ‘Ulema’s opinion, which takes precedence. No Ulema or judge can ignore the rights of women in today's social ecology.
The time has changed and no educated, self-respected, dignified woman will bare injustice towards her rights. Now the woman is coming out to express her grievances, pains, and sufferings to others. They do not hesitate to question the muslim scholars who are trained in Islamic Laws.
The very first discrimination is obliviously on her gender, the fact that she is a female.
Muslim Men are allowed to marry up to 4 times; He can divorce as per his whims and will by just uttering “TALAQ” 3 times; Refuses to give maintenance to his ex-dependents that includes (wife and children); Taking the children into his custody also depends on the gender of the child.
In Islam the position of a woman and her man are like body and soul and their rights are equal but, complimentary in nature. Though the personal law says the maintenance of a divorced wife should be given up to the period of IDDAT. “Does the personal law ever thought what will happen after Iddat period, how a divorced woman can maintain herself and her children”? “Does our society accept a divorced woman if, she ever wants to go for the second marriage?”
For the above questions neither the husband nor the Personal Law Board is bothered about the woman or her children. The husband makes his intention clear by giving divorce to his wife and leaving her as helpless, powerless, incompetent etc., in this world.
Case Laws:-“Why some Indian citizens want to be treated different from other citizens”
This is the famous citation: The Supreme Court had allowed muslim divorcee “SHAH BANO’S” maintenance for life under the Cr.P.C. section 125 from her former husband. The Muslim Board objected to this judgment and maintained that in Islam a divorcee can get maintenance only for the iddat period (i.e. a period of waiting for three months after divorce is pronounced)
The Law of the land not only brings the uniformity by implementing this section to all the religions but also recognizes the right of an aggrieved, distressed woman to get maintenance from her husband after divorce.
The Muslim leadership thought that the Supreme Court had no right to interpret the holy ‘Quran’ which only a Muslim Ulema can do, who is against the implementation of section 125 of Cr.P.C. which gives the right to all women (now except Muslim women) to claim maintenance.
In 1985 there were massive demonstrations by the Muslims and the then Rajiv Gandhi’s Government was compelled to upturn the Supreme Court Judgment by passing a new Act known as the Muslim Women (Protection on Divorce) Act 1986. The new Act drafted with the help of Muslim Ulemas was supposedly based on the ‘Quranic’ verse 2:241 which says that 'And the divorced women, too, shall have (a right to) maintenance in a goodly manner; this is a duty for all who are conscious of God.'
Thus it is clear that the Holy Quran requires Muslims who fear God to provide maintenance to their divorced wives. The Muslim 'Ulema, however, argued that this maintenance could be given only for the period of 'Iddat only i.e. for three months. It is quite interesting to note that while the Indian Ulema and muslim leaders agitated against the Supreme Court judgement in mid-eighties and forced the Government of India to adopt new legislation for Muslim women.
The Bangladesh High Court, in 1995 upheld the provision of Cr.P.C. 125 and allowed maintenance for life to a Muslim divorcee, the judgement is that 'maintenance for wife - a person after divorcing his wife is bound to maintain her on a reasonable scale beyond the period of iddat for an indefinite period, that is to say, till she loses the status of a divorcee by remarrying another person.'
“Does the society accept a divorced woman if she ever wants to go for the second marriage?”
According to the Muslim Women (Protection on Divorce) Act 1986 she is entitled to:
1. Maher (dower) amount;
2. Mata' (i.e. one time provision depending on the financial status of the husband and the standard of wife;
3. Three months maintenance - iddat period
4. Whatever gifts she had received from husband and other relatives at the time of marriage
However, the Bombay High Court awarded to Zaitunbi is almost what she would have been entitled to under the section 125 of Cr.P.C. The intention of the 'Ulama and the Muslim leaders was to counter section 125 of Cr.P.C. and to avoid permanent liability for the husband of a divorced wife. But the learned judges of the Bombay High Court, have reached, through elaborate arguments of their own, that under the Muslim Women's Act of 1986 she should be provided within the iddat period maintenance for life (or until she remarries) on a fair and reasonable scale.
Conclusion:-
The Situation of Muslim Women is like a candle that brightens the world around it who, but unfortunately, it creates a shadow of its own. It still serves the purpose it is meant for:
The Muslim Personal Law Board should minimize the divorces between the couple. It should provide security to the woman by providing her maintenance on a fair and reasonable scale with which she can start her life independently or until she remarries. Shariyath should be amended in such a way that the spontaneous equal rights should be given to muslim women in all walks of life. It should inculcate the culture of woman as a human being on par with the man.
Daniel Latif, in the Times, dismantled the Bill Muslim Women (Protection on Divorce) Act 1986 clause by clause, pointing out errors, inadequacies and vagueness. According to him, the reasons given for the introduction of the Bill were based on a fallacious reading of the Supreme Court verdict in the Shah Bano case. The Supreme Court had made no attempt to interfere with Muslim Personal Law. All it did was to hold that Shah Bano had not been paid 'the whole of the sum which under customary or personal law was payable on divorce'.
Another important point made by Latif regarded the provision that maintenance must be provided by the wakfs. 'The law of Islam is very strict on the point that a benefaction must be applied to the purpose specified by the wakf - founder of the trust'. It cannot be changed by anybody.
A.G. Noorani, in a two-part article in the Indian Express, written more it seems for lawyers than newspaper-readers, blasts the Supreme Court for its 'ardent espousal' for the demand for a uniform civil code. He claims that the 'possibility of radical reform within the framework of the Shariat' is missed out by the advocates of the Supreme Court. There is however, a useful description of the types of divorce permitted under Islam and Noorani maintains that the infamous oral 'talaq-talaq-talaq' divorce is not a easy as has been made out to be, and the most frowned upon by Islam.
The reactions of ordinary Muslims to the Shah Bano verdict and the Bill has also been covered by the press though there has been no systematic state-by-state study. And certainly there are contradictions:
Though we respect the Shariyath Law which is protecting Islamic culture, but simultaneously my message to my beloved Islamic sisters that in this hour the need to us to be Educated so that our education will give a positive solution in enlightening the Islamic way of life so, in this scenario we should go for education as we go for namaz 5 times a day, having a meal thrice a day to survive in this universe. If we achieved 90% of literacy rate we can give the meaningful life to the coming generations. If we achieved this objective then we can give the solutions to the unequal treatment of marriage, divorce, maintenance, inheritance of property etc in our Islamic society. It should be deemed a binding duty of Muslims in this country to support the Indian Muslims Women.
Thus Muslims must understand that Shariyath laws, which have incorporated human reasoning as much as divine injunctions and human reasoning is greatly influenced by ones, own social and cultural ethos. The status of Muslim women, which was elevated, in earlier days now it turndown. It is high time that the Muslim intellectual class and our elderly people must apply their vision in amending the Personal Law to treat women equal to the men in every sphere of the life.
By
Sayeda .T. Sultana
Legal Assistant
International Legal and Trade Consultants!
03/03/2005
| Read 9 Comment(s) posted so far on this Article!
| |
|
|
|
 |
| Advertisements |
|
|
|
|
| Advertisements |
|
.gif)
