Muslim Personal Law

A number of Muslim women and their organisations are part of the national debate on ending the system of triple talaq. Triggered by the public interest litigation currently being heard in the Supreme Court, this represents a major change from the past when individuals like Shah Bano went to court raising issues around marriage and divorce procedures for Muslim women. What remains unchanged is the position of the ulema and the All Indian Muslim Personal Law Board.

The recent judgment by a Bangladesh High Court invalidating the utterance of 'talaq' thrice as a ground for divorce has sounded the death-knell for an erroneous, long held legal doctrine that has stifled a more benevolent interpretation of Muslim law. The judgment though not binding in India, is bound to have a substantial and pervasive influence on Indian courts and legislatures as both countries remain bound to the shared legacy of the colonial legal system.

THERE are many who believe that to be sensitive to the insecurity felt by the minorities in general and Muslims in particular is to support reforms from within the community. However, such political expediency has willy-nilly lent credibility to an ideological position which accords religious community a centrality in people's lives and concerns. It argues for reforms from within as being necessary and therefore, politically correct. Despite the difference, the political articulation of both have foregrounded Muslim Personal Law. The two day national convention of the All India Democratic Women' s Association (AIDWA) on Equal Rights and Equal Laws tried to break this prevalent mould. Held in Delhi (December 9-10) and drawing delegates from 18 states, the convention was significant for more than one reason. Being the largest democratic organisation the position articulated by AIDWA carries enormous weight. This is all the more important because there has been great deal of confusion among political activists on the question of women's rights after the Shah Bano case in 1985 and especially after the dgmohtiop of Babri masjid on December 6, 1992.