Skip to main content

Muslim women's collective calls triple talaq gender discriminatory, patriarchal, says issue whether it's Islamic

By Our Representative
In a strongly-worded statement, Ahmedabad’s Parwaaz Sangathan’s Bebaak Collective – an autonomous organization which works for encouraging reading, learning and sharing processes among Muslim women over the last three years in Gujarat and other states – has said that triple talaq is “gender discriminatory and epitomizes patriarchal values, and therefore must be abolished.”
Signed by two senior activists, Khairunnisha Pathan and Samina Malek, who call the collective “a strong feminist voice of dissent in the environment of majoritarian politics, speaking for the rights of Muslim women”, the statement says, the issue is not whether the All India Muslim Personal Law Board’s (AIMPLB’s) affidavit to the Supreme Court claiming triple talaq is Islamic or un-Islamic.
“The occasion of this statement issued by the organization is that growing numbers of Muslim women’s petitions challenging the constitutionality of triple talaq in the apex court”, the statement says.
It adds, “This is the only reason why it, as part of women’s movement and practicing feminists working with Muslim community and women has taken the liberty to “write this statement condemning the recent affidavit posed by AIMPLB.”
The AIMPLB’s affidavit, the statement says, has four parts:
  • First, abolition of triple talaq is (un)Quaranic; 
  • Second, since women lack decision making abilities, it is only men of the community who should have this right; 
  • Third, polygamy is Islamic though not promoted and this practice ensures marital rights for Muslim women, banning of which will tantamount to promiscuous sexual practices or murder of women in hands of their husbands; and
  • Fourth, the honorable Supreme Court of India has no right to intervene in the religious law of the community. 
Refuting point by point the AIMPLB affidavit, the statement says, “First, whether the practice of unilateral triple talaq is validated by religion or not is not our contention, rather it is gender discriminatory and epitomizes patriarchal values and therefore must be abolished should be emphasized”, the statement says.
“Second”, it says, “the belief that women lack decision making qualities dilutes the citizenship rights of Muslim women in India who have been exercising their electoral rights for more than sixty years now.”
“Third”, it says, “polygamy ensures marital rights for Muslim women and prevents death threats; and its erasure will increase promiscuous sexuality is not only conservative but also challenges the principle of ‘equality’ enshrined by our Indian Constitution for women who are being treated as second class citizens as compared to their male counterparts of the community.”
And fourth, it says, “that Supreme Court cannot intervene in the personal law eliminates the possibility of Article 14 which promises equal rights to the citizens within Indian territory across religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth.”
“It is no surprise that AIMPLB has not progressed over the decades and reiterates the same position which reverberates the patriarchal conservative ideas of the community”, the statement says, adding, “However, we envision a gender-just law for the community where women’s question of social security and rights promised by the Indian Constitution will be practiced.”
It further says, “We do not believe in progressive or regressive interpretation of religion or codification of Muslim Personal Law for we believe that in every community there are multiple realities of an identity, multiple practices of beliefs and pluralist envisions of family structure.” 
The statement adds, “We, therefore, emphasize on acknowledgement of women’s rights which are otherwise controlled in the name of religion, purity or chastity or even in the garb of ‘protecting’ women.”
The statement underlines, “This statement is not only an emphatic on resistance to the religious organizations like AIMPLB but also a call to reiterate feminist vision of gender just laws for Muslim women who are also rightfully Indian citizens.”

Comments

TRENDING

Right-arm fast bowler who helped West Indies shape arguably greatest Test team in cricket history

By Harsh Thakor*  Malcolm Marshall redefined what it meant to be a right-arm fast bowler, challenging the traditional laws of biomechanics with his unique skill. As we remember his 25th death anniversary on November 4th, we reflect on the legacy he left behind after his untimely death from colon cancer. For a significant part of his career, Marshall was considered one of the fastest and most formidable bowlers in the world, helping to shape the West Indies into arguably the greatest Test team in cricket history.

Andhra team joins Gandhians to protest against 'bulldozer action' in Varanasi

By Rosamma Thomas*  November 1 marked the 52nd day of the 100-day relay fast at the satyagraha site of Rajghat in Varanasi, seeking the restoration of the 12 acres of land to the Sarva Seva Sangh, the Gandhian organization that was evicted from the banks of the river. Twelve buildings were demolished as the site was abruptly taken over by the government after “bulldozer” action in August 2023, even as the matter was pending in court.  

Outreach programme in medical education: Band-aids for compound fractures

By Amitav Banerjee, MD*  Recently, the National Medical Commission (NMC) of India, introduced two curricular changes in medical education, both at the undergraduate and the postgraduate levels, ostensibly to offer opportunities for quality medical education and to improve health care accessibility among the underserved rural and urban population.

United organisations oppose privatisation of health services in Madhya Pradesh

By Our Representative  In a strong show of opposition, multiple health associations under the umbrella of the United Organisations for Action against Privatisation of Health Services have condemned the Government of Madhya Pradesh’s recent moves towards privatising public health facilities. They argue that these actions, including outsourcing and the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, will compromise the availability and accessibility of essential health services for the state’s citizens.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah  The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Will Left victory in Sri Lanka deliver economic sovereignty plan, go beyond 'tired' IMF agenda?

By Atul Chandra, Vijay Prashad*  On September 22, 2024, the Sri Lankan election authority announced that Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power (NPP) alliance won the presidential election. Dissanayake, who has been the leader of the left-wing JVP since 2014, defeated 37 other candidates, including the incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe of the United National Party (UNP) and his closest challenger Sajith Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya. 

Will Bangladesh go Egypt way, where military ruler is in power for a decade?

By Vijay Prashad*  The day after former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka, I was on the phone with a friend who had spent some time on the streets that day. He told me about the atmosphere in Dhaka, how people with little previous political experience had joined in the large protests alongside the students—who seemed to be leading the agitation. I asked him about the political infrastructure of the students and about their political orientation. He said that the protests seemed well-organized and that the students had escalated their demands from an end to certain quotas for government jobs to an end to the government of Sheikh Hasina. Even hours before she left the country, it did not seem that this would be the outcome.

Are Kashmir's porous borders turning region into 'convenient entry point' for drugs flowing into India?

By Raqif Makhdoomi*  Drug addiction has become a serious problem, affecting not only Kashmir but communities worldwide. In the shadowy world of drug trafficking, vast networks and powerful organizations play pivotal roles. These criminal enterprises, often bolstered by influential backers, operate with impunity, profiting from human suffering. For those able to evade law enforcement, drug trafficking can lead to staggering wealth; even at a local level, small-time peddlers can earn substantial sums. Despite international efforts to curb this menace, the drug syndicate is highly complex, eluding even the most determined governmental crackdowns due to its global reach and the powerful networks that support it.