Skip to main content

'UCC unnecessary, undesirable': Islam recognized women's property rights 'long before they were formalized in Hindu laws'

By A Representative
 
The Minority Coordination Committee (MCC), Gujarat, has launched a statewide campaign opposing the proposed Uniform Civil Code (UCC) law by the Gujarat government, terming it unconstitutional and unnecessary.
Addressing the media in Ahmedabad, Mujahid Nafees, Convenor of the MCC, strongly criticized the proposed UCC. "As an Indian citizen, I firmly believe in the fundamental rights provided by our Constitution," he said. "Our religious customs and family laws are safeguarded under the Constitution, and any changes imposed upon them are unacceptable."
Nafees highlighted that Article 44 of the Constitution mentions the possibility of a common civil code for the country but questioned whether introducing different codes in individual states truly constitutes a "common" code. Citing the recent example of Uttarakhand’s UCC, he argued that it primarily imposes Hindu religious laws on other communities, undermining the secular principles of the Indian Constitution.
He also questioned the redundancy of the proposed law, pointing out that Gujarat already has the Gujarat Registration of Marriages Act, 2006, which mandates marriage registration. Similarly, laws like the Domestic Violence Act and Section 125 of the CrPC already address maintenance and related issues across all communities.
"Women in live-in relationships already have legal protection and rights under existing laws. So, what new rights is the UCC actually offering?" asked Nafees. He further emphasized that religious family laws do not necessarily discriminate against women and that Islam, for instance, has long recognized women's property rights—long before such rights were formalized in Hindu laws.
According to Nafees, implementing the UCC will not simplify legal matters but will instead complicate them further, as evidenced by Uttarakhand’s law. "The UCC violates constitutional rights under Articles 25, 26, 28, and 29, which guarantee freedom to practice one's religion," he stated.
Declaring the UCC unnecessary and undesirable, Nafees demanded the immediate withdrawal of the proposed law. He assured that the Minority Coordination Committee would continue to raise awareness across Gujarat about the negative consequences of the UCC.
As part of its campaign, the MCC has initiated a missed call drive and QR code scanning campaign to mobilize public support against the law. Citizens are urged to give a missed call on 9409185104 and scan the QR code to send mass emails to the UCC Committee.

Comments

TRENDING

10,000 students deprived of classes as Ahmedabad school remains shut: MCC writes to Gujarat CM

By A Representative   The Minority Coordination Committee (MCC) has written to Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, urging him to immediately reopen the Seventh Day Adventist School in Maninagar, Ahmedabad, where classes have been suspended for nearly two weeks. The MCC claims that the suspension, following a violent incident, violates the constitutional right to education of thousands of children.

Gujarat minority rights group seeks suspension of Botad police officials for brutal assault on minor

By A Representative   A human rights group, the Minority Coordination Committee (MCC) Gujarat,  has written to the Director General of Police (DGP), Gandhinagar, demanding the immediate suspension and criminal action against police personnel of Botad police station for allegedly brutally assaulting a minor boy from the Muslim community.

On Teachers’ Day, remembering Mother Teresa as the teacher of compassion

By Fr. Cedric Prakash SJ   It is Teachers’ Day once again! Significantly, the day also marks the Feast of St. Teresa of Calcutta (still lovingly called Mother Teresa). In 2012, the United Nations, as a fitting tribute to her, declared this day the International Day of Charity. A day pregnant with meaning—one that we must celebrate as meaningfully as possible.

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor*  This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Targeted eviction of Bengali-speaking Muslims across Assam districts alleged

By A Representative   A delegation led by prominent academic and civil rights leader Sandeep Pandey  visited three districts in Assam—Goalpara, Dhubri, and Lakhimpur—between 2 and 4 September 2025 to meet families affected by recent demolitions and evictions. The delegation reported widespread displacement of Bengali-speaking Muslim communities, many of whom possess valid citizenship documents including Aadhaar, voter ID, ration cards, PAN cards, and NRC certification. 

Gandhiji quoted as saying his anti-untouchability view has little space for inter-dining with "lower" castes

By A Representative A senior activist close to Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader Medha Patkar has defended top Booker prize winning novelist Arundhati Roy’s controversial utterance on Gandhiji that “his doctrine of nonviolence was based on an acceptance of the most brutal social hierarchy the world has ever known, the caste system.” Surprised at the police seeking video footage and transcript of Roy’s Mahatma Ayyankali memorial lecture at the Kerala University on July 17, Nandini K Oza in a recent blog quotes from available sources to “prove” that Gandhiji indeed believed in “removal of untouchability within the caste system.”

'Govts must walk the talk on gender equality, right to health, human rights to deliver SDGs by 2030'

By A Representative  With just 64 months left to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), global health and rights advocates have called upon governments to honour their commitments on gender equality and the human right to health. Speaking ahead of the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), experts warned that rising anti-rights and anti-gender pushes are threatening hard-won progress on SDG-3 (health and wellbeing) and SDG-5 (gender equality).

Is U.S. fast losing its financial and technological edge under Trump’s second tenure?

By Dr. Manoj Kumar Mishra*  The United States, along with its Western European allies, once promoted globalization as a democratic force that would deliver shared prosperity and balanced growth. That promise has unraveled. Globalization, instead of building an even world, has produced one defined by inequality, asymmetry of power, and new vulnerabilities. For decades, Washington successfully turned this system to its advantage. Today, however, under Trump’s second administration, America is attempting to exploit the weaknesses of others without acknowledging how exposed it has become itself.

What mainstream economists won’t tell you about Chinese modernisation

By Shiran Illanperuma  China’s modernisation has been one of the most remarkable processes of the 21st century and one that has sparked endless academic debate. Meng Jie (孟捷), a distinguished professor from the School of Marxism at Fudan University in Shanghai, has spent the better part of his career unpacking this process to better understand what has taken place.