Mumbai: Ban child marriage and polygamy, says Muslim women’s body

(From left) BMMA members Noorjehan Safia Niaz, Nishaat Husein, Zakia Soman and Khatoon Shaikh. Pic/Shadab Khan

The Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA), a pan-India organisation, headquartered in Mumbai working in the space of Muslim women's rights, held a press conference at the Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh at Azad Maidan, SoBo, on Monday afternoon.

The BMMA wanted to highlight the need for fully codified Muslim personal laws and push for an inclusive Uniform Civil Code (UCC). The panel also pointed to attacks on Muslims and their places of worship. They wished to shine the spotlight on amendments to the Waqf Bill. Codified laws refer to the rules and regulations that have been collected, restated, and written down for the purpose of providing civil order to a society.

Battles

The conference began with Nishaat Husein stating their background. "The BMMA has been in existence for 18 years. We have fought and won battles like abolishing instant triple talaq, ensuring women access to Haji Ali, and more," she said.

The four-person panel, addressing the press at the conference, stated that there are tangible battles that have been fought and won, and there have also been intangibles, like smashing stereotypes about Muslim women, such as, "they are incapable of achieving anything. While fighting for our rights, for change in certain spheres, we have proved we are equal to all and extremely capable."

Polygamy

All the panelists said that while instant triple talaq has been addressed, they were awaiting laws on polygamy and halala. They also said they have several points that needed to be included in the UCC so that women could benefit and it would be gender-just and inclusive.

Speaker Khatoon Sheikh said, "I ask the Waqf Board that you have so many properties. What have you done for the Muslim women? They need to take women as members - women who have worked in the activism and rights space, who have a voice in the discourse, and who are not mere passive spectators sitting with their heads down."

Maintenance

Panelist Zakia Soman pointed to "hate speech and crimes that are vitiating the atmosphere." Soman also said there was much dissent and friction within the Muslim community, "when we speak about maintenance for women, some from the community state that we should not ask for maintenance, as the Waqf Board will give maintenance. I ask the board, how many women have got maintenance?"

Another panelist, Noorjehan Safia Niaz, said, "If halala and child marriage are not addressed in the UCC, then what is its use for Muslim women?"

An interaction followed, with the BMMA releasing several key points they hoped would be addressed in the UCC. With reference to marriage, some subjects that the trailblazing women's body wanted in the UCC were that "a marriage must be considered a contract between two adults and not a sacrament. Witnesses to the marriage must be adults with verifiable documents of age and residence. Polygamy and child marriage to be made illegal".

Equality

The BMMA advocacy for an inclusive UCC when it came to adoption, custody, and guardianship also cited: "Custody of the child is not necessarily lost on conversion or remarriage of the parent." It added, "There must be gender parity in inheritance rights, including share in the marital property." When it comes to divorce, the BMMA stated, "Divorce in the court and outside the court must be regularized. The renunciation of Islam by a married Muslim woman or man or their conversion to another faith by itself cannot dissolve the marriage."