Muslim Personal Law should be changed, says judge.
By Dileep Thekkethil
Just days after Nisa, a Kozhikode-based Muslim women’s forum filed a petition in the supreme court seeking the repealing of clauses that legalize the practice of triple talaq, polygamy and nikah halala, Kerala high court judge B Kemal Pasha on Monday said that to lead a proper life, men and women need just one partner as spouse.
The loaded comment of the judge came during a seminar organized by the Muslim women’s forum Nisa and the Punarjani Charitable Trust in Kozhikode, Kerala, on Sunday.
The judge said that the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) has many clauses that discriminate against Muslim women, not only in the case of marriage but also when it comes to inheritance. He added that the Shariat law has taken a positon that contradicts the writings in the Holy Quran, reported The Times of India.
The judge said, “It is discrimination and the religious leaders who have created such a situation cannot shy away from addressing it. They should introspect whether they are qualified for pronouncing judgments. The persons who receive the judgments should also think about that.”
The judge added that Quran allows women divorce without legal authorization through Fasakh, but the Shariat law has exempted this and denied women rights to annul the marriage. However, the Muslim men have been bestowed with lenient laws when it comes to areas such as marriage and inheritance.
According to Pasha, all citizens of India, regardless of whether it is men or women, enjoy the rights mentioned in Article 14 and Article 21 of the constitution, which guarantees equality and the right to live.
The judge also asked by asking why Muslim women could not have four husbands while the men enjoyed the same privilege under the Muslim personal law, reported The Hindustan Times.
He blamed religious heads for establishing the hegemony of men and wanted them to introspect during religious discourses on sensitive issues.
Under the Muslim personal law, a man can marry four times. Although many Muslim countries have banned polygamy, it is still prevalent in India.
“Religious heads should do self-introspection whether they are eligible to pronounce one-sided verdicts. People should also think about the eligibility of persons who are pronouncing such verdicts,” he said.
Pasha also said that Muslim Personal law was not properly organized and this has resulted in the creeping up of many flaws in it.
“Currently, the courts are rendering justice on the basis of precedence and on the basis of the Mohammedan Law as compiled by legal expert D F Mulla. What is being implemented is not fully as per Koranic verses. Let the personal law be codified as per the principles of Koran which had expounded equality for man and woman,” the judge said.
The judge lashed out against the law that permits only sons to inherit father’s property. He said if a father has only daughters, nor they or their mother has the right to inherit the right to property. As per the Hanafi law, the brothers and sisters of the father own the right over the poverty.