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Hasina Khan, 28, grew up in a slum in Mumbai struggling against poverty. Her mother worked as a maid to educate her while she pitched in with tuitions. Her life changed in 1985 when she walked into the little office of Awaaz e Niswaan (AEN) which was across the street in Mohammad Ali Road in Mumbai. Shehnaaz Shaikh, the founder of the organisation became her mentor introducing her to the world outside the confines of home and religion. With the small stipend she used to earn there, she completed her graduation and today runs literacy centres for Muslim women where they are empowered by being allowed to share their experiences, go to cinemas and exhibitions and to simple pleasures of life like eating in restaurants and taking day trips around Mumbai. Hasina’s work has spread since 1993 to predominantly Muslim areas in Central Mumbai and its suburbs, Thane and Kalyan. Hasina’s plan is to build adult education centres in three other Muslim neighbourhoods over the next three years.
Hasina’s team of six workers have handled about one thousand cases of women over the last six years. AEN has retrieved dowry articles, helped women gain custody of their children, and has even helped women get financial assistance. Since every situation is different, Hasina believes in using different strategies — dialogue, help from neighbours and the local religious court or Jamaat, police and the civil courts, and force when necessary. The local Jamaat has been so impressed with Hasina’s success that it consults her on problem-solving.
Hasina was in New Delhi recently to attend the conference called by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board on problems of Muslim women. Sreelatha Menon spoke to her on some of the problems faced by Muslim women and the need for legal reforms. Excerpts.
Q.: Your organisation has been working
with Muslim women for the past 15 years. What are the main issues that
you feel need to be immediately addressed?
A.: There are two things. Divorce
and matrimonial rights. In both matters, women have no rights. Divorce
is one-sided and without seeking a woman’s consent. There is also no chance
of a settlement through intervention by a third party. To make thinks worse
there is no law to help the women get justice when they are summarily asked
to leave. When the Shah Bano judgement happened, the Personal Law Board
called it an interference with the Shariat. Now the 1986 Muslim Women Protection
of Right at Divorce Act denies women the right to demand maintenance from
their husbands. By making her parents and her relatives liable to pay for
her makes her unwelcome at home. Again she is denied the maintenance which
all women are eligible to claim under Section 125 CrPC.
Q.: What do you feel is the way
out?
A.: Marriage is a contract according
to Shariat. So divorce also should be a contract. This can happen if the
nikahnama is standardised and made a legal document favouring women and
applicable to all Muslim marriages in the country.
The provision of Khula (separation by mutual consent) in Shariat is often pointed out as an instrument empowering women. What do you of it? The Muslim Personal Board says the Shariat gives women a lot of rights and Khula and Tafriq (woman seeks separation) are some of them. But here again the woman is at a disadvantage. For a while a man does not need to seek a woman’s consent before arbitrarily giving her talaq verbally or even by e-mail or through phone even in an inebriated state, a woman needs the husband’s consent to leave him under khula. And worse she has to buy her independence by forgoing the mehr which is supposed to provide social security to women.
Most women are never paid any mehr after marriage and on the other hand talaq is used as a weapon to get dowry from her for which there is no provision in the Shariat.
Again though she is supposed to get maintenance from her husband during iddat (three months after talaq) according to the 1986 Act, she has to spend all her life and money in litigation to get it while she would be fending for herself and her children.
Q.: What about her share in parental
property?
A.: She is denied her share as
inheritance has been linked to dowry. Though there is no provision for
dowry in Shariat, it is openly demanded by families. We do not want dowry
for it goes to the man’s family. We want inheritance. And we should not
be asked to buy our divorce by forgoing our mehr or dowry.
Q.: It is said that the root of
the problems now is that Muslim women cannot approach the courts since
most of the personal laws in the Shariat have not been codified and legislated.
Do you think that codification of Shariat selecting from progressive interpretations
available in some schools of thoughts would help?
A.: I feel codification can only
be the beginning and not the end. Reforms are needed.
Q.: Would this be acceptable to
religious leaders?
A.: It is a fact accepted by them
also that Islam is a progressive religion. If it could abolish slavery
and give women vast rights 1,400 years ago, the thinking that went behind
it was certainly very progressive. So why cannot the religion abide by
the same progressive spirit? I think we go against Islam by refusing to
stop injustices like triple talaq and polygamy being perpetrated in society
now in the name of Islam.
Q.: Do you expect the personal law
board to take any initiative?
A.: The board has never been interested.
Besides there is no openness about it. No one knows who selects its members
or what their background is. n The board had called a conference of women
NGOs across the country? The board was forced to do this as we have been
building up pressure.
Q.: How?
A.: We formed a loose network of
25 women’s groups called Muslim Women’s Rights Network in 1999 at a conference
in Mumbai. The Network met in Nagpur and Delhi subsequently.
Q.: What was the objective of this
group?
A.: The idea of the coalition came
to me when I attended a workshop in 1998 on ‘Problems of Muslim Women’
organised by Asgar Ali Engineer, a prominent academic in Mumbai. I realised
the importance of an academic workshop on Muslim women and their problems.
I felt that men, women, academics, lawyers and all sections of society
should be involved in discussing and analysing Muslim Personal Law. If
this did not happen political and religious leaders would seize the initiative.
Q.: Do you think the conference
organised by the Muslim Personal Law Board would lead to some activity
on the part of the board?
A.: The board itself admitted that
it has no powers to solve our problems. It also said that it was not ready
to touch the Shariat. They, in fact, asked us to create awareness among
women and reduce their suffering. So, in a way, the board has given its
approval for our work. We would still like to keep talking to the board
while we also work for reform.
Q.: Do you think a uniform civil
code (UCC) will help?
A.: UCC is not the same as gender
just laws. Gender just laws are ultimately what we want.
Q.: What do you think of the Islamic
courts that the board has suggested as a solution for making Shariat law
accessible to the people?
A.: That will not solve any problem.
For that would not lead to any reform in the law itself. Besides what is
the proof that these courts would be fair? n It is also said that education
would help Muslim women prevent a lot of injustice that is being done to
them.
We have many educated Muslim women who even become parliamentarians. But how many of them understand women’s problems or try to solve them or seek solutions for them? Women’s cause is lost in all this talk of education. That is not the main issue.
Q.: Tell me something about AEN?
A.: At AEN women receive legal
aid and education. Almost all our workers are people who had approached
it at some point for help themselves. Today they are all independent women.
Its founder was Shehnaaz Shaikh who herself was thrown out of her house
at night by her husband. I joined her in 1985 and have been inspired by
her. The organisation was on the verge of closure in 1993 as Shehnaz Sheikh
had left and there was no money. But I and some other women carried on
the work from our homes helping Muslim women fight injustice in their families.
Till date we have not registered. Recently I received a fellowship from
the US NGO Askoka Innovators for the Public. Besides we also receive donations.
I am planning to apply for registration now.
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