Triple talaq ( men divorcing women saying talaq three times ) is to protect women from being killed by their unsatisfied husbands
Marriage is a contract in which both parties are not physically equal. Male is stronger and female is a weaker sex.
Polygamy as a social practice is not for gratifying men’s lust, but it is a social need.
These are some of the gems of wisdom bullshit that came out of the top most Muslim law committee of India representing all sections of Indian Muslims , The All India Muslim Personal Law Board.
They were opposing the attempt by the Supreme Court to reform primitive religious personal laws which is still prevalent in India. Actually Muslim personal laws in India are more primitive and anti woman than many of the Islamic countries. Any attempt by activists and authorities to reform it has been facing stiff resistance from the patriarchs who control the religion with iron hands and still want to live in with a skewed gender equation of 8th century Arabia.
Image credit – Indian Express
Unfortunate fact is most politicians, even the supposed to be reformist and secular ones, are going along with this shameful oppression of women rights. The Muslim leaders ensure that those who promise not to interfere in religious laws gets votes of Muslims. So minority rights, the name given to the right of Muslim men to continue oppress women , over rides women rights.
The Hindutva movement pay only lip service to the issue. Their focus is to gather Hindu votes by a misogynist propaganda highlighting the unfair advantage Muslim men gets to have their own way. The Hindutva movement’s anti Muslim rhetoric also helps these Muslim patriarchs to cry “religion is in danger” and gather all Muslims under one roof and make them vote as a block.
What India miss badly is a reformist Muslim movement that can take on the Muslim patriarchal leadership head on and is able to break the silence of suffering women in their community. Sadly many progressive Muslims are silent. Privately they will say they oppose the views of Personal Law Board. But they are not brave enough to debate and oppose it publicly. They think telling bad things loud about their religious laws is not good as they are a minority. So they are even reluctant to discuss this in social media, though they may be vocally progressive of all other causes.
Still , I am optimistic about Muslim women. As more and more of them gets educated and starts working outside the house and gets a financial backup to voice their opinions, things may change. Let us hope this long wait to see a reformist movement among Muslims will soon end.
I think the reluctance to speak out is well justified, at least for some. Islam has folks who will actually hunt you down and kill you if you speak out. I could wish for more bravery but can’t really blame the people who are Muslims as they know very well the consequences of raising their voices. In this case, the people I blame are those who are *not* Muslim. I would sure like to see more bravery there, and less pandering to votes. It seems sometimes it’s all politicians can think about.