Dubious Decisions
.Since the former Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee took the bus to Lahore, since then almost every department is keeping itself busy to keep itself in limelight in providing maximum facilities to the Pak nationals and in this field our most revered Supreme Court can’t restrict itself .This revered Court offered the Pak nationals, who left India in 1947, can have their ancestral property in India, though the Pak nationals have not taken a serious note of the Supreme Court’s declaration. The SC can order to transfer the cases from one zonal court to another but is mum on the cases based on registered Wills. I witnessed an old man, about 90,in Delhi’s Tis Hazari courts in defending his uncle’s registered Will of 1920s.As a sympathy when my lawyer viewed the old man’s case file based on the registered Will, it was concluded that there was nothing to delay the case for 15 years. The court should have decided the case long back on the merit of the Will, by sentencing the Will violators. My lawyer and myself were stunned by seeing such strict Will. In which even the deceased’s wife is restrict to sell the house to any outsider
Women Power and Nature
The mythological and spiritual traditions have highlighted the women’s connection with nature.The influence of these traditions can be witnessed in everyday life such as “mother nature”,and “mother earth”etc.The women’s health is the health of the earth. Most of the rivers in Bharat are named after women e.g. Ganga,Yamuna,Saraswati etc.The hill ranges like Aravalli,Amaravathi etc arealso given the name of women. So none can afford to neglect women’s role in preserving the environment.
This year’s Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to Kenyan ecologist Wangari Maatha because of her 30 years of campaign to protect and restore the environment as well as defend human rights. She is the first African woman and the first environmentalist to be awarded the prestigious Nobel Prize since it was handed out in 1901.While honouring her for her contribution to the sustainable development,democracy and peace , the Noble Committee said “Peace on earth depends on our ability to secure our living environment”.
The women power is very much involved in farming. The farming by the Angamis in Nagaland involves the cultivation of 15 to 20 crop species ,pest control through multi-cropping and spreading the availablity of diverse food over several months of the year. It has been called a female farming system as sowing maturing, weeding, seed selection and storage are all done by women while men do the tree cutting,clearing and burning of the jhum cultivation plot.The positive role of women in tribal areas is well known. Women contribute about 70 to 80per cent to the family labour in hilly areas due to seasonal male migration. However, the representation of women in local institutions and training is disproportionately low in relation to their contribution.
In the past years, the awareness on the depletion of natural resources, the degradation of natural systems and the dangers of polluting substances has increased remarkably. The deterioration of the environment is an increasing threat to a safe and healthy environment. In both urban and rural areas, environmental degradation results in negative effects on the health, well-being and quality of life of the population at large, especially girls and women of all ages.Women have an essential role to play in the sustainable development and ecologically sound consumption and production patterns. The deterioration of natural resources displaces communities, especially women from income generating activities. Environmental risks in the home and workplace may have a disproportionate impact on women’s health because of women’s different susceptibilities to the toxic effects of various chemicals. These risks to women’s health are particularly high in urban areas,as well as in low income areas where there is a high concentration of polluting industries. Decentralised action on environmental issues is most needed and decisive.
This year’s Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to Kenyan ecologist Wangari Maatha because of her 30 years of campaign to protect and restore the environment as well as defend human rights. She is the first African woman and the first environmentalist to be awarded the prestigious Nobel Prize since it was handed out in 1901.While honouring her for her contribution to the sustainable development,democracy and peace , the Noble Committee said “Peace on earth depends on our ability to secure our living environment”.
The women power is very much involved in farming. The farming by the Angamis in Nagaland involves the cultivation of 15 to 20 crop species ,pest control through multi-cropping and spreading the availablity of diverse food over several months of the year. It has been called a female farming system as sowing maturing, weeding, seed selection and storage are all done by women while men do the tree cutting,clearing and burning of the jhum cultivation plot.The positive role of women in tribal areas is well known. Women contribute about 70 to 80per cent to the family labour in hilly areas due to seasonal male migration. However, the representation of women in local institutions and training is disproportionately low in relation to their contribution.
In the past years, the awareness on the depletion of natural resources, the degradation of natural systems and the dangers of polluting substances has increased remarkably. The deterioration of the environment is an increasing threat to a safe and healthy environment. In both urban and rural areas, environmental degradation results in negative effects on the health, well-being and quality of life of the population at large, especially girls and women of all ages.Women have an essential role to play in the sustainable development and ecologically sound consumption and production patterns. The deterioration of natural resources displaces communities, especially women from income generating activities. Environmental risks in the home and workplace may have a disproportionate impact on women’s health because of women’s different susceptibilities to the toxic effects of various chemicals. These risks to women’s health are particularly high in urban areas,as well as in low income areas where there is a high concentration of polluting industries. Decentralised action on environmental issues is most needed and decisive.
Nikahnama.....
Nikahnama---A model or a misnomer…?
The controversy raised over the model Nikahnama recently drafted by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) raises several questions about the need as well as credibility of this code. What cannot be ignored is that Muslim women are subject to many of the problems affecting the society at large e.g. wife abuse as well as dowry problem. As dowry regulations drafted for the majority community women are still known to be violated in most parts of the country, the suggestions made by AIMPLB cannot be expected to instantly put into practice.
Secondly,the Bhopal Declaration of AIMPLB has failed to ban the practice of much-cursed triple talaq, a licence with which Muslim men can divorce their wives on a single sitting (and without seeking the wives’consent) by uttering the word talaq thrice.Those who wanted the AIMPLB,a body that has no legal status but wields considerable influence on questions of Muslim personal law, to come out unequivocally against the practice(triple talaq )have reasons to be thoroughly disappointed by the model nikahnama. The board has shown has gumption to call the spade a spade.
It would be better if we understand the background of the Muslim Personal Law Board and the purpose ofr which it was formed.Is it representative of all Muslims and shades of opinion? It was formed in 1972 in Mumbai by some Ulema who gathered there in response to the campaign for uniform civil code by some people.The fear was that as a result of this campaign Muslim Personal Law will be abolished and uniform civil code will come into existence.Thus most orthodox ulemas and others like advocates,academics and others from all sections of Muslims like Sunnis, Shias,Deobandis ,Barelvis,and Bohras etc came together to protect the Shari’ah.
Thus the basic task of the Board was to protect the MPL than to reform it or to change it in keeping with the demands of time.With the spread of education and awareness among Muslim women, pressure began to be built up for necessary changes.It is important to note that more and more Muslim girls are opting for modern education,which in turn makes them aware of their rights and they begin to campaign for the same.
In true sense, the Bhopal Declaration has sparked off a series of debates and expression of anguish and thus provided gunpowder for the fusillades of many more Muskans – who dared to tear apart the Model Nikahnama on a public platform in Mumbai--and Nawabs.
The Prince of Arcot,Nawab Muhammed Ali, a noble man of Muslims in South India has every reason to be disappointed by the Bhopal Declaration.He feels that the model Nikahnama would fail to bring out any reform since it was not enforceable in asny court of law because AIMPLB has no statutory powers.
Dr.Zafarul Islam Khan,an eminent Islamic thinker and editor of the Milli Gazette is of the opinion that “the nikahnama has no legal validity,in practice,any party --husband or wife—can violate it and breach what is written in it. This is the right time for the State to step in.”
Popular perception about Sharia, is that it is outdated because prominent Islamic counties including,Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iran,Iraq and Tunisia have amended it but the old-fashioned Indian clergy clings on it to maintain their hegemony.The reforms that take place in Islamic countries is a matter of envy because in a diversified society like India, Muslim community is scattered that Kerala Muslims have nothing in common with his Kashmiri counterpart,except faith.
The women activists say that it is a deliberate attempt to destabilize the women’s position among the community. “This is dangerous for Muslim women.Our personal issues are being pushed into the ghetto.What country do we live in if we are speaking of a Sharia court when after years ofstruggle we now have family courts to deal with these matters?”, says Ms Hasina Khan of Awaz-e-Niswan.
It is really unfortunate that the AIMPLB has failed the Indian Muslims once again by missing an opportunity to undo an un-Islamic practice known as triple talaq.It has shown utter cowardice by not admitting that nowhere in the Quran this kind of practice is sanctioned.Describing the Declaration as discriminatory, the All-India Democratic Women’s Association(AIDWA) has said that measures favoring women have been included “only as a pious piece of advice.”
Several women activists have voiced objection to the AIMPLB having not taken a clear stand against the “retrograde practice” of divorce, by which the husband can divorce the wife by pronouncing talaq thrice in one sitting.In their opinion,AIMPLB’s wordings of the sentence “to avoid talaq in one sitting” or to “avoid talaq without compulsion” is extremely vague and will not give any relief to women victims of this practice.AIDWA has ,also,objected to omission of “khulla” ,the woman’s right to divorce.
The controversy raised over the model Nikahnama recently drafted by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) raises several questions about the need as well as credibility of this code. What cannot be ignored is that Muslim women are subject to many of the problems affecting the society at large e.g. wife abuse as well as dowry problem. As dowry regulations drafted for the majority community women are still known to be violated in most parts of the country, the suggestions made by AIMPLB cannot be expected to instantly put into practice.
Secondly,the Bhopal Declaration of AIMPLB has failed to ban the practice of much-cursed triple talaq, a licence with which Muslim men can divorce their wives on a single sitting (and without seeking the wives’consent) by uttering the word talaq thrice.Those who wanted the AIMPLB,a body that has no legal status but wields considerable influence on questions of Muslim personal law, to come out unequivocally against the practice(triple talaq )have reasons to be thoroughly disappointed by the model nikahnama. The board has shown has gumption to call the spade a spade.
It would be better if we understand the background of the Muslim Personal Law Board and the purpose ofr which it was formed.Is it representative of all Muslims and shades of opinion? It was formed in 1972 in Mumbai by some Ulema who gathered there in response to the campaign for uniform civil code by some people.The fear was that as a result of this campaign Muslim Personal Law will be abolished and uniform civil code will come into existence.Thus most orthodox ulemas and others like advocates,academics and others from all sections of Muslims like Sunnis, Shias,Deobandis ,Barelvis,and Bohras etc came together to protect the Shari’ah.
Thus the basic task of the Board was to protect the MPL than to reform it or to change it in keeping with the demands of time.With the spread of education and awareness among Muslim women, pressure began to be built up for necessary changes.It is important to note that more and more Muslim girls are opting for modern education,which in turn makes them aware of their rights and they begin to campaign for the same.
In true sense, the Bhopal Declaration has sparked off a series of debates and expression of anguish and thus provided gunpowder for the fusillades of many more Muskans – who dared to tear apart the Model Nikahnama on a public platform in Mumbai--and Nawabs.
The Prince of Arcot,Nawab Muhammed Ali, a noble man of Muslims in South India has every reason to be disappointed by the Bhopal Declaration.He feels that the model Nikahnama would fail to bring out any reform since it was not enforceable in asny court of law because AIMPLB has no statutory powers.
Dr.Zafarul Islam Khan,an eminent Islamic thinker and editor of the Milli Gazette is of the opinion that “the nikahnama has no legal validity,in practice,any party --husband or wife—can violate it and breach what is written in it. This is the right time for the State to step in.”
Popular perception about Sharia, is that it is outdated because prominent Islamic counties including,Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iran,Iraq and Tunisia have amended it but the old-fashioned Indian clergy clings on it to maintain their hegemony.The reforms that take place in Islamic countries is a matter of envy because in a diversified society like India, Muslim community is scattered that Kerala Muslims have nothing in common with his Kashmiri counterpart,except faith.
The women activists say that it is a deliberate attempt to destabilize the women’s position among the community. “This is dangerous for Muslim women.Our personal issues are being pushed into the ghetto.What country do we live in if we are speaking of a Sharia court when after years ofstruggle we now have family courts to deal with these matters?”, says Ms Hasina Khan of Awaz-e-Niswan.
It is really unfortunate that the AIMPLB has failed the Indian Muslims once again by missing an opportunity to undo an un-Islamic practice known as triple talaq.It has shown utter cowardice by not admitting that nowhere in the Quran this kind of practice is sanctioned.Describing the Declaration as discriminatory, the All-India Democratic Women’s Association(AIDWA) has said that measures favoring women have been included “only as a pious piece of advice.”
Several women activists have voiced objection to the AIMPLB having not taken a clear stand against the “retrograde practice” of divorce, by which the husband can divorce the wife by pronouncing talaq thrice in one sitting.In their opinion,AIMPLB’s wordings of the sentence “to avoid talaq in one sitting” or to “avoid talaq without compulsion” is extremely vague and will not give any relief to women victims of this practice.AIDWA has ,also,objected to omission of “khulla” ,the woman’s right to divorce.
Child Marriage
Child marriage:A curse
The Supreme Court's directive to Collectors and Superintendents of police in every district of India to initiate immediate steps for preventing the child mrriage is commendable.However ,it is seen that thousands of child marriages are taking place in India. Despite laws to check such practices,young boys and girls who otherwise should be studying in schools are pushed into matrimony.
The cause for concern is that rising child marriages are virtually relegating women's rights and seem to be leading to other problems like soaring infant mortality,low-life expectancy,poverty,malnutrition and high illiteracy,espeacially among rural women.
Earlier too, the Supreme Court had criticised 10 states including the economically-developedKarnataka, Maharashtra andAndhra Pradesh for not preventing child marriages by enforcing the law forcefully.
The origin ofchild marriages dates back to Muslim invasions about 1000 years ago.Legend has it that parents would marry off their daughters almost at birth to protect them from Muslim invaders as unmarried Hindu girls were raped or carried away as booty.
Child marriage is a global problem but is pervasive in parts of Africa and South Asia.According to UNICEF, the percentage of girls aged between 15 and 19 in select countries who are already married,include:
Congo 74
Niger 70
Afghanistan 54
Bangladesh 51
Honduras 30
Iraq 28
In India,girls aged between 15 and 19 give birth to 15 million children ayear,many of whom without attending an antenatal clinic or receiving the help of a professional midwife. An early pregnancy has serious repercussions on the health of both the mother and the child leading to high rates of maternal and infant mortality.
Accounts from poor developing countries indicate that early marriages andpoverty areinter-related andin child marriage,abuse is commonly observed . Data from Egypt indicates that 29 per cent adolescent wives have been beaten up by their husbands and of these adolescents 41 per cent were beaten up during their period of pregnancy. In Jordon,26 per cent of reported cases of domestic violence were committed against wives under 18.Child marriage is also a kind of child labour in its worst form,as the bride is put to work in her in-laws' in may cases,girls as young as six or seven per cent year olds are reportedly taken away by their husbands' families to work as servants or as field hands.
Beit boy or girld, the physical ,intellectual,psychological and emotional consequences of an realy marriage can generate a series of roblems.
It needs to be realised that child marriage not only violates a girls' rights to personals freedom and growth but is a crime against theentire humankind. Such early marriages have grave implications on their health and education.Besides depriving these youngsters of educational opportunities and normal physical development, they are rendered vulnerable to stunted growth,both mentally andphysically.
The Supreme Court's directive to Collectors and Superintendents of police in every district of India to initiate immediate steps for preventing the child mrriage is commendable.However ,it is seen that thousands of child marriages are taking place in India. Despite laws to check such practices,young boys and girls who otherwise should be studying in schools are pushed into matrimony.
The cause for concern is that rising child marriages are virtually relegating women's rights and seem to be leading to other problems like soaring infant mortality,low-life expectancy,poverty,malnutrition and high illiteracy,espeacially among rural women.
Earlier too, the Supreme Court had criticised 10 states including the economically-developedKarnataka, Maharashtra andAndhra Pradesh for not preventing child marriages by enforcing the law forcefully.
The origin ofchild marriages dates back to Muslim invasions about 1000 years ago.Legend has it that parents would marry off their daughters almost at birth to protect them from Muslim invaders as unmarried Hindu girls were raped or carried away as booty.
Child marriage is a global problem but is pervasive in parts of Africa and South Asia.According to UNICEF, the percentage of girls aged between 15 and 19 in select countries who are already married,include:
Congo 74
Niger 70
Afghanistan 54
Bangladesh 51
Honduras 30
Iraq 28
In India,girls aged between 15 and 19 give birth to 15 million children ayear,many of whom without attending an antenatal clinic or receiving the help of a professional midwife. An early pregnancy has serious repercussions on the health of both the mother and the child leading to high rates of maternal and infant mortality.
Accounts from poor developing countries indicate that early marriages andpoverty areinter-related andin child marriage,abuse is commonly observed . Data from Egypt indicates that 29 per cent adolescent wives have been beaten up by their husbands and of these adolescents 41 per cent were beaten up during their period of pregnancy. In Jordon,26 per cent of reported cases of domestic violence were committed against wives under 18.Child marriage is also a kind of child labour in its worst form,as the bride is put to work in her in-laws' in may cases,girls as young as six or seven per cent year olds are reportedly taken away by their husbands' families to work as servants or as field hands.
Beit boy or girld, the physical ,intellectual,psychological and emotional consequences of an realy marriage can generate a series of roblems.
It needs to be realised that child marriage not only violates a girls' rights to personals freedom and growth but is a crime against theentire humankind. Such early marriages have grave implications on their health and education.Besides depriving these youngsters of educational opportunities and normal physical development, they are rendered vulnerable to stunted growth,both mentally andphysically.
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