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.