Women’s rights and wrongs

Among Hindus, polygamy too was rampant. Yet it was abolished first in Bombay State by the Bombay Prevention of Hindu Bigamous Marriages Act, 1946. Later, the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, put an end to polygamy throughout the country. Marriage among Hindus had been held to be sacrosanct, something that could not be dissolved — yet the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, provides for dissolution of marriage both by husband and wife on the grounds stated in the Hindu Marriage Act. The Indian Divorce Act has also been recently amended to do away with inequality between women and men in matters of divorce among Christians. Untouchability, yet another social evil, was outlawed by Article 17 of our Constitution.

Social and legal reforms must move together to ensure that all social evils are banished. It is often said that personal laws are outside the purview of challenge under Article 13 of the Constitution of India. But this has no constitutional or legal basis. The fact is that what is inhuman is both unconstitutional and illegal. A very interesting answer to the argument of the Muslim Personal Law Board lies in the fact that in several Muslim countries triple talaq has been banned or restricted. There are several countries where there is a uniform law of divorce, for all citizens irrespective of their religion. The power to legislate on marriage and divorce is specifically conferred in entry 5, List III, Schedule VII of our Constitution.

In legal awareness camps for Muslim women which I attend and help organise regularly, women of all ages, young and old, ask me one question again and again: How can a Muslim marry four times when Hindu, Christian or Parsi men can marry only once? How is that there is a right of triple talaq for men and no right of divorce for us? I ask them to raise their voice against triple talaq, for a model Nikahnama that will secure them their rights.

Discrimination against women regardless of their religion is a matter of grave concern. The days of patriarchy are at an end. Today women are taking their rightful place in all walks of life. After the Second World War, we made a transition to a world of human rights. The United Nations Charter proclaims that all human beings are born free and equal. Contrast this with the American constitution, which proclaimed that all men are born free and equal. The Beijing Declaration also proclaims women’s rights as human rights.

We cannot continue to dither on the enforcement of basic fundamental rights of women. The sooner the evil of polygamy and triple talaq in our country are banned and banished the better. The Women’s Reservation Bill has still to be passed. In the Hindi belt of our country, Hindu women have been deprived of the right of inheritance and partition in a joint Hindu family. A daughter just cannot be a coparcener like a son. This discrimination has been removed in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat. The Law Commission report recommending equal rights to daughters and sons in HUF property is gathering dust.

The community and the state must work together to ensure that our sisters enjoy full rights equal to men. The Constitution is supreme. Liberty and equality are the pillars of our Constitution. Let us make India a country of equal rights and dignity for women and men.

The writer is a senior advocate