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Progressive Muslim women’s forum NISA demands codification of personal laws by doing away with gender discrimination
KOZHIKODE, KERALA: A forward-thinking forum of Muslim women called ‘NISA’ has proposed a modification to the Indian Succession Act. Their aim is to strengthen gender equality and challenge the influence of patriarchy.
The proposed amendment seeks to establish a comprehensive and clear legal framework for the distribution of assets among Muslims in India, aligning it with the equality provisions outlined in the Indian Constitution.
The proposal comes at a time when the discussion on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) has been taken up by various political parties, with the Left, Congress and all Muslim organisations raising strong objections to the proposed law by the central government.
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In a submission to the Law Commission of India, the forum stated that the need of the hour was the codification of all Muslim personal laws by doing away with gender discrimination. NISA also submitted a representation to the Kerala government.
The president of NISA, VP Zuhra, who has been at the forefront of the fight against gender discrimination in Muslim personal laws over the last many years, said that the Indian Succession Act, Divorce Act, Guardians and Wards Act and Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act should be amended.
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In a letter to the Law Commission of India, the forum stated, “We are of the opinion that the Commission may not embark on a plan of imposing the Hindu code on the minorities, forgetting the fact that the Hindu women got equal treatment in the matter of property rights as late as 2005, and that too in different stages. We instead propose to amend the Indian Succession Act, 1925, to grant equal rights in the matter of succession to property in line with the principles of constitutional morality and equality.”
“We propose in this context to bring in an amendment in the Indian Succession Act and confer Muslim women the same rights available to Christian women and therefore suggest the commission extend the application of the Indian Succession Act to Muslims and insert a new chapter in the Indian Succession Act,” NISA stated in their letter to the Law Commission.
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Meanwhile, Muslim organisations, including Jamaat E Islami, parties including the Muslim League and INL, have not responded on the matter in particular in the present context, however, they are opposed to the proposed Uniform Civil Code.
The Muslim League, which convened a meeting on June 5, has, however, decided not to hold protests against the bill, but to wait and watch the content of the bill once it is made public.
