An Alternative Proposal of Justice: Muslim Women Activists and Socio-Legal Realities in India

In India, with the change of political leadership at the center, the sanctity of religion-based Muslim family law has been contested. This has led to the development of a new socio-political discourse which is influenced and shaped by the basic feminist ideals of equal rights for women. In this discourse, Muslim women are portrayed as necessarily suffering from unjust family laws and needing immediate cover and protection from the secular state. In the light of the judicial reform which makes the practice of instant divorce through 'triple talaq' among Muslims a punishable offence, this article discusses that for Muslim women the domain of law is liminal and they choose between multiple legal forums to increase their access to justice. It explores how Muslim women approach different alternative forums, and in what ways Muslim women activists are creating an opportunity for the distressed women to resolve their marital disputes more efficiently. Such an examination provides important insights into how Muslim women's rights activists undertake their pursuit of justice within a complex, legally pluralistic landscape in the area of Muslim family law in India. Keywords: Muslim women activists, Triple talaq, Judicial reforms, Muslim personal law, Legal pluralism, Islamic feminism, Uniform civil code
Introduction In civil affairs in India the main religious communities--such as Hindu, Muslim, Christian and Parsi--are governed by their respective religion based personal laws. (3) These religiously grounded personal laws [...]