Nobody imagined that a democratic struggle by ordinary Muslim women would hit patriarchy at its core and yield a great step forward towards gender justice. The Haji Ali Case not only challenged the patriarchy within the Muslim community but it also created space for an alternative voice which was desperately trying to speak the language of equality, justice, and democracy. This struggle created space for an open debate on womens rights and religion. A Muslim woman is a world citizen today. She has all the right to lead the change not just for herself or her community but for all humankind. This book captures the struggle to reclaim sacred spaces from patriarchal forces and hopes to inspire other similar movements led by women.
The Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan was formed in January 2007 at a national conference in Delhi attended by 500 women from different parts of the country. It is a democratic organisation of Muslim women, led by Muslim women, and which strives for the citizenship rights of all and particularly Muslim women. The BMMA believes in the values of equality, justice, and fairness enshrined in the Holy Quran as well as the Constitution of India. In its 16th year, it’s membership has crossed one lakh across 15 states. BMMA believes in democracy and secularism as propounded by the Constitution of India. We believe peace and justice to be the fundamental tenets of Islam. We oppose the denial of women’s rights in society and strive to build Muslim women’s leadership across the country. We work on the issues of education, livelihood, health, security, and law reform. We are opposed to communalism and violence and believe in communal harmony, mutual respect, and religious co-existence.
In this book the authors have tried to fill up the pages of feminist history with the voices of Muslim women through their own lenses and their own voices. This collection of memoirs is meant to highlight the leadership potential and impact of a Muslim woman, her agency, her education, her fierce commitment and her fearlessness in the face of adversity. It is meant to create a historical record for future generations to inspire them and to educate them about the legacy that they have inherited. It is also meant to inspire more and more women to take up the charge of themselves, their community and their country.
Would it be easy to imagine a court where justice is dispensed not by women and men wearing black flowing gowns but by ordinarily dressed, uneducated women? Muslim women living in slum communities of Mumbai took upon themselves the job of providing legal aid to other distressed women. Need for justice is as crucial as other needs, especially for women who face marginalization on a large scale. This book looks closely at the genesis of these groups, their history, their interventions, their motivations and their contributions to women’s movement. The book suggests recommendations for strengthening alternative dispute resolution forums where justice will be dispensed not by learned lawyers but by ordinarily dressed unlettered women. These women, through their innate sense of justice reaches out passionately towards other equally battered women and together they journey towards a life of dignity.
This collection of essays and articles captures the beginning of the Muslim women’s movement in India in the last two decades. Written at different points during the journey, these pieces provide a glimpse into the collective tumultuous journey of women demanding reform in Muslim family law in India and for equal citizenship without discrimination. This journey was undertaken by ordinary women under their own leadership. This collection highlights the challenges faced by women. It also celebrates successes such as the organization of women into groups, abolition of triple talaq and women’s entry into the mazar of Haji Ali Dargah. This book is a collection of articles written by authors, individually and jointly in various newspapers, magazines, journals and other publications. It challenges the misogynist regressive norms for women in family set by patriarchal religious groups. It calls for state accountability in providing safety, security and equality to Muslim citizens. Based on experiences and insights from grounded struggle of ordinary women, these essays give hope and provide strength in addressing discrimination through shared vision and collective democratic action. It calls out the failure of conservative religious leadership as well as elected representatives in providing an enabling environment to the community and particularly, women. It calls out certain feminists for their dual standards and for unsuccessful attempts to weaken the movement for reform in family law led by ordinary Muslim women.
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