Proposed Kerala Muslim Marriage bill-A great step towards a noble cause
In a progressive and bold step towards the reform of Muslim Personal Law, the Kerala Law Reforms Commission has drafted a bill which will curb and check the practices of polygamy and divorce through Talaq among Muslims in the state.
Essentially neither is it a bill with radical stand nor is it revolutionary in terms of its features. In fact almost all of its features are there in the Shariah law. For instance it doesn’t ban polygamy nor does it ban the concept of talaq among Muslims. The only thing that it does that it tries to regulate the indiscreet marriages and divorces in the community.
One has to understand that the legal issues related to Muslim personal laws like that of divorce, marriage, inheritance are usually dealt with by the respective Shariah bodies. There is no mechanism in Shariah framework (as it is being practically implemented in India) where the people who violate the Shariah laws are held accountable to their misdeeds and punitive measures are applied to them.So if a person remarries or misuses the provision of talaq he can and in most of the cases, he does easily get away with this because there is no effective mechanism in the existing Shariah based Muslim Personal Law Board which could ensure that he is punished as per the existing punitive measures available in the Shariah.
The Indian Constitution doesn’t provide the organizations like Muslim Personal Law Board (who claim to have the exclusive rights of representation of personal law related issues of Indian Muslims) legal legitimacy. So this Bill seeks to address the implementation of the punitive aspect in the cases of all the discreet remarriage and divorces
The draft Bill titled “The Kerala Muslim Marriage and Dissolution by Talaq (Regulation) Bill” seeks to legislate that ‘monogamy shall be the rule’ and that ‘marrying again during the lifetime of husband or wife is an offence.’ However, the proposed Bill provides for remarriage by husband in exceptional cases “with the (wife’s) consent in writing before a notary public or a judicial officer expressing her consent to the second marriage and briefly giving her reasons for the consent.”
The Law Reforms Commission’s proposed law aims to “declare that, among the Muslims in Kerala, monogamy is the general rule and polygamy a just exception, permissible only in socially exceptional circumstances and that also subject to compassionate conditions, and to provide further that divorce by talaq can be effected only subject to special conditions.” It wants that “if any married Muslim, man or woman, marries again during the subsistence of the first marriage, the party who violates shall be guilty of bigamy under the Indian Penal Code and punishable as such.”
The proposed law makes it mandatory that all Muslim marriages and divorces be registered with the local registrar of marriages. The most important provision in the proposed law is the constitution of a ‘conciliation council,’ to be set up in each district, to regulate Muslim remarriages and divorces. The council, to be set up by the State government, will have a retired district judge or magistrate from the Muslim community as its head.
The man, permitted to take a second wife, “shall be liable to provide reasonable accommodation and privacy as well as just alimony or maintenance sufficient for the wife to sustain herself in reasonable comfort.”The proposed law also says that marriage of Muslim shall be contract. It also says that “the female spouse shall be entitled to divorce only through court or with the approval of the conciliation council on grounds of irretrievable breakdown irreparable by conciliation
It has sought a variety of responses from the Muslim community be it the common masses or its intellectual class. Moreover it has created a debate in the community to ponder over the effects of polygamy and talaq on the community.
The bill has sought positive responses almost from all the women’s activists across the religious, political and ideological divides. They have been pitching for the bill and mobilizing forces to pressurize the government to legislate the bill.
According to Febeena Seethi, the president of Kerala Women’s Front, polygamy is a double edged sword in the sense that it can be useful but it can also be a way to exploit women. Usually it becomes a way of exploitation of women where their lives are made miserable because of it. “There should be a women and a religious scholar in the conciliation councils.” She explained that the representation of women and a religious scholar is very important. The religious scholar will help in avoiding any kind of controversy and the woman member will .
A big section of all the people who support the Bill feel that it is high time that reform must happen in the Muslim Shariah law or Muslim Personal Law. So their support of the bill can be seen as motivated by an effort to bring about some kind of balance between the Shariah laws and changed circumstances of the modern times. Likewise Dr. Feebina also expressed an urgent need for the reforms in the Muslim Personal Laws.Finally she pointed out that it has been experienced that legislations alone have never been sufficient to control some practice or any person. For instance – dowry. Since the first legislation on Dowry many more laws have been made but only to increase the number of dowry cases.
The misuse of Talaq and polygamy can only be stopped with a change in the attitude of men and for this we need a war like campaigning against the both practices by every medium and every suitable platform. Dr. Seethi also pointed out that almost every woman’s organization has supported the bill.As far as most of the Muslim organizations are concerned they favor the bill in some cases with few suggestions and concerns to be addressed and included in the bill. So to a large extent there is no opposition to the Bill, in fact he went on to the extent of saying people have hardly opposed the bill on religious grounds at least. The reason is that today most of the progressive organizations want the reform in the Shariah Laws.
There hasn’t been any strong opposition to the bill as such except by few orthodox Muslim organizations like Samastha Kerala Jamiatul Ulama and Kerala Jamiatul Ulama. Both these organizations are completely rejecting the Bill. They have termed it as interference in the Shariah Laws by the secular Indian law.But their opposition also is complicated by the fact that their office bearers and some leaders have supported the Bill individually. In their religious lectures these people have accepted the problems created by the polygamy and expressed the need for the law to check those problems as pointed out by Mr. M Ebrahim of the Madhyamam daily.
As far as the coverage of this issue by the mainstream media in Kerala is concerned, Mr. Shareef refers to a very dangerous precedent; which is to sensationalize and controversialize every issue related to Muslims even if the issue is very simple.
So in spite of the fact there hasn’t been a strong opposition to the Bill by the Muslims in the state except few orthodox organization, instead of highlighting the moderate voices media is trying to pick up the few voices of opposition to the Bill and portray the whole community as backward and non-progressive.
People in the Sunni Cultural Centre pointed out that the main reason for the opposition by A.P. Aboobaker Musliar (yeah,the same old guy whom we discussed here) is the fact that for them the bill seems to be an attempt to encroach and “interfere” in the area which otherwise has been the exclusive domain of the Muslim religious bodies like All India Muslim Personal Law Board.They accept that there should be reforms in the Shariah laws but that reform should be initiated from within the Shariah law and by people in who are expert in the Shariah laws: because they want the reforms to be essentially within the framework of Islamic Shariah.
A very interesting answer to the argument of the Shariah bodies lies in the fact that in several Muslim countries triple talaq has been banned or restricted.
And what the Muslim women’s rights and progressive sections of the community like Dr. Feebina Seethi say is that the Muslim bodies on the Shariah laws have been hearing the calls for reforms since a very long time but they haven’t yet come up with any kinds of plan and strategy for the reforms in the Shariah laws which is actually one of the most important demands of the modern times.So when there is no hope of reform from within the clergy fraternity then the bill represents a saner and sensible attempt to bring about that reform.
Resources:
http://www.outlookindia.com/pti_news.asp?id=630467
P.S
I didn’t write this article..I just gathered information from different sources,from links provided.All I intend is to spread the word..Thanks for reading and Good day to o all..
Nimmy's Experiment with Blogging 
Brilliant Nimmy! Of course all women and all sensible men will approve of a bill like this.
Some Orthodox and *&^%$ people found a lot of harm in the Domestic Violence Act also. Such people should not be given any importance. I wish our media would ignore orthodox voices and published majority voices, which will definitely be in favour.
It’s posts like this, bold, aware and objective that make your blog such an great place to visit 🙂
Thanks for your words dear..But it is sad and true that my voice is just like a teaspoon of salt diluted in the sea..Nobody is listening 😦 – Nimmy
Good that you highlighted this. Hope the Government will have enough spine to make it a legislation
Hi Charakan,Welcome 🙂 Yeah true,I hope something positive happens..Keep coming -Nimmy
A detailed and well written post Nimmy. Trust Kerala to come out with a progressive legislation like this.
And one thing they should forbid is people changing their religion just to marry the second time, as it happened recently in Haryana.
Yeah,so true Nita.But trust me,polygamy and Talaq is a overhyped matter as far as Muslims is concerned..There isn’t much people involved in it,but the stereotyping is as if almost all muslims does it..But anyways,prevention is better than cure :)-Nimmy
very good thing those guys are trying to do…All the best to them….I hope the bill gets passed.
and thanks once again Nimmy for bringing this into focus.
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Lets hope that more and more people come out and speak up to break up the ice of insensitivity ..Good day Pinku -Nimmy
Hi! My first visit here.
What an informative and detailed post! Indeed, this bill is a great step forward.
Does the Kerala state government have the authority to pass a bill like this (concerning personal law), on its own authority or will the Central government need to ratify it?
Hi Manju,thanks for visiting.Welcome 🙂
Hmm well,I am not sure about the scope of authority ..I will try to know more on it..In fact,this should be done by All India Muslim Personal Board,but I guess they are busy sleeping 😉 – Nimmy
Wonderful reform there in Kerala.
It is the need of the hour to opt for ijtehaad by muslims. i.e. reinterpretaton of genuine islam as per the modern day needs. That is how we can stop much of the violence against humanity and woman oppression successfully in places like Taliban and other places witha larage influenc eof Islamic values.
True Ameya..Genuine Islam has been deeply corrupted over centuries..It is high time that the majoirty stop acting blind to the aristocracies done in the name of religion and cut it down from the root..I hope the majority speaks out rather than sitting dumb and watching the whole drama,which of course is the a heavy cost..Thanks for your comment ameya 🙂 -Nimmy
Nimmy,
Hope you have recovered from the allergic issues…
Thanks for the award….
I am not a negative person, but knowing the political and religious structure of Kerala, sorry to say, I am 100% sure the “Proposed Kerala Muslim Marriage bill” will only remain as a proposal.
All the proposals by The Kerala Law Reforms Commission headed by Justice V R Krishna Iyer will find the same fate of so many other commissions.Nothing of this sort is going to happen in Kerala.
Apart Muslim marriage bill there are so many other path breaking recommendations in the proposed bill, one being restricting Hartals in Kerala.According to the recommendation, every hartal called should be passed unanimously by a committee consisting of Chief Justice of Kerala High court, Chief Minister and Leader of opposition.If its not passed the calling party’s Head of State will be arrested.
But the truth is none of these recommendation including regulation of Muslim marriages or regulation of Hartals is going to happen.. :-(((
Hi Arjun,Long time No see 🙂
You are right 😦 I don’t know why are people so resistant to accept chnages,especially when the change is a positive one..We are seasoned to reject anything and everything..Ah,will learn one day ..grrrrrrr -Nimmy
malayali muslims are educated, having enough infrastructure, mosques, orphanages, educational institutions.
i dont think reforms will be difficult to make if it come from(within) muslims.
20 years before we had slogans like: randum kettum naalum kettum EMS nte olem kettum.
now marxists are directly linked to orthodox like kanthapuram.
I agree with you..The need for such regualtions should have come from within communtiy itslef..But sadly,not many care about it,unless it happens to someone of their own..Not to rant much,we have Kanthapuram and party as portrayed as our ‘conservative’ leaders..Hell,I hate it..What the heck do they mean by ‘conservative’? Pure form of Islam uh? It is very sad that educated people don’t bother to come out of the shell and speakj against teh bullshit done in the name of ‘conservative’ Islam.Yeah,so unless people ,and that includes me,don’t come out and speak and ACT,it is our balme that we have ‘leaders’ like kanathpuram..We deserve it.. -Nimmy
Nimmy, It is such an informative post – I had no idea that something like this was happenning.. Its wonderful to see that such measures of reform is being taken up.. And I guess, I am not surprised that it is happenning in Kerala!
On another note – I am a huge admirier of your posts – pls visit my blog and pick up an award..
Hey hey Smitha,thanks a lot for the award..I am honoured and I am very glad that you thought about me.. 🙂
And well,this is just a proposal,I wonder what will be the end result..We will wait and see if it is yet another commission report,whose fate is to bet hammered in a coffin ..-Nimmy
http://www.aimplboard.org/
the above body is constituted by muslims themself to defend uniform civil code; claims to be an all india platform for muslims.
if you check the link there is a nikahnama committee too. you may please assess how serious they are in reforms!!
🙂 lol..Thay haven’t updated it since 2000 ..Well,tells it loud and clear how serious they are..grrrrrr ..But tell me Manoj,isn’t there anything you and me can do ,other than just watching the whole drama? What do you think can be done about it?-Nimmy
The Holy Prophet (SAWA) unequivocally declared that “Of all the permissible practices, the most hateful in the sight of Allah is that of divorce”
That in itself should act as a strong deterrent against divorce. Obviously, people are not sincere enough, hence the need for such measures.
no change in the nearby future. all the muslim organisation were against the supreme court verdict on Shabano Case.
show me one muslim organisation (with enough backing of masses), looking forward to reforms.
@Milind,true that divorce is the most ahted thing,but i think it is better than a bad marriage..And as you said,people of our communtiy are sitting simply and hence government has to act.Afterall,it si for a good cause and i have no idea why one should disagree with this action..
@Manoj,why do we always point fingers at others for not coming forward and working for the society,when we ourselves are sititng in front of screens and making speech about reforms..I haven’t done anything and hence i ahve no right to say “See,they are not doing anything”..What have you done for the sake of betterment of your community,other than just expecting somebody else to come can shower some magic powder and change everything?
“Everybody’s responsibility is nobody’s responsibility”..So true a proverb..In my opinion,we should really do something to put our thoughts into actions as to make a chnage,instead of sititng home,feeling insensitive and just making comments on what others do..Nobody is doing anythign and hence the situation today..Its our choice whether we wnat to be in the same system or want a change..To what extent can we expect others to chnage our lives??
No personal hurt and feelings intented..I am just feeling bad as i have no reply to your qstn
I can’t point out anybody 😦
As Salamu Aliekum Warehmethuallhi Wabarkatuhu(peace, mercy and blessing of Allah(swt)be upon)….
Dear Sister Nimmy, great work, i can’t judge you but Allah(swt) can, I’m sure your intent is right…
Your post said:
“”The draft Bill titled “The Kerala Muslim Marriage and Dissolution by Talaq (Regulation) Bill” seeks to legislate that ‘monogamy shall be the rule’ and that ‘marrying again during the lifetime of husband or wife is an offence.’ However, the proposed Bill provides for remarriage by husband in exceptional cases “with the (wife’s) consent in writing before a notary public or a judicial officer expressing her consent to the second marriage and briefly giving her reasons for the consent.”
The Law Reforms Commission’s proposed law aims to “declare that, among the Muslims in Kerala, monogamy is the general rule and polygamy a just exception, permissible only in socially exceptional circumstances and that also subject to compassionate conditions, and to provide further that divorce by talaq can be effected only subject to special conditions.” It wants that “if any married Muslim, man or woman, marries again during the subsistence of the first marriage, the party who violates shall be guilty of bigamy under the Indian Penal Code and punishable as such.”
The proposed law makes it mandatory that all Muslim marriages and divorces be registered with the local registrar of marriages. The most important provision in the proposed law is the constitution of a ‘conciliation council,’ to be set up in each district, to regulate Muslim remarriages and divorces. The council, to be set up by the State government, will have a retired district judge or magistrate from the Muslim community as its head.
The man, permitted to take a second wife, “shall be liable to provide reasonable accommodation and privacy as well as just alimony or maintenance sufficient for the wife to sustain herself in reasonable comfort.”The proposed law also says that marriage of Muslim shall be contract. It also says that “the female spouse shall be entitled to divorce only through court or with the approval of the conciliation council on grounds of irretrievable breakdown irreparable by conciliation””
And this what the Holy Quran says:
Surah Nisa of the Glorious Qur’an:
“Marry women of your choice, two, or three, or four; but if ye fear that
ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one.”
[Al-Qur’an 4:3]
Allhumdulila, Quran is the only religious scripture in the world that says “marry only one”
In the same chapter i.e. Surah Nisa verse 129 says:
“Ye are never able to be fair and just as between women….”
[Al-Qur’an 4:129]
Therefore polygyny is not a rule but an exception. Many people are under the
misconception that it is compulsory for a Muslim man to have more than one wife.
Broadly, Islam has five categories of Do’s and Don’ts:
(i) ‘Fard’ i.e. compulsory or obligatory
(ii) ‘Mustahab’ i.e. recommended or encouraged
(iii) ‘Mubah’ i.e. permissible or allowed
(iv) ‘Makruh’ i.e. not recommended or discouraged
(v) ‘Haraam’ i.e. prohibited or forbidden
Polygyny falls in the middle category of things that are permissible. It cannot be said that a Muslim who has two, three or four wives is a better Muslim as compared to a Muslim who has only one wife.
Now my question to you is, Q: who is more important to you the bill which is drafted mostly by non-Muslims OR the word of Allah(swt) in the holy Quran, who is our supreme Lord and the GOD of the whole Universe…
Q: My second question,
First you answer my two questions, then me can surely have a beautiful debate on this issue….
I personally think “women is not a public property which men can marry and use and later trow them out and get a new one”. Women aren’t use and trow….
Hoping to get this comment posted and a urgent reply from you…
agree to disagree?….
Jai Hind
Wassalam….
——————————————————-
Wa Alaiku A’salam brother Wasim..
I am glad that you visited my blog and shared your thoughts..
First of all,let me tell you that i am not a learned person,but in a learning mode,so please bear with mistakes and do correct me,but i will take care not to make any..
Secondly,please read my post on polygamy here i am not against polygamy,but against its misuse.
I will answer your second question first
Let me ask you something-from Adam and Eve,we made it a big polulation obviously by means of relationships as incest..Does that mean that we should do that today? Polygamy was highly necessary and only choice in situations as like war where huge number of women are left widowed and kids ar left without guardian..Especially,in those days,where women never worked outside and earned a living as liek today ,they really needed a support and polygamy was the answer as to move forward the society.That was the past..We never know the future..A few nuclear bombs can take us back to the same state ina matter of few minutes..In such situations,in cases of necessity,Allah has permitted polygamy..So ,we talked about past and about future..What about today??
Please see this link for sex ratio in India.In almost all places,except Kerala and Pondicherry,women are less in number,when compared to males..So that implies that even if all women are married off,there would be a large number of males in excess..What should they do? Nevermind,that is not the topic here,but you can read more on it here ,again a rant of mine 🙂
Now the first question..
To me it doesn’t matter who is the person doing it,the end result is what matters..This bill deals with regulating polygamy-not banning it,this bill deals with regulating divorce-not manipulating islamic rules ..I am sure that you will not disagree with me when i say that divorce and polygamy are the msot abused aspects in Islam.So,what is wrong in regulating it.??
When there are few females in India,what is the whole point of polygamy?I don’t understand.. The argument is that ‘Man is giving life to a new women’..What in the point in having a second wife,if the first wife doesn’t agree with it? If you don’t know,Indonesia,the largest muslim country in the world have enacted this law years before..Some muslims countries have baned polygamy,how can polygamy work if there is more men than women?This ew kerala bill talks about a written agreemnt of first wife is necessary.Tell me what is unislamic in that?the Quran verse asks men to be just to both wives,isn’t it?When first wife can’t deal with it,what is the whole point of justice and fairness?
If muslims can’t bring justice to their community,tell me what is wrong in non-muslims trying to do it? Here,pls note that this is not a religious move,but a governmental move.Muslims beard fellows (no disrespect to real scholars) are busy marrying small girls (Panakad -Muslim League Leader) and have no time for community,so what is wrong in government regulating it,so that less exploitation ahppens..Afterall,it isn’t dealing with Allah’s words,is it?
I hope you know that Sharia is not Allah’s words alone..Ijma and Qiyas form a major part of it,and they are plainly man made and tell me what is wrong in updating such acpects,as per modern day need,afterallthey are ammending it for male biased usage-divorce by email and SMS,ha,making fun of Allah’s divorce laws in Quran..Is that waht you call islamic brother?
I am sorry if i sounded disrespectful,but this is all a murky world out there in the name of sharia…Allah’s words have no injustice wihtin them and hence needn’t be changed,but the rest..
Salam,do share your thoughts -Nimmy
Polygamy is not just issue with muslims alone and i am very well aware that very few practise it..All religions allowed it,many communities still practice it and i ahve no problem with all this is people involved are fine with it. But trying to take care as tos top exploitations that may result in real time,when some men absue this,tell me why is it wrong? soprry,I don’t get it..
and finally,I find your cut and copy of the verse very unfair..I wonder why you choose to trim off the intial part fo the verse!!
004.003
YUSUFALI: If ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly with the orphans, Marry women of your choice, Two or three or four; but if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one, or (a captive) that your right hands possess, that will be more suitable, to prevent you from doing injustice
Noble Verse 4:3 was revealed to Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him in Madina after he migrated to it from Mecca and established an Islamic state there right after the battle of Uhud in which the Muslims not only had lost badly against the Pagans, but also suffered a dramatic decrease in the number of Muslim men. The Muslim men before that battle were approximately 700. They became only 400 after the battle. This loss had left so many Muslim women (1) Widows, and (2) Not able to get married if they were single.
continuous battles against the Muslims were very costly in terms of Muslim men’s lives. The women had to be taken care of one way or another. For this reason, Allah Almighty had revealed the Noble Verse 4:3 to Muhammad peace be upon him to solve the social problems that the Muslims were facing. That is why at the very beginning of the Noble Verse 4:3 we see Allah Almighty setting a conditional clause for Orphans “If ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly with the orphans…(4:3).” This Noble Verse came down for the purpose of protecting the Orphans and to increase the number of the Muslims by allowing the men to marry multiple wives (preferably from the grown Orphans at that time), up to four wives only. The purpose was absolutely not for man’s sexual pleasure nor privilege, nor was it to support man’s personal ego. It was revealed to solve a major social problem to prevent major sins such as illegal sex and prostitution. (taken from .. http://answering-christianity.com/polygamy.htm )
Polgamy is rather associated with compassion toward widows and orphans,tell me how many men among the polygamsits marry a widow or an orphan??
As Salamu Aliekum….
Where are you Nimmy…
Wassalam…
As Salamu Aliekum WaremetAllahi Wabarkatuhu(Peace, Mercy and Blessing of Allah(swt) be upon you)….
Sister Nimmy:
I was a little late to reply, hope you don’t mind, but anyways you called me two times on Indian Muslims Blog….
Your comment are innocent and to the point, but i wanna tell you something that you must be aware of it, that a bride before marriage can put a clause in the Nikka Nama(marriage certificate), that if his husband wishes to marry another women at the time when they are married, then he will have to take permission from her present wife and this is what Indonesian has implemented and this the one of the Major rights of women in Islam.Please download the true document from the IRF.net by Dr. Zakir Naik on “Women rights in Islam” and please agree to disagree, it’s my Humble request and yes the logic he says that men are more and women are less can be debatable, but rest all is good and from the point of view of Islam…..
If you are married, then your husband can’t force you to follow the orders of your In-laws and if you wish to stay alone then your husband has to do that….
Yes polygamy is a problem, when the man can’t do justice and I personally hate it because i have seen polygamy from very close. My father himself has two wife and 8 children and sorry to say this, he is not able to do justice and i pray to Allah(swt) to please forgive him, Aameen, as i have seen the suffering of my mother, who is the first wife.
Allah(swt) himself has not made it a rule and Allah(swt) has given rights to both the men and women equally in respect of Polygamy…
You have given rightful reasons for polygamy which Islam permitted under certain conditions and that True….
Both the answers go have given to me are quite right, but i do have some reservations over there, First it is not about both Muslims or non-Muslims, it was about Allah(swt) words and Non-Muslims making laws for we Muslims and for me when Allah(swt) is the final word because Allah(swt)himself says that to men marry only one when you can’t do justice and warns them if they can’t, then he will punish them…
Second what does that means “Let me ask you something-from Adam and Eve,we made it a big polulation obviously by means of relationships as incest..Does that mean that we should do that today? Polygamy was highly necessary and only choice in situations as like war where huge number of women are left widowed and kids ar left without guardian..”
You are mixing two things, first the start of human Life, when Prophet Adam(pbuh) and his Wife Eve(pbuh), gave birth to sons at the day time and daugthers at the night time, and Allah(swt) make pairs between them and the only reason that Allah(swt) wanted as to teach us the family system and not to promote Incest(Sexual intercourse between persons too closely related to marry (as between a parent and a child)), the incest is such as shit and i never accepted from a person of your Knowledge and the other story we all know it….
This is a honest request from me, you are free to ask question in Islam to any any Ulema in the world and it’s good you agree to disagree but you make point based on your understanding first and then you speak about Islam but rather do it vise-versa….
Oh, Allah(swt) Please give me and my sister nimmy more knowledge, strength, unsderstanding of Islam to spread the message of Peace and truth i.e Islam…Aameen….
Wassalam…