Journalism of Courage
Unhappy with the biased judgments and discriminatory treatment given out to women by Sharia courts run by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB),a parallel system of Sharia courts is being set up by women to offer a more sympathetic view of the problems faced by them. Of the four courts being set up across the country,one will start functioning in Pune within a week. Mumbai,Ahmedabad and Dindigul are the three other cities where similar courts will be set up by the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA).
Saeeda Jamadar,who will head the bench in Pune,said their court will start functioning within a week.
There have been several cases where the Mufti sahibs who are on the benches are biased towards men. In divorce cases they give decisions favouring the husband,sometimes at the cost of undermining shariat principals as laid down in the Holy Quran. Women are treated very badly at these centres. Many a times muftis hand out talaqs to couples by taking money from the husbands. All of this has forced us to start these courts so that the women will get a sympathetic hearing, said Jamadar.
Jamadar said the women who will be part of the bench in Pune have undergone several training sessions in the Sharia law and are competent to counsel the parties and pass judgement. We are in the process of finalising a venue for the hearings and will soon start taking up cases for couselling, she said. Currently,an AIMPLB Sharia court run by men is operational at Meethanagar in Kondhwa.
Zubeda Khatoon,state convener of BMMA,said even though the centres are yet to start functioning,detractors are raising doubts about the expertise and competency of the women to run such courts. Since the day we made the announcement,people have started commenting that we are not competent enough to run such centres. This shows their mindset and attitude. We have trained our counsellors thoroughly and they will be meticulous while passing judgement. Though its a court run by women,it will be not biased towards women. Judgements will be delivered only as per merit and nothing else.
Khatoon said once the courts start functioning properly other issues such as certain changes in the Muslim Personal Law pertaining to custody of kids after divorce,etc.,will also be taken up.
Jamila Sheikh,a resident of Sangam Nagar,said such a court is a good idea as many a times women hesitate to approach courts run by men. My 20-year-old daughter has been abandoned by her husband for over a year now. I tried to approach the Family Court but relatives advised me to go for an out-of-court settlement through counselling. If such a court run by women starts functioning,we will be more comfortable to put up the case for settlement, she said.
