Soli Loquies

Polygamy is one of the worst social evils. Its real vice lies in making the woman vulnerable and open to exploitation.

8226; Women empowerment: Polygamy is one of the worst social evils. Its real vice lies in making the woman vulnerable and open to exploitation. The system of triple talaq as understood and practised by some enables the husband to divorce his wife at his fancy after compliance with some formal requirements. One of the reforms sought in the Muslim Personal Law is to restrict the husband8217;s unfettered right to cast away his wife at will. Government interference in this matter will be resented and wrongly projected as attack on Islam by the fundamentalist sections in the community. The initiative for reform should originate from Muslim women themselves, which is unlikely to happen unless they are made aware of their rights by a proper system of education.

The recent example of tribal women in the Santhals is an eye opener. Tribal women have no rights over land. The age old practice of polygamy which enabled the husband to divorce his wife at will made women8217;s position extremely insecure. Tribal women could not put up with this injustice any longer. A two-day seminar was organised in Ranchi by the Sangharshrath Adivasi Mahila Manch. Around 800 tribal women from several states participated and demanded abolition of this pernicious practice whereby a Santhal woman can be disowned by her husband at any time without any valid reason and also without any compensation. Several speakers pointed out that women who couldn8217;t bear a child were often branded as witches and were tortured by close relatives in an attempt to grab their land.

The women arrived at a consensus decision at the workshop to unite and start a movement against social injustices and denial of their rights. Interestingly the workshop came down heavily on the Jharkhand government for its failure to check exploitation of tribal women in the state. This is an excellent instance of women8217;s consciousness and worthy of emulation by other women who are in similar situation. Ultimately it is the empowerment of women which will achieve tangible results.

8226; Controversial donkeys: Cruelty to animals has been a persistent phenomenon. Donkeys have had more than their share of ill-treatment and humiliation. In common parlance a donkey is regarded as the epitome of stupidity as is evident from the irritating remarks, 8216;8216;who is that silly ass, the gadha, who has prepared this note or this menu for dinner, etc8217;8217;. A perceived lapse in the legal system evokes the famous Dickensian opprobrium: 8216;8216;The law is an ass.8217;8217;

There is strong resentment if people are equated with donkeys. A book written by late Padmashri Gopal Prasad Vyas satirically compared donkeys to politicians. 8216;8216;Like Indian leaders8217; skin, a donkey8217;s skin too is thick. Any thing can be painted on it, and it would not mind. Leaders can create problems by braying any moment, but donkey has no such bad habit.8217;8217;

Politicians were up in arms and demanded action against the book. This is not all. Women8217;s group were also angered by another passage in the book that 8216;8216;a donkey is like a housewife. It has to toil all day and, like her, may even have to give up food and water. In fact, the donkey is a shade better; for while the housewife may sometimes complain and walk off to her parents8217; home, you8217;ll never catch the donkey being disloyal to his master.8217;8217; State education board8217;s director of publications, A R Khan, rightly pointed out that the comparisons were made in good humour, but to no avail. Ultimately the board succumbed and the process of removing the passages has started. Have we completely lost our sense of humour?

However donkeys are not without friends altogether. There is a fine rendition by Artie Shaw of Donkey Serenade in which Shaw takes fabulous clarinet solos. Above all remember that Christ rode on a donkey on his travel to Jerusalem. G K Chesterton exquisitely encapsulates the scene in his poem, 8216;The Donkey8217;:

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Starve, scourge, deride me:
I am dumb, I keep my secret still.
Fools! For I also had my hour;
One far fierce hour and sweet:
There was a shout about my ears,
And palms before my feet.8217;8217;