Opinion Why, as a woman born into a Muslim family, I have reservations about the Uniform Civil Code

The ruling dispensation has been criticised for being majoritarian, for being silent in the face of unchecked violence against Muslims, and in some cases, has been accused of directly instigating sectarian violence. In fact, its quest to liberate Muslim women from the shackles of Muslim patriarchy seems to stem more from the desire to criminalise Muslim men under the banner of gender justice than actually achieving it. This seems apparent when we consider how the government has not stepped up on occasions of rampant gender-based harassment and injustice, such as in the recent wrestlers’ protest against BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

One of the most illustrative examples of this is the Triple Talaq Act. Instant triple talaq or Talaq-e-biddat is criminalised in India under the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019. Triple talaq, where the husband pronounces talaq thrice and instantly executes divorce, is discriminatory and robs women of agency and security. In this advanced age of technology, triple talaq has been executed through telegram, instant messages, and over the phone. The Act claims to rectify the situation by criminalising Muslim men who execute divorce through instant triple talaq. The elected leaders in support of the Act also claimed that it will finally provide relief to Muslim women.

Evidence, however, points to the contrary. To avoid criminalisation, Muslim patriarchy has found a new way of circumventing the system — by deserting women rather than executing talaq so that they do not face prison time. In a community where men can, by law, practice polygamy, it is also easy to abandon the wife they don’t want and remarry. Abandoned women can neither stay with their husbands nor can they remarry.

These concerns have not found any space in the celebrations. A party which thinks criminalising Muslim men is the primary strategy to address a complex socio-political issue justly raises concerns about the obsessive push for the UCC. It begs the question: Will the UCC brought in by them actually be gender-just, or, will it give more institutional power and cushion to criminalise the Muslim community?

After Modi’s comments in MP, different Muslim bodies criticised his remarks. But, unsurprisingly, they did not want to engage with the question of justice for Muslim women. They also pointed out gaps in the triple talaq law, which is ironic because the criticism does not acknowledge that the failure of these bodies in negotiating gender-just laws for women in the community is how the Act came into being. We are now faced with a situation where Muslim women are forced to choose between their rights and their community. Muslim women activists have been tirelessly advocating for the reformation and codification of the MPL, but their demands have fallen flat. For example, Muslim women’s organisations, the ones whose say and agency are of utmost importance in this situation, had been saying that triple talaq is unconstitutional and the community should abolish this practice. But their demands were largely ignored or attacked by Muslim bodies like the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB). And by doing so, these community leaders inadvertently gave a party with ties to Hindutva ideology the space to appropriate the issues faced by Muslim women. Thus, a movement for women and by women resulted in a poorly-imagined and executed Act where men, once again, became the centre of the debate.

The community’s silence on other issues like Halala, polygamy, or unequal property rights may see the same results once the UCC is implemented. Based on its past performance (rather, failure) we cannot confidently say that the BJP will draft a UCC that will be just for every woman in the country. A party with a questionable history of gender justice and a documented past of silencing women, instigating violence against women and advocating for conservative ideas of gender does give us enough reasons to doubt its agenda.

On the other hand, the majority of Muslim bodies have also historically excluded the question of women’s rights from their discourse. And the current political climate is being used by these bodies to justify the protection of the community, namely, the protection of the unequal power structure within the community over addressing the unjust gender-based practices perpetuated by this power structure. Yes, the current situation does demand loud and strong voices advocating for the Muslim community in India. But should that be at the cost of Muslim women?

As of now, we have two camps that have failed Muslim women equally. They are currently waging a war of words over these women while simultaneously invisibilising them and appropriating their experiences for religious and/or political gains. And by doing so, they are showing us loudly and clearly that the current debate on UCC is not actually about gender justice. It is about using Muslim women’s bodies as battlegrounds for domination and control.

utsa.sarmin@indianexpress.com