Why SP demanded quota for Muslim women despite Constitution hurdle

Opposition parties unanimously opposed the introduction of three Bills that would pave the way for the early implementation of women’s reservation in Parliament and state legislatures. As the Lok Sabha took up the draft laws, SP MP Dharmendra Yadav demanded reservation for Muslim and OBC women. Dharmendra represents Azamgarh, considered a stronghold of the SP’s Yadav family due to the dominance of Muslims and Yadavs.

SP president and Kannauj MP Akhilesh Yadav also sought to know whether Muslim women were not part of the “aadhi aabadi (half population)”. Union Home Minister Amit Shah retorted that the SP could give all its tickets to Muslim women.

The remarks by the Yadav cousins, Akhilesh and Dharmendra, drew strong opposition from the Treasury Benches, with Shah and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju stating that reservation based on religion is against the Constitution. “Talk about women of the whole country and not about Muslim women alone,” Rijiju said.

The Constitution prohibits reservation solely on religious grounds, as Articles 15 and 16 forbid discrimination on the basis of religion.

SP Rajya Sabha MP Javed Ali Khan said the SP had always advocated for reservation for women from minority communities and OBC groups. “In 2023, when the women’s reservation legislation was passed, our leaders had spoken about reservation for Muslim and OBC women … We have been demanding it since the time of Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav),” said Khan.

Asked if it could be an issue that could antagonise other communities, Khan said, “If we talk about reservation for OBCs, non-OBC communities may get angry. Same for SCs and STs. We have always been a pro-OBC, pro-Dalit, and pro-minorities party and we stand by that. Supporting one community doesn’t mean we are against another community.”

SP spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said reservation cannot be provided on a religious basis, but the party was speaking for backward women of all religions. “We are not demanding reservation for Muslim women but for backward women. We want Muslim women not to be left out of the reservation,” he said.

Another party spokesperson, Fakhrul Hasan, said, “When the BJP government made a law on Triple Talaq, that was for women of the Muslim community only. But when the SP speaks in favour of Muslim women in reservation, why do BJP leaders object?”

SP MLA from Patiyali in Kasganj, Nadira Sultan, said, “There should be separate reservation for Muslim women. I represent all communities in my constituency, but we need reservation. Women are pushed back despite their hard work. The final decision will be taken by the party leadership.”

Tickets for Muslim women

An analysis of the past two elections shows the party has preferred to give tickets to Muslim men rather than women. In the 2022 UP Assembly polls, it fielded 56 Muslim candidates, only four of whom (7%) were women. Of the 31 Muslim candidates who won, three were women: Mariya Ali (Matera), Saiyada Khatoon (Domariyaganj) and Sultan (Patiyali).

In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, when the SP was in alliance with the Congress, the party fielded only four Muslim candidates, including one woman (Iqra Hasan from Kairana), and all of them won. The party limited Muslim representation and preferred non-Yadav and non-Muslim candidates to reach out to other OBC and upper-caste voters. The strategy worked, as the SP won 37 seats in Uttar Pradesh.

A senior SP leader said Muslims largely backed the SP-led alliance in the 2022 Assembly polls, with only a small section voting for Congress and the BSP.  “But rivals spread the message that Akhilesh does not speak strongly for Muslims and remained inactive when the BJP government acted against leaders like Azam Khan. He rarely used the term ‘Muslim’, preferring ‘alpsankhyak’, and coined the phrase PDA (pichhda, dalit, alpsankhyak),” the leader said.

What does the Constitution say

Article 15 specifically prohibits the state from discriminating against citizens on grounds of both religion and caste (along with sex, race, and place of birth). After the Supreme Court’s judgment in State of Kerala vs N M Thomas (1975), reservation is considered not an exception to the equality/ non-discrimination clauses of Articles 15(1) and 16(1), but an extension of equality.

According to former vice-chancellor of NALSAR University of Law Faizan Mustafa, the crucial word in Articles 15 and 16 is “only”, which implies that if a religious, racial, or caste group constitutes a “weaker section” under Article 46, or constitutes a backward class, it will be entitled to special provisions for its advancement.

Some Muslim castes were given reservation not because they were Muslims, but because these castes were included within the backward class, and reservation was given without reducing the quota for SCs, STs, and OBCs by creating a sub-quota within the OBCs.

SP and Muslim leaders

In the past few years, the SP has had problems with some of its senior Muslim leaders. In April 2022, Sambhal MP Shafiqur Rehman Barq stirred controversy by saying he was dissatisfied with the party’s functioning as it was “not working for Muslims”.

The same month, Rampur MLA Azam Khan’s then media in-charge, Fasahat Ali Khan alias Shanu, criticised the SP, saying that despite winning 111 seats with Muslim support, Akhilesh “remains silent when FIRs are filed against Muslims, their properties are attached and recoveries are carried out under the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government”.

Another party leader said that by speaking for the interest of Muslim women, the SP is trying to regain the support of those who may have backed the BJP after the Triple Talaq law, and to convey that “the SP will always fight to protect the rights of Muslims”.

— With ENS Delhi inputs