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India is a land of diversity. Its culture represents the principle of unity in diversity as seen in the ‘mixed cultures of the rivers Ganga and Yamuna’. The country is home to a number of religions and languages. According to the Indian Constitution (42nd Amendment Act, 1976), ‘India is a secular state and there is no discrimination on the basis of caste, creed and religion in the country.’ However, the equality guaranteed by the state and various official efforts to root out discrimination and inequality do not always reflect the actual situation, as Indian society is highly heterogeneous and diverse. Citizens also have to play a role in creating homogeneity.

Here we have summarised some of the facts based on our assignment on the Status of Muslim Women. This was a part of the course on Gender and Development.

Health

There has been little research on the reproductive health practices among Muslim women in India, perhaps because of the widespread notion of tight Islamic control over sexual behaviour and the sanctions against contraceptive use. Women carry more of the work burden of the household and hence have little time to seek out health care services, thus putting themselves at a disadvantage relative to men in their access to and utilization of health care services. Rural Muslim women give birth at a very young age, usually quite soon after their first menstrual period.

Marriage

‘Frailty, thy name is woman,’ said Shakespeare’s Hamlet. This line compares woman and man. But when Status of Muslim Women in India Dillip Kumar Tripathy and Asheesh Dubey, PRM-27 the comparison is seen from the Koranic and legal perspectives, one is caught on the horns of a dilemma. The Koran describes man and woman as each other’s garnets, with an equal position before the law. But there is another side of the coin. There is a need to device measures for the proper education of Muslim women about the rights already conferred upon them by Islam and to help them seek the enforcement of these rights. The closest and the most vital relationship between man and woman is based on marriage. Under Muslim law, the husband is bound to present a suitable marriage gift out of his property to his wife with a willing heart, showing respect for her property rights and recognising the equitable position on the matrimonial dais of both partners. This gift is popularly known as mahr. How many women actually know about the nature and significance of this right? How many women actually receive this gift of property from their husbands? A better working of the institution of mahr will not be possible without the proper education of women about their rights. Hence a concerted effort is needed to inform all daughters and sisters about what their rights are (Wani 1996: 295306).

Economic status

Work opportunities for Muslim women are very limited. The majority are forced to restrict themselves to home-based labour. The age of marriage for girls is 15. By 19, they have had at least two or three children. With the majority of girls not being allowed to complete school, the likelihood of their acquiring marketable and employable skills is remote. Despite these limitations, 70 per cent of these women vote and another 75 per cent want development resources to be allocated at the local level and not at the parliamentary level (Sachar 2006). They believe that if this were to happen, it would immediately change their lives for the better. These women are unanimous in believing that their daughters must be given access to education, something that was denied to them. These women have high aspirations for their daughters and want them to do better than them. Muslim women suffer from various constraints on their mobility, so much so that they need permission from their in-laws or husbands to visit the market or a place of worship. Since their mobility is restricted, this obviously affects their participation in the workplace.

Educational status

Muslim women in south India are better off in both rural and urban areas. Their literacy levels are much higher. In fact, the school enrolment levels of Muslims are much higher than those of Hindus. But there is a sharp decline at the middle-school level because of the high dropout rates of Muslim students. The reasons for dropping out vary. With large numbers of Muslim households below the poverty line, there are fewer chances of girls being allowed to continue with their education. An additional factor is that there are no sex-segregated schools to which these girls can be sent. Another reason for the high dropout rate among Muslim girls is related to the large numbers of Muslim boys who drop out of middle school because of lack of employment opportunities. These boys go on to become artisans, carpenters, and so on. The girls, therefore, are not encouraged to pursue an education. They cannot appear to be more educated than the boys because this would affect their marriage prospects.

Somehow, at every step of the discussion in the Sachar Committee report, the needle has swung 360 degrees to get back to the issue of security. Muslim girls are not sent to school because of insecurity. Muslims are moving into ghettos because of insecurity. Muslims do not see the benefits of formal education as a means to formal employment because of insecurity and discrimination. They do not avail of government schemes because of the discriminatory attitude of the authorities, with even Muslim women being treated badly when they apply for something as commonplace as a ration card. Women are the worst hit as they remain confined to their homes for fear of moving out of their safe neighbourhoods.

Gender being a development issue, we must have proper policies in place for bringing about social, economic, and political equality. Women comprise 48.26 per cent of India’s total population of 1,027,015,247, as per the 2001 census. Yet there is a lot of discrimination based on sex and gender. In India, there is a long tradition of discrimination along the lines of caste, class, and creed. Gender inequality can not be seen independent of this. It is high time that we pause and think about this epidemic of inequality among the citizens of India and make this country a better place in which to live.

References

Sachar, Rajinder (2006) The Muslim Demography of India: Sachar Committee Report, December 6, pp.48-68.

Wani, Afzal M (1996) “Enforcement of mahr by Muslim women: A case for reconsideration,” Indian Journal of Social Work, 57:2, April 1996, pp. 295306.