Codification of Muslim Personal Law and Gender Justice

Abstract

Centre for Study of Society and Secularism, Institute of Islamic Studies and BMMA (Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan) and Muslim Law academy, Trichi, Tamil Nadu, recently have tried to codify the Muslim personal law as applicable in India after wider consultations with Ulama, Muslim lawyers, Islamic scholars and women activists and the draft is being widely discussed in concerned circles and the draft is also open to suggestions. The question is why codification is at all necessary? We thought of codification after we began to receive number of complaints about misuse of shari’ah laws by men to harass and exploit women. The misuse is possible as the Muslim personal law is not codified and is applied often arbitrarily and unthinkingly injuring the very spirit behind these laws. Also, all Muslim and non-Muslim countries with sizeable Muslim minorities have, in other countries, already codified it long ago. India is the only exception where Muslim Personal Law Board (MPLB) has been resisting any change doggedly.