India First: Why should Muslim women not have the right of four husbands?

Opponents of UCC for obvious political reasons are trying to project this as anti-minority. But they have no ground to stand the test of reason. The UCC is not against social practices. These practices in fact solidify relationships and grant a lot of sanctity to both the couples. The UCC is to ensure that social practices do not become a tool to subjugate the other sex to a life of perpetual inequality. Religion or the fear of God should not be used to force servitude. Both men and women are equal but men have used their guile and physical force to keep women in the backyards. Leading ideologies are the ideologies given by men. Whether the country should or should not have a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) for its citizens? There is no doubt that we must have. The Constitution mandates under Article 44 and suggests a unilinear direction. The Supreme Court of India has expressed itself so many times that the UCC is needed for larger national integration but it has left the task on the legislature to take a decision on this. The ruling BJP which has a decisive mandate at the Centre is committed to implementing the UCC. Anytime soon the UCC may become a reality the way Article 370 has been scrapped. Like in the case of scrapping Article 370, there is a larger consensus for enactment of the UCC. The BJP would do a great national service by implementing a Uniform Civil Code. However, let us not talk about the constitutional and legal aspects. There have been plenty of strong arguments. Let us try to discuss some of the human issues associated with the issue. The Hindu System has witnessed many reforms due to legislative determination that was not shown in the case of other communities such as Muslims. Naturally Muslims would resist the changes strongly since no society welcomes change without resistance. The first issue that comes to mind is why should there be inequality of sexes. There are many Hindu families as well where male children frown upon the issue of giving equal share in father’s property to female siblings. This is despite the law being in place and repeated clarifications by various courts. Both men and women have one vote and separate identities. Hence, they must have equal rights. If a man can do something, a woman can also do the same. This seems to be the reason for giving them entry to armed forces too. We don’t have to look to a foreign country to get inspiration for this. Our own Subhas Chandra Bose had women army regiment called Rani of Jhansi regiment in the Indian National Army (INA). Mahatma Gandhi had favoured participation of women in public life. Long before that women used to participate in public affairs during the Vedic period. When a reasonable person talks of the UCC, he or she does not oppose social practices, as for example Hindu women putting vermillion on their heads as a mark of their married status. While one can always argue why Hindu men should also not put vermillion as a sign of their marital status, this does not impinge on the legal status that makes both men and women as equal. In some parts of Bihar and other places, Muslim women too put vermillion on their heads since this gives them the protection due to moral values inculcated through generations that they must be respected. The guarantee is of society in general. But as the moral code is breaking so is the practice of putting vermillion. The talk of equality is always in the context of marriage, divorce, inheritance and adoption. How you marry is not important but it must be registered to ensure safety of women in terms of civil rights and her protection from being subjected to criminal acts. In absence of registration of marriage, a woman is vulnerable. At times, even men are vulnerable if women become vindictive and lodge a case or rape. Similarly divorce needs to be registered so that the rights are protected and also people should know when any person is going to remarry. The knowledge about past records would help people make better judgments about their own prospects. One can divorce by saying Triple Talaq as per Islamic tradition but the divorce must be registered to ensure that the rights of both the spouses obtained by previous marriage have been honoured. The Court must stand guarantee of this insurance. The case of Triple Talaq may look hilarious. If men are allowed to have Triple Talaq why not women. They should also have the same right. The law must investigate whether ‘khula’ divorce can be considered as granting equal rights to Muslim women. So, the process of divorce must go through a due process of law. Some Muslim women may accept the inherent inequality in the process of divorce for them due to social conditioning or the fear of God, but law cannot discriminate and they must get the legal option. An interesting discussion would be to give Muslim women the right to have four husbands in the same way Muslim men have. How can there be inequality? Not that every Muslim practices this. Most of my Muslim friends are monogamous. But the very existence of this liberty provides for inequality. Either don’t have this or have it for both male and female. Muslim men have no right to oppose changes in the personal law taking refuge in religion. After all, they have accepted the secular criminal law that does not make a distinction between criminals based on their religions or practices. Taliban or ISIS kind of justice handed out under Islamic law cannot be accepted in civilised society. Same is the case with civil code. They must understand that tides of equality and liberty would blow away medieval practices that show humanity in poor light. Nobody is arguing that you marry as per secular code. One can marry through the rituals of Hinduism, Islam or Christianity but the marriage once performed must be registered to show supremacy of the State. Law is above everything since it can take the lives of individuals too. Similarly, divorce can happen if two people accept it. But it must come before the law and the competent court must ensure that no pressure was exercised to succumb to the social practice. Same is the issue with inheritance. If men and women are equal, they must inherit property equally. If a woman wants to voluntarily surrender her rights, she can do so but her rights to inherit cannot be denied. The law on adoption and child custody needs a fresh look since there are many matters pending before the Court and one who suffers the most is the child. It is the welfare of the child and not the emotions of a parent that should decide custody. The writer is the convener of the media relations department of the BJP and represents the party as a spokesperson on TV debates. He has authored the book Narendra Modi: The Game Changer_. The views expressed are personal._ Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News, India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.