The Hindu : National : Meet today to discuss problems of Muslim women

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Nov 25, 2004

National

National

Meet today to discuss problems of Muslim women

By Our Staff Correspondent

NEW DELHI, NOV. 24. The National Commission for Women (NCW) has convened a meeting of the State Wakf Board heads here tomorrow to discuss the problems of Muslim women, particularly those relating to divorce, maintenance and polygamy.

At a press conference here today, the NCW chairperson, Poornima Advani, said the status of Muslim women in India was low, compared to women of other religions despite protection of their rights by the Constitution. Their main problems related to maintenance, suffering and distress on dissolution of marriage on account of triple `talaq', polygamy and difficulty in getting the `mehr' money on separation.

Number of complaints

"There are numerous complaints of women not receiving the maintenance allowance during and after the `iddat' period, difficulties in getting custody of their children and even their share in property, primarily due to illiteracy, poverty, ignorance and traditional beliefs,'' the NCW member, Nafisa Hussain, said.

The State Wakf Boards had taken a number of initiatives for the socio-economic development of Muslim women, including financial assistance to the poor, widows, divorced women and destitutes.

The Madras and Bombay High Courts had passed judgments to pay the maintenance allowance even after the `iddat' period till a women's second marriage or employment. "The Muslim community is against this as it is against the Muslim Personal Law. Whenever the in-laws or parents are unable to pay the maintenance to the widow, the court directs to pay the maintenance allowance out of the funds of the Wakf Boards,'' she said. Earlier, the maintenance amount was up to Rs. 500 but the courts have increased the amount without any limit.

The main objectives of the national consultation, she said, was to bring to the fore the issues facing Muslim women and suggest remedial measures.

The recommendations would be an important education tool for the State Wakf Boards to help Muslim women and enable the Commission to arrive at a decision for making recommendations to the Government. This would be followed by a national level workshop.

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