Divorce and Remarriage Among Muslims in India

Divorce and Remarriage Among Muslims in India
Author: Imtiaz Ahmad
Publisher:
Total Pages: 448
Release: 2003
Genre: Social Science
ISBN:

Divorce is usually studied in terms of two distinct perspectives. One focuses on the procedure laid down for giving the seal of final authority to a divorce. The other explores the processes that are set in motion once the stability of a marriage is threatened. The latter perspective does not see divorce in isolation but treats it in the wider context of social structure. When divorce in Muslim communities is discussed, the tendency quite often is to place theology and law at the centre. This book recognizes that divorce in Muslim communities entails substantial theological and legal dimensions, but takes as its point of departure the view that it is only by placing divorce in the social and cultural context that meaningful conclusions can be arrived at. It examines, in the light of empirical evidence, the incidence of divorce and separation, the social and other causes due to which divorce and separation takes place, and the position of divorced women in society as well as their prospects of remarriage. In the process substantial methodological and theoretical questions relevant to the study of divorce as a social phenomenon are raised. The book has an immediate practical aim as well. Muslim law of divorce, particularly the provision of triple divorce, which vests a unilateral right in the husband to pronounce a summary divorce upon his wife, has been the subject of considerable controversy. Essentially, the papers brought together in this book are sociological analyses of divorce and remarriage among Muslims in India and the data thrown up as part of these analyses should clear some points in the controversy.

Divorcing Traditions

Divorcing Traditions
Author: Katherine Lemons
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Total Pages: 220
Release: 2019-03-15
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1501734784

Divorcing Traditions is an ethnography of Islamic legal expertise and practices in India, a secular state in which Muslims are a significant minority and where Islamic judgments are not legally binding. Katherine Lemons argues that an analysis of divorce in accordance with Islamic strictures is critical to the understanding of Indian secularism. Lemons analyzes four marital dispute adjudication forums run by Muslim jurists or lay Muslims to show that religious law does not muddle the categories of religion and law but generates them. Drawing on ethnographic and archival research conducted in these four institutions—NGO-run women's arbitration centers (mahila panchayats); sharia courts (dar ul-qazas); a Muslim jurist's authoritative legal opinions (fatwas); and the practice of what a Muslim legal expert (mufti) calls "spiritual healing"—Divorcing Traditions shows how secularism is an ongoing project that seeks to establish and maintain an appropriate relationship between religion and politics. A secular state is always secularizing. And yet, as Lemons demonstrates, the state is not the only arbiter of the relationship between religion and law: religious legal forums help to constitute the categories of private and public, religious and secular upon which secularism relies. In the end, because Muslim legal expertise and practice are central to the Indian legal system and because Muslim divorce's contested legal status marks a crisis of the secular distinction between religion and law, Muslim divorce, argues Lemons, is a key site for understanding Indian secularism.

Redefining Family Law in India

Redefining Family Law in India
Author: Archana Parashar
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 349
Release: 2020-11-29
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1000083918

This volume is a collection of articles by scholars across disciplines to create a discourse of family law independent of Religious Personal Law, whilst striving for fairness and justice to all. It demonstrates the artificiality of the public–private divide and seeks the systematic development of ideas for a fair and just family law in contemporary India. The book does not merely document the pathologies of power within the family but also makes proposals for remedying these inequities. It is not confined to considering what changes need to be inducted into existing family law to make it more just, but also strategises on the means and methods of effecting the change. It lifts the familial veil and scrutinises the status, rights and disabilities of some of the subordinated members of the family. The volume is an invitation to redefine family law with the twin tools of reflection and responsibility. It will interest those in law judges, legislators, law reformers as well as those in women and family studies, policy makers and policy analysts, apart from the general reader.

The Diversity of Muslim Women's Lives in India

The Diversity of Muslim Women's Lives in India
Author: Zoya Hasan
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Total Pages: 372
Release: 2005
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780813537030

In order to broaden the lens through which Muslim women are typically seen, a group of researchers in India carried out a large and unprecedented study of one of the most disadvantaged sections of Indian society. The editors of The Diversity of Muslim Women's Lives in India bring together this research in a comprehensive collection of informative and revealing case studies.

Indian Muslim(s) after Liberalization

Indian Muslim(s) after Liberalization
Author: Maidul Islam
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 255
Release: 2018-12-13
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0199097186

Close to the turn of the century and almost 45 years after Independence, India opened its doors to free-market liberalization. Although meant as the promise to a better economic tomorrow, three decades later, many feel betrayed by the economic changes ushered in by this new financial era. Here is a book that probes whether India’s economic reforms have aided the development of Indian Muslims who have historically been denied the fruits of economic development. Maidul Islam points out that in current political discourse, the ‘Muslim question’ in India is not articulated in terms of demands for equity. Instead, the political leadership camouflages real issues of backwardness, prejudice, and social exclusion with the rhetoric of identity and security. Historically informed, empirically grounded, and with robust analytical rigour, the book tries to explore connections between multiple forms of Muslim marginalization, the socio-economic realities facing the community, and the formation of modern Muslim identity in the country. At a time when post-liberalization economic policies have created economic inequality and joblessness for significant sections of the population including Muslims, the book proposes working towards a radical democratic deepening in India.

Divorce and Divorced Women

Divorce and Divorced Women
Author: Dr. Salma Kaneez
Publisher: K.K. Publications
Total Pages: 136
Release: 2021-09-11
Genre: Psychology
ISBN:

This book is about understanding the complex phenomenon of divorce in the given socio-cultural context of India. The social institution of marriage is in a state of unprecedented transition. The rapid pace of socio-economic changes and associated life patterns have put marital relations under greater stress and strain in contemporary times. This has considerably influenced attitudes, values and beliefs about marriage and the family organization. As a result, there has been a noticeable rise in the incidence of marital conflicts and divorce, especially in urban areas. The present study tries to find out various psycho-social determinants of divorce and examines its impact on the way of life and the perceived well-being of divorcees belonging to Hindu and Muslim communities. The book provides empirical information useful for those researching on the subject and policymakers alike.

Status of Muslim Women in India

Status of Muslim Women in India
Author: Hajira Kumar
Publisher: Aakar Books
Total Pages: 134
Release: 2002
Genre: Muslim women
ISBN: 9788187879039

This Book Throws Light On The Various Situations Which Colour The Profile Of Indian Muslim Women. The Authors Have Taken Care Of The Past And Present Conditions Of Muslim Women. As A Result, A Social Forecast For Their Future Is Possible. Historical Perspective Is A Unique Feature Of This Book, Especially As The Subsequent Chapters On Socio-Economic Perspectives Of The Contemporary Situation Create A Linkage Between The Past And The Present. Another Innovative Feature Is A Paper On The Participation Of Muslim Women In Panchayati Raj. Two Papers Have Also Been Devoted To Legal Problems And Muslim Personal Law. The Approach Of These Papers Include A Deep Sensitivity Of The Authors Towards The Sufferings Of Muslim Women Without Diluting The Objectivity.The Book Will Be Equally Useful For Academicians, Women Activists And Grassroot Workers.

Islam and the Rule of Justice

Islam and the Rule of Justice
Author: Lawrence Rosen
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 293
Release: 2018-03-13
Genre: Law
ISBN: 022651174X

In the West, we tend to think of Islamic law as an arcane and rigid legal system, bound by formulaic texts yet suffused by unfettered discretion. While judges may indeed refer to passages in the classical texts or have recourse to their own orientations, images of binding doctrine and unbounded choice do not reflect the full reality of the Islamic law in its everyday practice. Whether in the Arabic-speaking world, the Muslim portions of South and Southeast Asia, or the countries to which many Muslims have migrated, Islamic law works is readily misunderstood if the local cultures in which it is embedded are not taken into account. With Islam and the Rule of Justice, Lawrence Rosen analyzes a number of these misperceptions. Drawing on specific cases, he explores the application of Islamic law to the treatment of women (who win most of their cases), the relations between Muslims and Jews (which frequently involve close personal and financial ties), and the structure of widespread corruption (which played a key role in prompting the Arab Spring). From these case studie the role of informal mechanisms in the resolution of local disputes. The author also provides a close reading of the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui, who was charged in an American court with helping to carry out the 9/11 attacks, using insights into how Islamic justice works to explain the defendant’s actions during the trial. The book closes with an examination of how Islamic cultural concepts may come to bear on the constitutional structure and legal reforms many Muslim countries have been undertaking.

The Politics of Personal Law in South Asia

The Politics of Personal Law in South Asia
Author: Partha S. Ghosh
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2012-05-23
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1136705120

It is a political study of the controversy surrounding the issue of the uniform civil code vis-à-vis personal laws from a South Asian perspective. At the centre of the debate is whether there should be a centralized view of the legal system in a given society or a decentralized view, both horizontally and vertically. This issue is entangled within the threads of identity politics, minority rights, women’s rights, national integration, global Islamic politics and universal human rights. Champions of each category view it through their own prisms, making the debate extremely complex, especially in politically and socially plural South Asia. So, this book attempts to harmonize the threads of the debate to provide a holistic political analysis.

Adjudicating Family Law in Muslim Courts

Adjudicating Family Law in Muslim Courts
Author: Elisa Giunchi
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 236
Release: 2013-12-04
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 131796487X

While there are many books on Islamic family law, the literature on its enforcement is scarce. This book focuses on how Islamic family law is interpreted and applied by judges in a range of Muslim countries – Sunni and Shi'a, as well as Arab and non-Arab. It thereby aids the understanding of shari'a law in practice in a number of different cultural and political settings. It shows how the existence of differing views of what shari'a is, as well as the presence of a vast body of legal material which judges can refer to, make it possible for courts to interpret Islamic law in creative and innovative ways.