Uniform Civil Code and gender justice
N.R. MADHAVA MENON
PERSONAL LAW REFORMS AND GENDER EMPOWERMENT: Nandini Chavan, Qutub Jehan Kidwai; Hope India Publications, 85 Sector 23, Gurgaon-122017. Rs. 795.
Equal right for women in matters of marriage, separation, custody of children, inheritance and property is today understood as the rationale for a Uniform Civil Code. This is the premise on which the two authors, both women belonging to the Hindu and Muslim communities respectively prepared a treatise on several aspects of the code. They hold the view that true religious prescriptions are consistent with gender justice. The UCC is conceived as part of secularisation of personal laws without shedding religious identities. The research done by the authors in the context of continuing confusion as to what a uniform code is and how it would impact on the power structure and right to faith, is a commendable effort at viewing the debate from a gender justice perspective. It is to be welcomed by the votaries of rule of law, human rights, and democracy.
Reform
The book has two parts, one dealing with the struggle for reform of Hindu personal laws and its relation to women's empowerment, and the other looking at the reform movement in the Islamic tradition with special reference to the Indian situation. It is unnecessary for any one to canvass a Uniform Civil Code as it is constitutionally mandated. However, the unique socio-political situation in India has made the exercise near impossible in the absence of a demand from the communities themselves — something that seems unlikely to happen as of now. In the process, women of all communities are the worst sufferers and it is they who need the UCC most. It is this dilemma the two authors explore in the book.
Much effort is devoted to establish the acknowledged fact that historically, women as a class suffered discrimination. This is attributed, inter alia, to feudalism and patriarchy. Discriminatory customs with religious sanction evolved through ages, have been left untouched except in parts, during the colonial rule. The story of the Hindu Code Bill and what came out of it, after much resistance, is also well known to the reading public. The authors have devoted 150 pages to reflect on this recorded history of Hindu Personal Laws without shedding any additional light. It is in chapter five the authors seek to take on what they call the Hindutva ideology in relation to the UCC. The attack on a political party for having taken it on their political agenda appears to be the weakest part of an otherwise credible historical analysis. The supportive documentation is weak and the allegations are questionable. One wonders whether it was at all necessary to advance the cause of gender justice which is the ostensible purpose of the research.
The second section dealing with Muslim Personal Law appears to be more balanced and objective on the issues and concerns related to the UCC. As Mr. Asghar Ali Engineer writes in his foreword, the concern seems to be on reasserting the "supremacy of Quranic laws, which are highly gender just over the Shariah laws which, under the influence of patriarchy, took away most of the women's rights through [the] back door". The author attributes the distortions to the British during whose regime the Shariah law was formulated. Citing the experience of several Islamic countries, the book asserts that Shariah laws can be changed and reformed to suit contemporary needs, provided they do not negate Quranic values. At the same time, it is said that the understanding of Quranic law is limited and this "ignorance is leading to a situation that is ambiguous and conflicting."
Debate
What then is the value addition that the book is making to the existing literature on the subject? Based on the assumption that gender empowerment depends on personal law reforms, the authors make out a case for a uniform code which they admit is very difficult to achieve in India today. Much of the discussion in the book is devoted to explaining why the UCC is difficult in India, even if desirable. The Hindutva agenda, the minority psychology, the bewildering diversity of customary laws and practices within communities and regions and the ignorance of people are said to be the barriers. These perceptions may be justified; but the strategy proposed, namely to go back to true or real Islamic Law is contentious and confusing. One would expect the authors, who are passionately wedded to the idea of a UCC, to follow up their research and evolve a draft code that offers gender justice in matters of marriage, divorce, custody, inheritance and property rights.
The book has several annexures, the sources and relevance of which are not clearly explained. Nevertheless, the book raises many interesting points in the UCC debate, particularly on the question of equal rights to women in family relations law.
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