Advocate Shukoor and his wife Dr Sheena created history by remarrying (for the second time) – this time under the Special Marriages Act. The couple who had earlier married under the Muslim personal law decided to marry again to protect the rights of their two girl children over inheritance.
The Mohammadan law is biased against women. According to Shariah, if a man who doesn’t have a male offspring, dies only two-thirds of the wealth would go to his girl children. One-third of the wealth he leaves behind would go to his brothers. There is no provision in the Mohammadan law for a man to support his brother’s girl children economically.
Recently, in a discussion in social media, several Muslim men had raised this issue. In one such discussion, a person narrated a case where a Muslim family of four girl children was pushed into poverty after their father’s death. The father’s brother who was very rich was not ready to part with the property, despite the intervention of several community leaders.
Several Muslim men, including some judges, in Kerala, have opted to marry under the Special Marriage Act dumping the Shariah to take care of the interests of their girl children. Islam doesn’t believe in gender equality or equity. According to the Quran, women are mere an agricultural field or a property. The whole purpose of a woman’s life is to reproduce and serve her husband.
Advocate Shukoor’s action has once again brought to the fore the need for common civil code in the country. Why should Muslim women face discrimination while their counterparts in other religions enjoy full inheritance rights? It’s time we revisit the demand for Uniform Civil Code.
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