Nearly 20 days have passed since a nine-year-old girl from the Valmiki community was sexually assaulted and cremated by a priest and other men in a cremation ground near the Delhi cantonment area on August 1, 2021. However, the meagre media coverage has all but dissipated within this time despite parallels drawn with the Hathras case that shook India last year.

The case received social media attention when prominent leaders like Azad Samaj Party’s Chandra Shekhar Azad and Congress’s Rahul Gandhi condemned the incident. When in reality, the protests were near instant. The girl’s mother brought Purana Nangal villagers to the cremation grounds on learning about her child’s unceremonious death.

In fact, Pragatisheel Mahila Sangathan General Secretary Poonam Kaushik said that villagers were vocal in ensuring that local police arrested those accused.

“The people there played a huge role in having the men arrested. They continue to protest even after the arrest. However, the mainstream media does not cover these protests. It seems activities affecting everyday life don’t affect them. Regardless, people there are still enraged,” she said.

In the first week of August, Times of India, India Today covered the on-ground protests of the people. Other media houses like SabrangIndia also covered protests by women’s groups like the All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) who called for severe action against the police officials, who did not file the chargesheet on time.

A delegation led by Brinda Karat, AIDWA Delhi General Secretary Asha Sharma and Dalit Shoshan Mukti Manch leader Nathu Prasad met the family to express support.

Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait also visited the family on August 8 to join their sit-in protests demanding justice for the minor.

However, as the case moved to the court, the media attention also moved behind closed doors. The outrage about the incident now comes in the form of short legal reports updating the proceedings of the case. When SabrangIndia reached out to some people participating in previous protests, individuals said there is no merit in protesting if the case is already in court.

Why do we protest?

Meanwhile, AIDWA General Secretary Mariam Dhawale rejected the claims that public outrage has diminished. She stressed that concerned organisations are regularly following up with the family and the case. However, the same is not reflected in the public domain because of Covid restrictions in Delhi.

“The police have restricted mobilisation in the area citing Covid restrictions. That is why there is public rage but it is hard to show the same. The authorities have created an anti-democratic atmosphere. There is rage but no consent to show it,” said Dhawale.

Regarding the claim that protests are unnecessary after legal proceedings, Kaushik said the real question is about women’s safety. She pointed out that despite the lodging of an FIR, the cremation ground was yet to instal CCTVs.

Although the Delhi government has widely spoken about women’s safety and security the realities differ on ground. She stressed this by stating earlier two military men sexually assaulted a woman in the same area. Yet, there were no efforts to make the area more secure.

Both times, the locals were vocal about the incidents. She said that villagers had been complaining for a long time about the police’s lax attitude towards the drug dealing carried out in the area.

“The mainstream media does not show all this. If they do, it depends on how heated the incidents are. There are no effective fast track courts. Even with Nirbhaya funds, there are very few special labs to conduct required tests. These systematic issues need to be considered,” she said.

For these reasons, Kaushik said that the matter does not end with a police complaint. Moreover, she said that even during protests people demand capital punishment. Politicians act in reaction to these demands. In reality, this creates a problem of conviction of crimes.

“The more adverse the punishment is, the harder it is to convict the accused. We feel the question is not about individual cases but the mindset that ‘women are properties.’ This thinking is pushed on people. That is why we see people protesting,” said Kaushik.

Related:

Delhi Cantonment rape case: AIDWA demands action against police for alleged ‘silent complicity’
Nangal village gang-rape, both gendered and caste-based violence: Civil Society Organisations
And now, Hathras-like horror in Delhi!

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They adopted a resolution to confront and change the state of affairs and said that they will not be silenced by the BJP-RSS promoted culture of fear and standing up for equality and basic rights enshrined in the Constitution.

Brinda Karat, the patron of AIDWA and leader of the women’s movement spoke on the challenges before women in the current political situation. The rally was presided over by Malini Bhattacharya (President) and was addressed by Subhashini Ali (Vice President) and Asha Sharma (Delhi State Secretary), among others. The Resolution of the rally was placed by Mariam Dhawale (General Secretary).

Men and women gave heart rending testimonies of the struggles for justice for victims of gender based violence. The Kathua victim’s lawyer Deepika Rajput shared her struggles about the professional abuse and political consequences she had to face in Kathua case. Similarly, Mahesh Singh Makkhi (the uncle of the Unnao victim and a petitioner in the case) talked about how he fears for his life and security of his family. The impact of social conservatism and the violence associated with it was narrated by Saroj (the mother in law of the honour killing victim) from Haryana. Cases of political violence and victimization were narrated by Swapna Ghosh of West Bengal and Vinita Choudhury from Tripura. The struggles on food security were narrated by Lahani Dauda from Maharashtra, whereas struggles on right to work were narrated by Santro from the Anganwadi Mothers’ group in Haryana, Poonam (a domestic worker from Noida, NCR) and MNREGA worker from Bihar.
 
AIDWA, in its note issued before the protest said, “The frightening regularity with which women and young girls are subjected to violence and abuse in various parts of the country, is a matter of serious concern. Gang-rape, abduction, physical and mental abuse, torture of various kinds, threats of killing and rape are not isolated incidents. Instead they are a part of the larger systemic problem. Concerted efforts have been made in the recent past by certain political groups to show women their ‘true place’. With the political patronage of the BJP-RSS, there has definitely been a spurt in the number and brutality of such incidents against women.”

Their note highlighted that though the prime agenda of the BJP in 2014 general elections was said to be ‘women’s safety’ the assault on women continued unabated.

The note drew attention to a report by the child rights NGO CRY in the month of April 2018 that had stated that a sexual offence is committed against a child in India every 15 minutes. The report had also drawn attention to the fact that almost 75,000 cases of the rape of women and children were registered in 2016. And that there has been an 82% spike in the rape of children from 2015 to 2016
Moreover, the note added, the Thompson Reuters Foundation report too ranked India the most dangerous country for women in terms of human trafficking, including sex slavery and domestic servitude, and for customary practices such as forced marriage, stoning and female infanticide.

It drew attention to the failures of the Modi regime in being able to fulfill all its promises, “The Modi regime promised two crore jobs per year, but has not provided jobs to even two lakh per year. In our country where more than 10 lakh job-seekers enter the job market every month, unemployment is at its highest, and women’s work participation rate is the lowest since Independence. 77 per cent of the households in the country have no regular wage/salaried person. According to the Labor Bureau, unemployment rate among the graduate youths (18 to 29 years) increased from 28 per cent to 35 per cent between 2014 and 2015. In addition, demonetisation has resulted in the loss of 90 lakh jobs between October 2016 and October 2017.”

Though the BJP government promised to control price rise but in fact prices of essential commodities are skyrocketing and the public distribution system is reportedly as per the reports coming in from all quarters. In fact the mandatory linkage of Aadhaar and the elimination of beneficiaries are resulting in starvation deaths.

Moreover, it said that the BJP and “fascistic” RSS have been unleashing terror by spreading caste and communal hatred and violence, with mob lynchings becoming “the order of the day”.

Not only this, that the extra-constitutional and self-appointed vigilante groups are having a free rein and roaming scot free after “killing people with impunity.” AIDWA accused that such people have received tacit support from their ‘political masters.’

Outlining these challenges, AIDWA had given the call for the protest today, on September 4 against increasing violence and brutality against women, especially girl children, growing unemployment, food security, the grim issue of starvation and malnutrition and the escalating communal and casteist attacks.

The rally was directed against the anti-women and anti-people policies of the BJP-RSS regime led by Modi.
 

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January 30, 2004
The Chairman
All India Muslim Personal
Law Board
Nadwa Sharif
Lucknow

Sir, We write this memorandum to you on behalf of the All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) representing 7.5 million women of all communities and regions. In particular AIDWA has a substantial membership among Muslim women and is deeply involved in many of the issues of specific concern to Muslim women in the economic, social and political spheres. We believe that there is discrimination against Muslim women by the State reflected even in government statistics on employment, credit, education, and so on. At the same time, similar to women in other communities, Muslim women also suffer from the lack of substantial reform in personal laws applicable to them.

In this context our association has had several rounds of discussions with the Muslim Personal Law Board officials. You will also recall that our members had participated in the meeting called by the MPLB on Muslim women’s issues in April 2001. On that occasion we had submitted a memorandum to you endorsed by almost all the women present requesting you to initiate certain important reforms in Muslim Personal Laws. The then chairman of the Board, the (late) Qazi Mujahidul Islam Qasmi had given us a sympathetic hearing and assured the women present that the Board would prepare a model nikahnama to bring relief to Muslim women.

Unfortunately, it has taken four long years for the draft to be prepared. We have studied the draft now prepared by the MPLB. We would like to express our deep disappointment with the contents of the draft. Since the draft is to be ratified in the general body meeting of the Board at a later date, we are taking this opportunity to bring to your notice certain infirmities in the draft which we hope will be rectified by you.

A marriage performed under Muslim Personal Law, which recognises marriage as a contract between two persons, gives the Muslim woman certain rights not available to other women. She can draw up a nikahnama which guarantees her rights within the marriage. A model nikahnama must necessarily be framed in a way to safeguard the welfare and rights of the bride. It is then up to the groom to accept the conditions. Once the conditions of the nikahnama are accepted it is binding on both parties. Unfortunately, the model nikahnama circulated by you does not at all protect the interests of the bride, nor does it give her the right to put her own conditions for the marriage. Most Muslim women in our country are not even aware of the fact that they have the right to frame the nikahnama and impose conditions on their husbands. This is a very important right that Muslim women have been given which is, unfortunately, being withheld from them by keeping them in ignorance. The Muslim Personal Law Board must necessarily educate the community that the woman under personal law does have the right to frame conditions in the nikahnama.

Unfortunately, instead of making this right of Muslim women central to the concept of a model nikahnama, the MPLB draft is discriminatory against women: everything that is favourable to women has been included only as a pious piece of advice, on the other hand, everything that militates against woman’s rights has been described as Islamic injunctions.

At the outset we would like to express our strong disagreement with the directive in the draft that in case of any unresolved dispute between the two parties, they should appeal to a Shari’ah court. This directive impinges on the rights of Muslim women to appeal to secular courts on issues of direct concern to them. Clearly, this cannot be accepted. This also seems to be part of the long-standing demand of the MPLB for the establishment of Shari’ah courts. Without going into the demerits of this demand we emphasise that it should not be included in the nikahnama. In case of an unresolved dispute either side has the right to go to court as is the right of all Indian citizens.

One of the major issues before Muslim women is that of arbitrary triple talaq in one sitting. This practice exists only in India. Everywhere else in the world, including in Islamic States, there are conditions for talaq. We had expected that the Board would have taken a clear and strong position against this retrograde practice. However, the wording of the sentence "to avoid talaq in one sitting" or to "avoid talaq without compulsion" is far too vague and will not give any relief to women victims of this practice. We therefore request you to declare that arbitrary triple talaq is impermissible and is banned. This is essential to protect the rights of women.

We welcome your suggestion in the section on instructions to the bride and

groom that cash, dowry and feast for the baraat should not be demanded by the groom or his parents. You have stated that it is against Shari’ah and is a great sin. Perhaps you could add that it is impermissible. Please also think of ways that those who demand dowry should be punished by the community.

We list some of the other points below:

In the section entitled ‘Instructions to the maulvi performing the nikah’:
1. It is stated in the MPLB draft that if the couple are both minors or if one of them is a minor, the guardian’s/guardians’ consent must be obtained. This is extremely unfortunate since it condones marriage of minors. The Child Marriages Restraint Act based on the protection of the rights of children must be the guiding point on this issue.

2. It is stated that the woman should not be the divorcee of the same man, even mitigating circumstances are not mentioned. This is giving sanction to the humiliating practice of ‘halala’.

3. The draft states that Shari’ah has permitted second marriage or polygamy with the condition of all wives being given equal and just treatment. Instead of discouraging polygamy and putting it in the context when it was first permitted, the draft thus sanctions polygamy. How can the maulvi know whether the second or polygamous marriage will not lead to discrimination against the first wife or that all wives will be given equal and just treatment?

4. In this section, maulvis are asked not to permit certain types of marriages. However, a marriage of a man with another woman even while his divorced wife is in iddat is permitted. This is extremely unjust to the divorced woman and should not be permitted. In any case, instructions to maulvis cannot and should not form part of the nikahnama, which is between the husband and wife. If found necessary, the instructions to the maulvis can be issued separately.

In the section ‘Instructions for the bride and bridegroom’:

We are glad that the MPLB has addressed the issue of violence. However, the phrasing that "the wife should be treated justly" and that "violence should be avoided" is again far too vague. It could be interpreted to mean that violence is permissible but better avoided. There should be a categorical instruction against violence.

Shockingly, the right of a wife to a divorce is not even mentioned. Even ‘khula’ is omitted in the draft. It would have been better if you had included the right of talaq-e-tafwid for the wife so that she could demand a divorce if the husband violated the conditions laid down by her, e.g. fails to maintain her and their children, takes another wife, etc. There must be a section on the rights of a wife including the right to divorce. A section on the rights of divorced women and children, their right to residence, to maintenance, education and inheritance rights of children should also be included.

In the sections ‘Rights of the husband and wife on each other’:
This section has a series of instructions for the wife – i.e. she cannot visit anyone without her husband’s permission; she must safeguard her modesty and look after the children. Even the visits of the wife to her own family are circumscribed by what is considered "necessary". The wife’s freedom of movement is curtailed while there are no such restrictions on the husband’s movements. These sections are heavily weighted against the wife and need to be rewritten entirely. One of the increasing problems is that of alcoholism and gambling among men. These should be specifically mentioned and disapproved.

It is mentioned that mehr should be paid at the time of the nikah in part or in full. If it is paid later then it should be paid in silver or gold. This again does not guarantee payment of mehr to the wife as it should but, in fact, provides a loophole for the husband. It should be made clear that it is incumbent for the husband to pay the full mehr at the time of marriage.

Conclusion:

Sir, these are a few of the objections and suggestions we have on the MPLB draft. We would like to point out that in the given situation of the various levels of discrimination that Muslim women face including being made the targets of communal forces, it is extremely important for the rights of Muslim women within the community to be strengthened. It is our belief based on experience that fundamentalists of all communities misuse religion and so-called religious sanction to protect their own sectarian and hidebound views which in fact have no religious sanction and in fact militate against the Constitution of India. The need for reform in Muslim Personal Law is apparent and much delayed. You are also aware that when there is little hope within the community for reform, individual Muslim women have been approaching various courts of law for redressal of their grievances. We believe that personal law reform that is initiated from within the community has a lasting effect. We hope that you will not delay the processes of justice to Muslim women any further. The framing of a model nikahnama provides you with the opportunity to send a strong message for personal law reform to the community. We hope you will consider our views based on the experience we have with working with Muslim women from all sections across the country and redraft the nikahnama accordingly.

Yours,

Anwara Mirza
Zarina Khursheed
Maimoona Mollah
Rehana Sayeed
Mariam Dhawale
PK Zainaba
aidwa@ndb.vsnl.net.in

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