Thakur Das belonged to a respectable family. His father Mehta Gurmukh Singh and the grandfather of Mehta Mast Ram, one of the Lambardar of the village. Thakur Das received his early education at his village school. Later, he had to leave his home for English education. He first went to Jammu and then to Lahore.

Photo Credit- Soumya Abidi

Hardly anyone had the faint idea that Thakur Das’s journey to Lahore will create history in the lives of Muslim women. He will have to face the bitter acrimony of many Muslim stalwarts, many of them who were reformist, educationist when he raked up the issue of educating Muslim women.

While in Lahore, the fifteen-year-old Thakur Das attended an episode of Mohammadan Educational Conference in the company of his beloved teacher and mentor Maulana Nooruddin. In 1891, Thakur Das passed his matriculation examination and was renamed Shaikh Abdullah after he embraced Islam, possibly under the influence of his teacher Maulana Nooruddin.

Thakur Das was now Shaikh Abdullah as he proceeded to Aligarh for higher education where life was going to be tough for him. His dream to educate Muslim women met with stiff resistance. A disgruntled section of agitators who objected to the very idea of a school for Muslim girls always existed. Bulged partly by envy for Shaikh Abdullah and partly by misplaced religious zeal, they expressed their outrage in ingenious and dishonourable ways. In fact, the venerable Sir Syed himself was vehemently opposed to the education of women on purely moral grounds. Shaikh Abdullah, moreover, was convinced that the old educationist Sir Syed Ahmad was adamant to his belief that education would bring waywardness and cause women to break purdah and compete with men.

Soon after coming to Aligarh, he joined the Anjuman al-Farz or Duty Society set up by Sahibzada Aftab Ahmad to foster a sense of voluntary service among students. Under the influence of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, he began to take interest in social resurgence of Muslims. He attended the meetings of All India Mohammadan Educational Conference. In these meetings, the traditionalists and Muslim clerics were bitterly opposed to the idea of a Western-style education for boys being propagated by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan. No one, in these meetings talked about the education of women.

As children were raised largely in zenana (women’s quarters), women’s role as a teacher of her children was especially important. Soon with Shaikh Abdullah’s continuous efforts, the crusade for women’s education acquired a momentum of its own.

In 1902, Shaikh Abdullah was made the secretary of the women’s section of Muslim Educational Conference because of his interest in women’s welfare. In a couple of years, he started a monthly educational journal for women under the name Khatoon, which aimed at creating a suitable environment for women education. The magazine continued to be published for ten years until Shaikh Abdullah was convinced that the cause of women for which he had fought had been taken up by others in different parts of the country.

Efforts by Shaikh Abdullah resulted in growing acceptance of the idea of school education of women. He wrote a proposal to promote women’s education to Begum Sultan Jahan, the ruler of Bhopal. Begum Sultan Jahan accepted the proposal and one hundred rupees per month grant were allocated to him for women’s education. In 1906, he along with his wife Waheed Jahan Begum managed to start a girl school in a rented building under the name Aligarh Zenana Madarsa with seventeen students on roll. Waheed Jahan Begum’s family helped the reformer couple to find an Ustani (a lady teacher) from Delhi. Classes were held in strictest purdah under the personal supervision of Waheed Jahan Begum. Since she had studied elementary Persian and also knew to write, she herself taught these two subjects.

With classes underway, Shaikh Abdullah wrote a letter to Lt. Governor and an inspectress were sent who gave a favourable report about the school. The Aligarh Zenana Madarsa then received a grant of Rs 17,000 with an additional monthly allowance of Rs 250. There was no looking back since then.

While funds were no longer a problem, the school was not without its share of critics and incendiaries. Sheikh Abdullah dealt with each of these situations with forceful dignity.

Finally, after long struggles, the couple succeeded and bought a plot of land called Nanak Rai Ka Bagh which contained not only a mango orchard but several other tall and dense trees for building a boarding school for girls. However, the idea of building a girl boarding school at a small distance from MAO College led to a chorus of protests from a cross-section of Muslim elites, both from Aligarh and outside, including some such as Dr Ziauddin and Viqar ul Mulq who had initially supported Shaikh Abdullah’s cause.

Unshakeable, Shaikh Abdullah went ahead with his plans for constructing a house that included classrooms, dormitories, dining halls as well as living quarters for teachers –all settled behind high walls. On November 7, 1911, the foundation stone of first girl’s hostel was laid in presence of Lady Porter, wife of the acting Lt. Governor of the United Province. The construction was completed in 1913. Later on, the Begum of Bhopal inaugurated new buildings.

Gradually the number of students grew in strength; by 1926 it had become an intermediate college under the name of Aligarh Women’s College and by 1937 it was offering graduate courses with over 250 students in various classes. The year 1937 also marked an important turn in Shaikh Abdullah’s mission. The Aligarh Women’s College became a part of the Aligarh Muslim University.

All these while, Waheed Jahan Begum served as the backbone of the movement. She herself served as the superintendent of the boarding house for 25 years, from 1914 to 1939. She spent most of her daytime with the students, nursing and caring them. The couple was fondly called as ‘Papa Mian’ and ‘Ala Bi’ by these students, the words resembling father and mother. It was through their joint supervision that a Madarsa run in a rented building would expand into a degree college.

While working tirelessly for women’s education, amidst repetitive denunciation from the university folks, Shaikh Abdullah continued serving his alma mater in various capacities. He was a member of AMU court from 1920 till his death, and also served as Honorary Treasurer for many terms. He was also a leading advocate at Aligarh civil court. His prime interest was in the field of education and social reform but he didn’t keep himself aloof from politics.

He pleaded for modernizing the system of government so as to suit the changing needs of the time. He also served as the member of United Province Legislative Council. He also supported the Khilafat movement. In the late thirties and early forties, he was tortured by the growing differences between Hindus and Muslims. He urged the leaders of the two communities to work for political understanding and communal harmony.

Shaikh Abdullah was a man of action, humanitarian and social reform. He fought all his life for providing education of Muslim women –a task that bristled with great difficulties because of the conservatism of Muslims. He was a man ahead of his time, for he could see that women could do much better and bigger than becoming ‘able’ house-women.

(The Author is a student of Political Science at the Aligarh Muslim University)

Courtesy: Two Circles
 

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Divorce may no longer be  such a traumatic experience for women in Bangladesh. If the country adopts  the Uniform Family code (UFC), women will have a greater say in marriage, divorce, maintenance, inheritance and child custody. The proposed uniform family code seeks to reform existing family laws to make them more humane and beneficial to women. By reforming laws to end discrimination against women in these matters, the UFC seeks to give equal rights to women belonging to all religions. 

The UFC, which is presently under consideration by the government, is the brainchild of the Bangladesh Mahila Parishad (BMP). The BMP has been working for women’s rights over the last 30 years. “We realised that women are subject to oppression and discrimination in matters relating to personal rights. They are also denied access to opportunities for development, despite the Constitution guaranteeing equality to men and women,” explains Ayesha Khanam, general secretary, BMP. 

Since they provided legal aid, BMP members were conversant with all laws, particularly those relating to women. According to Khanam, although 85 per cent of the population in the country is Muslim, the demand for a uniform family code cuts across all religions. “Although laws for women do exist, like the Cruelty to Women Ordinance, Dowry Prohibition Act, and the Family Court Ordinance, structural weaknesses limit their efficacy,” contends Khanam. It is these limitations that the UFC hopes to redress. 

In the first part, which deals with marriage and divorce, the UFC makes it mandatory for every marriage and divorce to be registered. It also lays down the minimum age of marriage for boys at 22 years and for girls at 18. “Many girls are married as soon as they reach puberty, sometimes even earlier. These are rarely, if at all, registered. So the girls are deprived of their rights if they are abandoned or divorced by their husbands. If marriages and divorces are registered, it will give women legal grounds to get what is rightfully theirs,” points out barrister–at–law Tania Amir. 

In a bid towards gender equality, the UFC gives women equal rights to property acquired during the course of the marriage. The UFC also outlines grounds for divorce for both men and women. While there are eight grounds on which men can claim divorce, women have 10. 

Besides the usual reasons like immorality, impotency, and physical and mental torture for which women can claim divorce, the UFC also puts down dowry demands as a valid ground. Inability to pay maintenance for two years or disappearing for the same period also gives women reason to demand divorce. In fact, even if the husband is addicted to drugs of any sort, divorce claims are valid. A husband can also ask for a divorce in the event of his wife being a drug addict. 

However, although the UFC gives husbands the right to seek divorce if the wife is a lesbian, it does not give women the same right if their husbands are gay. Says Khanam, “This aspect could be looked into later. We first want men and women to understand that a woman cannot be divorced merely on the whims of her husband. The reasons have to be in accordance with the laws. Women are often taken for a ride because of their ignorance.”
In the second part, the UFC provides for maintenance to become compulsory and uniform, thus transcending religious customs and traditional laws. While laying down the grounds for maintenance, it also outlines the course of action that can be taken if the maintenance amount is not paid. 

“The number of abandoned women is on the rise,” contends Farida Arif, executive director of the SERWTCI Trust, a quasi-governmental body that looks after the socio–economic development of distressed women. 
“Organisations like ours try to make women economically independent. But if maintenance becomes their right by law, their aspirations for self–sufficiency will become greater and reduce their dependency on others,” says Arif. 
The third part of the UFC deals with the appointment of guardians of minors and lays out eligibility conditions for guardians and their duties and rights. It also provides for regulating the conduct of guardians if they act against the welfare of the minor or the property they have been nominated to protect. 

The uniform law of adoption forms the fourth part of the UFC. It simplifies adoption procedures for married couples. But it has still not made a provision allowing single women or men to adopt children if they so desire. 
The most important aspect of the UFC is the uniform law of inheritance. Property rights are often the most contentious. This law lays down that women, whether married or unmarried, shall have equal rights to property. In fact, it also makes provisions for children born out of wedlock — it gives them the right to their maternal property. 

“Property rights are one of the most important tools for empowering women. This helps them control their resources and become independent,” avers Aroma Dutta, chief of the PRIP Trust, a Dhaka–based non–governmental organisation (NGO) working towards women’s empowerment. 
New dreams and aspirations are stirring within Bangladeshi women. Education is helping more women realise that they are entitled to certain rights under the Constitution. But since structural contradictions of laws still exist, reforms are imperative to make these dreams come true. 

Women’s organisations pushing for the UFC have received considerable political support, not just from the coalition parties in power but also from the Opposition led by former premier Begum Zia. Since a woman Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, is in the saddle at present, hopes are high that the Uniform Family Code will be adopted soon. 

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According to the teachings of Islam, marriage is a social contract between two consenting adults for which no moulvi or kaazi is essential. All that is needed are two Muslims respected by the local community, willing to be witnesses to the contract between a man and a woman to marry each other on mutually agreed terms. But because the poor Muslim does not know this (or chooses to be ignorant), he continues to be a slave of the moulvi saheb anyway.

Why blame the poor moulvi saheb alone? The moment he puts his signature on the nikaahnama (wedding document), his role is over. This is because while a Muslim male marries in an ‘Islamic’ way he divorces in a totally ‘secular’ fashion. A post-card, a telegram, now an e–mail, is all that he needs to snap the marital bond without a moment’s notice either to his wife or to any moulvi saheb. 

And once the post-card, telegram or e–mail has been served on the hapless wife, even a well–intentioned moulvi saheb is totally helpless because of his belief that though socially abhorrent, the triple talaaq practice is theologically unobjectionable. Even if he were to subsequently intervene and convince the errant male to rethink, its too late. The only way out for the summarily divorced wife is to find another man who will marry her, consummate the marriage and give her an instant talaaq. Only then can she remarry her first husband.

Make no mistake. The moulvi sahebs and the kazis who adorn the All–India Muslim Personal Law Board are no hermits who need a ‘dialogue’ with this or that group of Muslim women to become aware of the plight of Muslim women. If indeed they are concerned with Islam getting a bad name, they should ask themselves why they so obstinately continue to resist change. One has only to go through the preceding two articles to realise how far the Muslim woman in India is behind her sister even from ‘backward’ Bangladesh. 

Be it Bangladesh, Pakistan, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, or any other Muslim society, one thing is obvious. In each of these countries, the impetus for pro–women reforms has come from other societal or state institutions, while the bulk of the clergy remains opposed to change. How can it be otherwise in case of India?
As in all other organised religions, the Muslim clergy, too, is entirely male-dominated. And its but natural that a male-centred body — be it a ‘Men Only’ club or a religious body — will be male–oriented in thought and in deed. 

No one can deny that when Islam was born, the teachings of the Quran and the sayings of the Prophet were radically pro-women, far in advance of the then prevailing social ethos. But we are not talking here of Islam or its Prophet. We are talking instead of the male–dominated Muslim clergy that through the centuries has subverted the egalitarian thrust of the Quran in the matter of man–woman relations. The MPLB is part of that subversive tradition. 

It is not to be denied that some men of religion, who occupy important positions in the MPLB hierarchy, are genuinely concerned about the pathetic plight of Muslim women in India. But to expect such a body to be an agent for change is to ask for a miracle. To believe that the same clergy that has been the bulwark of patriarchy, orthodoxy, conservatism and worse, elsewheres in the world will through some magical process in India be the harbinger of change.

Archived from Communalism Combat, May 2001 Year 8  No. 69, Cover Story 5

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