Why can't Muslim women have four husbands too? asks Kerala High Court judge

Kerala High Court judge Justice B Kamal Pasha on Sunday came down heavily on the Muslim Personal Law and said that if a Muslim man can marry four times, Muslim women should also be allowed to have four husbands, reported Hindustan Times on Monday. [caption id=“attachment_2649306” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] The report further added that he called for the religious heads to introspect and end the “hegemony of men” and said that opposition to the uniform civil code is unfair. According to The Hindu, Pasha said, “The Koran gives both men and women permission for extra judicial divorce. But it is difficult for a Muslim woman to seek divorce as per the personal law.” On Sunday, Deccan Chronicle reported that the Supreme Court accepted a writ petition filed by the president of the progressive women’s association NISA against the discrimination meted out to Muslim women under the Sharia law. In her petition, activist VP Zuhra maintained that “the Sharia law was against the Constitution and un-Islamic,” the report added. Last year on 28 October, Hindustan Times had reported that the Supreme Court had decided to examine the Muslim Personal Law to do away with the provisions biased against Muslim women. A bench of justices AR Dave and AK Goel requested Chief Justice of India HL Dattu to constitute an appropriate bench and address the issue. “There is no safeguard against arbitrary divorce and second marriage by her (a Muslim woman’s) husband during currency of the first marriage, resulting in a denial of dignity and security to her,” the bench said in the report. Activists have been campaigning for a change in the Muslim personal law as it allows polygamy and the use of the triple talaq system. The Apex court’s decision was opposed by some Muslim organisations, including the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB). According to The Indian Express, Islamic organisation Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind said that “a court cannot test the validity of personal law.” The report further added that in the plea, the organisation said, “The Mohammedan Law is founded essentially on the Holy Koran and it cannot fall within the purview of the expression ‘laws in force’ as mentioned in Article 13 of the Constitution of India, and hence its validity cannot be tested on a challenge based on Part III of the Constitution.” Though as per Quran and Hadith, “triple talaq” is a crime, once said, the process would be considered complete and cannot be changed, All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) spokesman Maulana Abdul Raheem Qureshi. “We have nothing to do with what happens in other Islamic countries. What we follow is what the Quran Sharif, Hadith and Sunnat has said. There is no scope of change in the system,” he said. With inputs from PTI