The Property Rights Of Muslim Women

In a room with green walls, printed curtains on narrow windows and plastic flowers sitting atop a showcase made of laminated plywood sits Aafia sewing the hem of a sari. Two children 바카라� a girl and a boy 바카라� are in school. Her husband of 10 years has his own garage which repairs cars and two-wheelers. Aafia is estranged from her parents who live half a kilometre away in another locality. Two years ago, Aafia had asked her father for details about the family바카라�s properties. She had also asked him to hand her some part of the share which would enable her to enrol for a make-up and personality development course. That was two years ago.

Since then, Aafia's parents and brothers have banned her from entering their house. 바카라�A woman바카라�s parents are a big support system for her. I did not do anything wrong. I asked them for some money which was from the share they would give me,바카라� said Aafia, knitting furiously. It was as if she was channelling her entire anger into those knots and crosses. Like every other family living in the Muslim area in Mankhurd, Aafia comes from a conservative family who goes by the book in their daily living. 바카라�My mother is illiterate, yet I am educated. My father did not listen to people or educated me. I am a graduate today. We were a happy family. The moment I asked them for my share, they changed. I am excommunicated from my family. My husband, who too was keen that I get my share, is angry that I will not get it now,바카라� said Aafia, speaking to Outlook.

Not a single day goes by without Aafia's husband asking her for an update on the 바카라�share status바카라�. 바카라�He wants me to go back and demand my share. They are my parents. I cannot do that,바카라� she said. Going to court is an option that Aafia has never considered. 바카라�If Allah wishes it, I will get it. One cannot go against the wish of Allah,바카라� she said.

For 40-year-old Bilquis, a social worker, asking for a share in the property of her father is something she has imagined but never implemented. An unlettered woman, Bilquis is the second wife of her husband 바카라� a driver for a corporate firm. She works with an NGO which deals with issues relating to the welfare of women.

Some years ago, Bilquis's father had passed away and the eldest of her brothers became the custodian of the family property 바카라� a two-storied house and seven acres of land near Nashik.

바카라�I have three brothers and they divided the property amongst themselves. My sister and I were left with nothing. When we asked them for a share, they asked us to choose between them and the property,바카라� said Bilquis to Outlook.

While Bilquis chose her siblings over the property, her sister threatened to file a case against them. They gave her Rs 50,000 as a settlement. She took it and has never come back to the family. Bilquis confessed to being hurt by the actions of her siblings but has not found the courage to ask for her share in the property. 바카라�Tomorrow if my husband takes a third wife, I will have to go back to my mother바카라�s house. If I fight with my brothers, that house will be closed for me. So, I have decided to let them take the property,바카라� said Bilquis.

There are hundreds of Muslim women who do not challenge or seek the rights to the property of their fathers, said Hasina Khan who works with Bebaak, an NGO involved with the upliftment of Muslim women. Headquartered in Mumbai, Bebaak works across multiple states. 바카라�There are women who have demanded their share and this has led to familial disputes,바카라� said Khan. 바카라�The family creates an emotional drama and the women get caught in it. No woman from any religion openly gets into a dispute with the father over the property. The women are considered to be secondary citizens. Before marriage, they live in the father바카라�s house and after marriage, they live in the husband바카라�s house. She never has a house to call her own,바카라� said Khan.

Lamenting the lack of written documents that will serve as proof that the property will be given to the woman by her father and brothers, Khan feels that many women do not challenge patriarchy. 바카라�They always feel that if there is any problem with their husbands they can come back to their homes. The parents and brothers are the support system of women who are single, divorced or have marital issues. So, women will forgo their rights to the property and maintain their relations with the parental home,바카라� said Khan to Outlook.

When Farheen바카라�s father transferred over two lakh rupees to her bank account, she was ecstatic. Overwhelmed by the bonanza given to her as 바카라�Eidi바카라� (gift given on Eid day) by her father, Farheen vowed to look after her ageing parents, despite all odds. One day during a family conversation at her father바카라�s house, Farheen, a single woman discovered that her brother was the sole heir to all the property owned by her father, a merchant at Mumbai바카라�s Kalbadevi textile market. 바카라�I felt waves of shock running through me. They gave me two lakhs and gave him everything else. There are just two of us and my father could have given us both equal share,바카라� said Farheen. 바카라�I am a working person and I earn my own money. But, the underhandedness of the deal shocked me. I did not ask for it. So, when you give, at least match my brother바카라�s share. Though I have let it go, I feel deeply hurt,바카라� said Farheen to Outlook.

This is a common occurrence, points out Ayesha Pasha, an independent researcher, who has been informally working with Muslim women across Maharashtra. 바카라�Equal property rights of Muslim women is a sore issue, an issue that will never see justice delivered. Muslim women do not have the financial or emotional wherewithal to take on their parents and siblings. They suffer in silence,바카라� said Pasha to Outlook. According to her, it is difficult to even get these women to voice their concerns regarding their property rights. 바카라�They are scared of being banned by their parents. It is completely emotional,바카라� asserted Pasha.

Only three Muslim women have so far approached Bebaak for assistance. However, when Khan and her associates wanted to follow up with these women, they backtracked. 바카라�They did not want to pursue it. They would not even take our calls, so we presumed there might have been a settlement within the family,바카라� said Khan. 바카라�There is often not much property to be shared as most of the community are not financially well off,바카라� added Khan.

According to both Khan and Pasha, Muslim women are extremely reluctant to take the court route to stake claim to their rights in the property of their fathers. 바카라�No woman in any religion will go to court,바카라� said Khan.