This collection of essays and articles captures the beginning of the Muslim women’s movement in India in the last two decades. Written at different points during the journey, these pieces provide a glimpse into the collective tumultuous journey of women demanding reform in Muslim family law in India and for equal citizenship without discrimination. This journey was undertaken by ordinary women under their own leadership. This collection highlights the challenges faced by women. It also celebrates successes such as the organization of women into groups, abolition of triple talaq and women’s entry into the mazar of Haji Ali Dargah. This book is a collection of articles written by authors, individually and jointly in various newspapers, magazines, journals and other publications. It challenges the misogynist regressive norms for women in family set by patriarchal religious groups. It calls for state accountability in providing safety, security and equality to Muslim citizens. Based on experiences and insights from grounded struggle of ordinary women, these essays give hope and provide strength in addressing discrimination through shared vision and collective democratic action. It calls out the failure of conservative religious leadership as well as elected representatives in providing an enabling environment to the community and particularly, women. It calls out certain feminists for their dual standards and for unsuccessful attempts to weaken the movement for reform in family law led by ordinary Muslim women.

This collection of essays and articles captures the beginning of the Muslim women's movement in India in the last two decades. Written at different points during the journey, these pieces provide a glimpse into the collective tumultuous journey of women demanding reform in Muslim family law in India and for equal citizenship without discrimination. This journey was undertaken by ordinary women under their own leadership. This collection highlights the challenges faced by women. It also celebrates successes such as the organization of women into groups, abolition of triple talaq and women's entry into the mazar of Haji Ali Dargah. This book is a collection of articles written by authors, individually and jointly in various newspapers, magazines, journals and other publications. It challenges the misogynist regressive norms for women in family set by patriarchal religious groups. It calls for state accountability in providing safety, security and equality to Muslim citizens. Based on experiences and insights from grounded struggle of ordinary women, these essays give hope and provide strength in addressing discrimination through shared vision and collective democratic action. It calls out the failure of conservative religious leadership as well as elected representatives in providing an enabling environment to the community and particularly, women. It calls out certain feminists for their dual standards and for unsuccessful attempts to weaken the movement for reform in family law led by ordinary Muslim women.

Living in pluralist India has had critical consequences for Muslim women who are expected to follow a determined and strict code of conduct. The impact of this contradiction is most evident in the continuing denial of gender equality within the family, as state regulation of gender roles in the private sphere ultimately affects the status of women in the public sphere. Reclaiming the Nation examines the relationship between gender and nation in post-colonial India through the lens of marginalized Muslim women. Drawing on feminist legal theory, postcolonial feminist theory, and critical race theory, Vrinda Narain explores the idea of citizenship as a potential vehicle for the emancipation of Muslim women. Citizenship, Narain argues, opens the possibility for Indian women to reclaim a sense of selfhood free from imposed identities. In promoting the hybridity of culture and the modernity of tradition, Narain shows how oppositional categories such as public versus private, Muslim versus feminist, and Western versus Indian have been used to deny women equal rights. A timely account of the struggle for liberation within a restrictive religious framework, Reclaiming the Nation is an insightful look at gender, nationhood, and the power of self-determination.

The Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan was formed in January 2007 at a national conference in Delhi attended by 500 women from different parts of the country. It is a democratic organisation of Muslim women, led by Muslim women, and which strives for the citizenship rights of all and particularly Muslim women. The BMMA believes in the values of equality, justice, and fairness enshrined in the Holy Quran as well as the Constitution of India. In its 16th year, it’s membership has crossed one lakh across 15 states. BMMA believes in democracy and secularism as propounded by the Constitution of India. We believe peace and justice to be the fundamental tenets of Islam. We oppose the denial of women’s rights in society and strive to build Muslim women’s leadership across the country. We work on the issues of education, livelihood, health, security, and law reform. We are opposed to communalism and violence and believe in communal harmony, mutual respect, and religious co-existence.

For centuries India has had Muslim rule and rulers - including female Sultans – yet, with the rise of Hindu fundamentalism, India’s Muslim history and the Muslim contribution is being obscured and downplayed. Against this background, the opportunities for Muslim women to raise their concerns over access to education rights and work opportunities, or to raise issues within Muslim personal law – including marriage, divorce and personal freedoms – are severely restricted. This new Report Muslim Women in India calls for an end to discrimination against Muslims in India and the oppression of Muslim women. The author Seema Kazi questions the way in which the rise of the Hindu right-wing has led to a tightening of the interpretations of Muslim women’s rights and freedoms, along with the subordination of Muslim women’s concerns to the demands of Muslim communal identity. This Report discusses: Muslim history in India pre- and postindependence and partition; Muslim men and women’s current position in India; Muslim women’s involvement in the wider women’s movements; and has a focus on gender, Islam and human rights. The Report concludes with an outlook for Muslims and Muslim women in India, and with a set of recommendations on some of the key issues to be addressed. Please note that the terminology in the fields of minority rights and indigenous peoples’ rights has changed over time. MRG strives to reflect these changes as well as respect the right to self-identification on the part of minorities and indigenous peoples. At the same time, after over 50 years’ work, we know that our archive is of considerable interest to activists and researchers. Therefore, we make available as much of our back catalogue as possible, while being aware that the language used may not reflect current thinking on these issues.

These issues are significant not only for Muslim women in India, but also in the broader context of the accommodation of cultural diversity in pluralist democracies."--BOOK JACKET.

This report locates the political, socio-economic and legal position of Muslim women within a historical framework, beginning with the evolution of Islam in India and its subsequent interaction with Indian society. It emphasizes the diversity of women in Muslim communities and the range of factors influencing their status. Kazi traces the developments in discourses of gender vis-à-vis Muslim women from the late nineteenth century to the present day, and describes Muslim women's transition from being British subjects to Indian citizens. Muslim women's contributions within the women's movement are outlined, as well as the challenges they face as members of India's largest religious minority community.