Muslim Women in Political Process in India
Javid Ahmad Ahanger
PhD Research Scholar, Department of Political Science, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh
*Corresponding Author E-mail: Ahanger.javid786@gmail.com
ABSTRACT:
Zenab Banu professor (Emeritus) in the Department of political science, Mohan Lal Shukhadia University Udaipur, Rajasthan one of the voices of Indian Muslims tries to give her voice to the problems faced by Indian Muslims in general and women in particular in her writings. The present work of the author namely “Muslim Women in Political Process in India” (Shipra Publishers, New Delhi, 2016, Price Rs. 800, Total pages. 192)is an endeavor to comprehend the electoral participation of Indian Muslims in general and Muslim Women in particular and their role in Indian politics. It is in this back ground that I find this book interesting and worth to read. The present work of mine is a critical review of this book in its historical and contemporary political discourse in India.
KEYWORDS: Muslim, Women, India, Politics and Discourse.
INTRODUCTION:
Thurgood Marshall, one of the famous social scientist had quite aptly said, “where you see wrong or inequality or injustice, speak out, because this is your country. This is your democracy. Make it. Protect it. Pass it on.”1 It seems Marshall is quite relevant when it is the question of Muslim political discourse in India. Zenab Banu one of the voices of Indian Muslims tries to give her voice to the problems faced by Indian Muslims in general and women in particular in her writings. The present work of the author is an endeavor to comprehend the electoral participation of Indian Muslims in general and Muslim Women in particular and their role in Indian politics. The book is divided into seven chapters. Each chapter has been written with fundamental objectives dealing with varied difficulties of electoral politics. The first chapter “Women in political process theoretical trust” commences with the theoretical framework about the women at global level and their representation in politics of the states.
Here the author gives the example of English world or developed West, and how women in these developed countries participated from local to international politics. The author claims that no doubt the representation of women has increased in decision-making by both customs and laws, yet women are denied full social approval. However, at the same time she also believes that participation of those women in politics is only due to the kinship ties as they have the male members who are involved in politics. The author rightly argues that “these women are not representing the lower income families or downtrodden ones”2 She also believes unless women have real access to the political participation and representation they will not be able to develop fully in the society. The manhood and patriarchy in the society limit the role of women in politics. So, politics, according to her, is masculine in nature. She further argues that the feminist movements including the struggle for women suffrage were by and large Western phenomenon. These suffrage movements helped to a great extent in positive development of women. As the author argues, “vote was not just an end in itself, but also a means to achieve the other ends”3 Explaining the position of women in Third World countries including India, the women are considered merely as political subjects rather than citizens with full rights and duties. She believes women have not used their votes as an effective means for achieving equality and justice for themselves. She puts forward her point that it is easy for women to enter in politics at local level in India because of 73th and 74th constitutional amendments but at the national level the trend is totally different. Women constitute roughly ten per cent of the membership of political parties and they are hardly visible in decision-making. To quote the author, “women in India are neither opinion maker nor the decision maker; generally they are accepted as the voters only.”4
The second chapter entitled “Status and political participation of Muslim women in Islamic countries” discusses the position and rights of women in Islamic countries especially Middle East and Central Asian countries such as Sudia Arabia, Iran, Afghanistan, etc. She asserts that the representation of women in these countries is determined by will of the leadership and cultural attitudes. Quoting Sheik Mohammad bin Ibrahim bin Jbeir, the chairman of the Parliament of Saudia Arabia, and “Appointing women as parliament members is out of question. Nobody even thinks about it, because the issues the parliament deals with the public matters under the responsibility of men”5 Discussing the role of women in South Asia, particularly in the Indian sub-continent, the author gives good passing references of few Indian Muslim women who ruled this region of the globe during the medieval times, notably Razia Sultan, Chand Bibi, Begum Hazrat Mahal, etc. In modern times, it was only after 1920s that the Muslim women-related issues emerged and many organizations were formed in this regard. The author sees the participation of women in political affairs as manifestation of modernity. The author mentions many Muslims women who fought against the colonial rule and for the liberation of the country. In post 1947 period the politics of India underwent radical changes. Only few Muslim women, like Mrs. Mohsina Qidwai of INC and Anwara Timur of Assam, were able to make entry into mainstream politics. The author advocates that there should be structural changes in the reservation of seats for women.
The third chapter entitled “Muslim political representation and participation in Indian government and politics” is related to the electoral participation of Muslims in India. In the words of Zenab Banu, the Sachar committee report and post-Babri Masjid era has reshaped the Muslim political discourse in India. The share of Muslims in the Indian Parliament has declined in the past two decades. The reasons, according to the author, are lack of leadership, corruption, political bigwigs, that is, VIPs and communal atmosphere that emerged during 1990s. She believes that the Muslim leaders in politics remained fragmented and unfocused despite few Muslim leaders like Dr. Zakir Hussain, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmad, and APJ Abdul Kalam playing an important role in reshaping the Muslim political discourse in India. However, Muslims still remained marginalized when it comes to the question of representation. To this she appends that, “for a Muslim it is easier to become president than panchayat member”6 She further argues that if Muslims want to have what is politically their due, they should first of all establish their own viability vis-à-vis the mainstream politics.
The forth chapter entitled “Political status of Muslim women in India” gives a full account of Muslim women and their role in Indian politics. The chapter provides information about the Muslim women in the colonial and post-independence era. The author states that the Muslim women’s participation in the political affairs of the country in the post-colonial era is very discouraging at all levels. The representation of the Muslim women’s absence is visible not only at the Central level but also at the state and local levels.
The fifth chapter “Participation of Muslim women in Rajasthan government and politics” debates the pros and cons of status of Muslim women and their role in state politics of Rajasthan. The state is very significant when it comes to the politics of India at national level. The chapter gives decent narrative of electoral politics and representation in general and Muslims in particular in the state of Rajasthan. Between 1996 and 2014 no Muslim was elected to Lok Sabha from Rajasthan despite the state having above nine per cent of Muslim population. The author has given detailed list of elections conducted in post-independence period till 2014 parliamentary as well as the state assembly elections in the state. Her study shows that Muslim women have hardly been represented so far and they remain largely marginalized. The author predicts quite remarkably that “it would not be wrong to say that the pace at which we are moving, Muslim women would not be able to bridge the gap in politics in coming decades.”7
The sixth chapter goes with the titled “Why poor political participation of Muslim women?” The title of the chapter is in itself a question! Here the author debates the problems and difficulties associated with the poor representation and involvement of Muslim women in Indian politics. Even in a small country like Sri Lanka the minorities have greater political standing than in India. Stating the reasons for this poor participation of Muslim women, the author blames things like strong cultural norms, communal mobilization during elections, crisis of Muslim political leadership, and an almost conventional neglect of Muslim women candidature. Muslims have failed to understand what the political empowerment means. I agree with the observation of the author that “there is neither a single voice among Muslims, nor a charismatic leader nor a single platform where all the Muslims communities can express themselves. The bitter truth is that every Muslim has his own voice, his own discretion and accordingly he or she supports any political party, leaders programmed and caste votes”8
The seventh chapter titled “Main Streaming of Indian Muslims” debates the many queries related to how we can bring the Indian Muslims particularly the women in mainstream politics. The author starts her argument with the question, “Do Muslims need a Muslim political party at national level?”9 Because it is the non-Muslims who dominate the electorate in India, She questions how many more Babri Masjids will be demolished? How many more Gujarat massacres will be repeated? The partisan politics have given birth to Right wing “fundamental Hindutva parties” in India. She further questions that “Do Muslim women need common civil code beyond Muslim identity?”10 A common civil code if enforced from above is likely to disturb communal harmony and unity of the people. Muslim women need education about their Quranic rights; they need to study in order to bring real changes. Another important question she raises is “Do Muslims and women in particular need reservation in legislative bodies?”11 because to live in India is a new challenge for Muslims, they have to preserve their identity and culture. In her conclusions, the author stretches some recommendations and suggestions. For instance, she states that there is a need for strong and vibrant women’s organization and civil societies, hunt for clean and fair nature of politicking, strengthening citizenship rights of Muslim women, eradication of poverty as poverty puts all plans down, and the like. Women should learn about the politics, they should not only be used as voters but as agents of social change.
Commenting on the language of the book, the reader can easily understand the terminology and dialectical framework. The author has tried to put her points in simple words and has explained some complex phenomena in a very lucid manner. With that the charts and tables have added more beauty to the book as one can easily get information. However, the author has only explained the position and role of Muslim women in Rajasthan in one of her chapters. The book would have been more interesting had the author also take into consideration of other important States like Utter Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh; Kerala etc. where Muslims constitute a respectable percentage of population. At the same time author has succeeded in exploring the Socio-political reality for which author deserves to be acknowledged. I recommend this insightful book for all Social Science students, especially for those research scholars who are working on Indian politics to read the book in order to explore new facts and observations.
REFERENCES:
2. Zenab Banu, “Muslim Women in Political Process in India” (Shipra Publishers, New Delhi, 2016, p. 03
3. Ibid, p. 15
4. Ibid, p. 19
5. Ibid, p. 27
6. Ibid, p. 81
7. Ibid, p. 131
8. Ibid, p. 143
9. Ibid, p. 155
10. Ibid, p. 158
11. Ibid, pp. 168-170
Received on 31.08.2018 Modified on 12.02.2019
Accepted on 15.04.2019 © A&V Publications All right reserved
Int. J. Rev. and Res. Social Sci. 2019; 7(3):648-650.
DOI: 10.5958/2454-2687.2019.00042.X