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Another fall-out of the political climate of the day is that ghettoization is on the rise. Though this trend has been on for years, it has picked up, in keeping with the communal virus spreading out.
Muslim families are living under that constant fear of right-wing goon brigades attacking their women and children. And with that, men folk also put restrictions on the woman and children moving away from homes without a male escort. Patriarchal holds have furthered in these recent years. Also, a considerable rise in the school drop put figures, more so in localities where schools are not too close to the ghettos.
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The reality is that Islam has actually provided enough guidelines and precautions and codes of conduct but most sit unaware. As Zeenat Shaukat Ali, who was teaching Islamic Studies at Mumbai’s St Xaviers, had put across: “Wrong interpretations and then wrong perceptions are given.”
And as Danial Latifi had detailed the crucial ‘why’ he had decided to take up the controversial Shah Bano case. I quote from the interview he gave me, “I found Shah Bano to be an over smart woman who took full mileage out of the case. Why did I take up her case? It was not as though I opted to fight for her…I was watching the proceedings of this case with a whole galaxy of lawyers, including the then Chief Justice of India, Justice Chandrachud . It was then, whilst her case was being argued by a junior lawyer, that the chief justice intervened and asked me, why don’t I, as a senior lawyer, fight for her. So I had no choice but to fight for her.”
Latifi had made it very clear that Shah Bano had got her due maintenance on the basis and “strength of Quran’s provisions.”
As he’d detailed to me, “First of all, despite the contrary belief, marriage is a very serious business in Islam. Coming to the chapter on talaq, it is this chapter that lays down all the details including the procedure for talaq and the importance given to the arbitration aspect and, of course, the maintenance aspect. The fact is that triple talaq is un-quranic. In fact, one particular line from the Quran – wa lil mutha laqati mataun bil maroof haqqam alal mutaqqin (unto the divorced woman, a provision that is reasonable in the eyes of God, is obligatory, an obligation for the righteous ) – is enough to provide her status and a decent maintenance. And whilst fighting for the Shah Bano case, I quoted this line and the minute I showed this line to the chief justice, he said that line was enough to get her due, her maintenance. So Shah Bano got her due maintenance on the strength of Quran’s provisions.”
