Author: Seema Kazi

Publisher: Minority Rights Group

Published: 1999-02-01

Total Pages: 43

ISBN-13: 1897693478

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.