Zakia Soman is a founder member of Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, a community platform with over 20,000 members. The andolan recently completed a survey on the aspirations of Muslim women with the support of ActionAid. Soman spoke to Humra Quraishi :
Why did you undertake this study?
We have felt for a long time that Muslim girls are neglected and their voices, opinions and needs overlooked. Their families give them least priority and the state acts as if they don't exist. Educated and empowered young women can play a key role in transforming the community. It is the most promising and the most deserving section of our society, which needs to be heard.
But is that not true for women in general?
Women everywhere are marginalised. But some women such as Dalit women or Muslim women or other backward women are more marginalised. They bear the brunt of poverty as well as gender discrimination plus discrimination based on religion within and outside their homes. Lot of them suffer injustices such as divorce and abuse at home because of the way Muslim personal law is practised in India, which is in an arbitrary and patriarchal manner.
There is need for codification of personal law. Women also suffer because they belong to a community which is getting increasingly poor and which has been stereotyped particularly after 9/11. They suffer at the hands of communal politics and during communal violence. They bear the brunt of patriarchy more than other women under these circumstances.
We talked to over 2,000 young women in cities and villages in 13 states including Bihar, UP, Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. These were women mainly from poor or lower middle-class backgrounds.
What does the study suggest in terms of their aspirations?
In spite of poverty and marginalisation, young Muslim women have not ceased to dream. It is amazing just how many young girls want to become doctors, teachers, businesswomen and even airline pilots while for many paying school fees is a challenge. And yet, we hear this again and again: I want to study, i want to become economically independent, i want to help my family, which is very optimistic and reassuring. There is hope for change when there is so much desire for change. The government and the civil society must provide an enabling climate for these women.
What do they expect from their own community leaders?
The girls want to be allowed to study, to work, to go out and explore the world. They want their voices to be heard. They do not want to be confined by any boundaries. They feel they are responsible individuals and resist being controlled and curbed just because they are girls. They see no clash in being a Muslim girl and yet being educated and empowered. They expect community leaders to understand this.
A lot of young Muslim women wear the hijab. How do they look at the debate over hijab?
They feel wearing or not wearing the hijab is not so important as the right to be educated, to move around, to find jobs. What is more important is how you behave, how responsibly you conduct yourself rather than just an outward garment. Many women also feel it is not for the government to decide who should wear what. It is the choice of the woman as to what she wants to wear.
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